State examination and bachelor/master: differences

In short: In Germany most degree programmes end with a bachelor’s and master’s, but some subjects such as medicine, law and teaching end with a state examination. Both systems have different structures and consequences.

In more detail: The state examination was administered by state examination offices, not by the university alone.

In detail

• Bachelor/master system: Arose from the European Bologna Process for better comparability of degrees.
• Module exams: In the bachelor/master system, exams are spread across the whole degree.
• State examination: Concentrates on a few large exam blocks at the end of certain study phases.
• Affected subjects: Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law and teaching in most federal states.
• Permeability: Switching between the systems is usually only possible to a limited extent.
• Recognition abroad: Bachelor/master degrees are often more easily comparable internationally.
• Access to the profession: For state examination subjects, the degree is often a mandatory requirement for professional admission (hochschularten-im-vergleich).