FAQ

All AIHE degree courses are recognised in Germany by the Zentralstelle für Fernunterricht (ZFU – Central office for distance learning) and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Not only this, but the degree courses and our Institute are accredited or validated according to applicable national requirements.

To what extent your employer and/or state authorities recognise a master’s degree from Germany, Austria, Great Britain or the USA or other countries cannot be determined in general. 

There are so many countries around the world where one can study and gain academic degrees (https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Listen_von_Universitäten). 

There is also the question of whether you already have a bachelor’s degree or whether you have started the master’s degree course without a first degree. Some employers expect candidates to have completed a degree course of at least four to five years (first the bachelor’s and then the master’s degree). For others, professional experience is more important and they think a wide range of practical skills is more relevant.Seek information from your employer or the relevant state authority about recognition of degree courses taken abroad before signing up for a degree course at AIHE GmbH.

No. You are enrolled for a master’s degree course and can therefore only obtain the academic title for this degree course.

Degree courses offered by AIHE GmbH with a partner university in various languages are officially registered as different degree courses. It is therefore not possible to study in one language and to obtain the title in another language.

AIHE offers further education degree courses. The term “further education” means that the starting position for our degree courses is the assumption that previous education has been completed – either academic or practical in nature. It also explains why the average age of those studying at AIHE is 40 years old and that the students have professional experience, often also in management. The motivation for our target group is not to acquire