Before the introduction of the bachelor's and master's degrees in Germany, the standard Science, Engineering or Business degree was the
Diplom and could be, in several variations, obtained at several types of institutes of higher education. Obtained at a university, the degree was simply called a
Diplom or rarely a
Diplom (Univ.) and took usually between four and six years (240–360
European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System credits), depending on subject and curriculum. When obtained at a so-called University of Applied Sciences (or
Fachhochschule), the diploma degree is called a
Diplom (FH) and took mostly four years (240 ECTS credits). The
Diplom was usually awarded in the natural sciences, business, theology and engineering, while students of humanities, arts and languages finished with a
Magister. (The degree in social sciences differed from university to university.) All kinds of
Diplom degrees were usually first degrees. However, the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) was also the highest non-doctoral degree in science, business or engineering in Germany. The duration of the
Diplom degree programmes differed depending on subject and university. An official average duration (
Regelstudienzeit) was set by law in each
German state, usually being four years for a
Diplom (FH) and 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.). In exceptional cases, universities were allowed to set longer average durations for certain subjects (HGRP1995 § 26 (3), NHG2007 § 6 (3), HmbHG2001 §53 (3)). However, due to the curriculum set by most universities in Germany, the 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) were often exceeded. Although being a first degree, because of its actual duration, the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) was and is in Germany not considered as an equivalent to a bachelor's but rather to a master's degree, as also expressed by the equivalent ECTS credits for the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.). A holder of a
Diplom obtained at a university is, depending on subject, for example referred to as "Diplom-Ingenieur" (
Diplom-Engineer), "Diplom-Kaufmann" (
Diplom-Merchant), "Diplom-Biologe" (
Diplom-Biologist) and so on. In Bavaria, sometimes the postfix "(Univ.)" is added. If the Diplom has been obtained at a University of Applied Sciences (
Fachhochschule) the postfix "(FH)" has to be added (e.g.
Diplom-Ingenieur (FH)). There are a few rare exceptions where the postfix need not be added, mostly due to older laws, small differences in the laws of the
German states or transition rules. Transition rules, for example in engineering, or
European Union directives like
Directive 2005/36/EC grant certain limited groups with other kinds of related qualifications to also use the designation
Diplom. To obtain a Diplom at a university, students had to complete two separate periods of study. The first one was a two-year period of coursework in courses of mainly (but not only) introductory nature, the
Grundstudium (meaning
basic studying period). After (and during) this period, in addition to exams for passing the modules, students attained a series of usually four intermediate exams to obtain the
Vordiplom (meaning
pre-diploma). The second period, the
Hauptstudium (meaning
main period of study), consisted of two years of coursework in courses of advanced level, an additional period of several months in which a thesis had to be written and eventually a series of usually four final exams. It was not unusual for students to need more than two years for the coursework of the
Hauptstudium. An obtained
Vordiplom and the completion of the coursework of the
Hauptstudium were the requirements to register for working on the thesis and for the final exams. However, access to courses of the
Hauptstudium was usually not restricted to students who had already obtained the
Vordiplom. The extent of the final exams and the exams to obtain the
Vordiplom was set by each university individually in its regulations. Normally, the content of two different modules of the preceding period of coursework was examined in each of the examinations, which could be oral or less often in writing. Most students needed approximately six months to complete the final exam period. The thesis which followed an independent (although supervised) research project had officially to be completed in not more than 3 to 9 months (depending on subject and university). • In the Netherlands the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) is usually accepted as equivalent to the Dutch
doctorandus • In the United States, evaluations by U.S. universities vary. For example, for admission to graduate studies, the
University of Arizona, the
University of Central Florida and the
University of Wisconsin–Madison require (at least) the
Vordiplom plus an additional year of study. The
Oregon State University and the
University of Southern California consider holders of a
Diplom (not differing between
(FH) and
(Univ.)) for admission to graduate studies. According to
World Education Services, a German
Diplom is equivalent to having earned both U.S. bachelor's and master's degrees. • In Canada, the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) is at most universities the prerequisite to enter a Canadian Master's program, and corresponds generally to a Canadian 4-year Bachelor's/Bachelier degree and an honours bachelor's degree; in all cases to a university
Bachelor with Honours degree. • In Denmark the
Diplom (FH) awarded after four years of tuition is considered as being equivalent to a Danish bachelor's degree, whereas the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) awarded after at least 4 ½ years of tuition merits a
Kandidatuddannelse. The German Diplom must not be confused with a Danish
Diplomuddannelse which is equivalent to a bachelor's degree. • In the United Kingdom the
University of Aberystwyth, the
University College London and the
University of Sheffield consider both
Diplom or a bachelor's degree as sufficient to enter a postgraduate programme. Also the
University of Edinburgh states that it considers both degrees as sufficient to enter postgraduate programmes. • In the Republic of Ireland, the
Diplom (FH) is recognized as being equivalent to a bachelor's honours degree, while a
Diplom is considered equivalent to the Irish master's degree if its standard duration was at least 4.5 years. • In Norway, the authority in charge for the recognition of foreign qualifications Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education, called the Diplom degree system as being both "complex" and "confusing". The Norwegian Statistical Office compares the
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) with the Norwegian master's degree. • In Sweden, the
Swedish National Agency for Higher Education considers a German
Diplom as sufficient for the admission to a Swedish
Master's program. On the
Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate Conference in 2005 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Malmqvist
et al. stated that, the Swedish
Civilingenjör engineering degree programs "are 4½ year integrated engineering programs roughly equivalent to Master of Science or
Diplom-Ingenieur degrees".
Comparison between Diplom and Bologna Degrees in Germany The variations in the acceptance of degrees was one reason the EU initiated and executed the
Bologna Process. Part of the Bologna Process shall ensure comparability between higher-education qualifications in the EU. As part of this process Germany has introduced Masters and bachelor's degrees and has largely phased out the awarding of new diploma degrees, a process not universally welcomed by the German academic and engineering communities. The already awarded
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) and the
Diplom (FH) degrees remain valid indefinitely and are not exchanged for master's or bachelor's degrees. Current German binding recommendations state that the newly German master's and bachelor's degrees come with the same eligibilities as the old degrees
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) and
Diplom (FH), respectively. This is, for example, important for joining certain career paths in government administration, military, or regulated professions, where some kind of diploma was required. It also implies that
Diplom (FH) holders can join a master's degree program. It does not imply the degrees are the same, a fact stretched multiple times in the cited reference. An actual comparison, in case it is needed, is done via ECTS points which are retroactively calculated/assigned to old
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) and
Diplom (FH) degrees, when needed. This calculation is done when a holder of a
Diploma (FH) wants to join a Masters program and needs to know the number of additional ECTS point to study for to obtain a master's degree. Since the old diploma study programs were all a bit different there is not a single ECTS value or comparison chart for all kinds of diplomas. Almost universally, however, when retroactively calculating ECTS points for
Diplom / Diplom (Univ.) degrees they end up well into the ECTS point range for a master's degree. The situation is different for
Diplom (FH) degrees. Those tend to end up at least at the Bachelor's ECTS point level or above, and below the ECTS point level for a master's degree. The ranking is roughly shown in the following table, from lowest to highest rank. Typical ECTS points are provided for a very rough comparison, individual points vary. The following chart illustrates the durations required to obtain the old degrees (
Diplom, Diplom (FH)) and the new European degrees (bachelor's and master's), using nominal example durations. At the time of the Bologna process, schools in most
German states started changing from 13 school years to 12 years. (An exception are the states of
Saxony and
Thuringia, where
Gymnasium has always lasted only 12 years ever since the
German Reunification.) Most of the students going for a
Diplom therefore spent 13 years in school before starting their university studies, while the younger Bachelor students nowadays may start one year earlier. (However, in some states, such as
Rhineland-Palatinate or
Schleswig-Holstein, the first class which completes school after 12 years will graduate as late as 2016.) Regarding international comparison, one may argue that British, Irish and French high school students have school also in the afternoons which could compensate with the (former) additional year of school attendance in Germany. Note: For the Diplom (FH) a student has to spend one to two obligatory semesters during his studies in a company. These semesters are included in the table. The study time is therefore one to two semesters shorter. Bachelor studies have them included in the table too. For the Diplom (Universität) those semesters are sometimes not included in the table. Also note: In Germany, a Diplom (Universität) student can enter a doctoral program directly (if the student meets the admission requirements). A Diplom (FH) student has to have excellent grades to directly enter a doctorate program. With the Higher Education Act of the Land
Lower Saxony as of August 2010, outstanding Bachelor graduates can commence their doctorate at the universities of this German state. In addition, a few German graduate schools, such as the Saarbrücken Graduate School of Computer Science or the
Berlin Mathematical School also admit students with a bachelor's degree and excellent grades to their doctorate programmes. ==Austria==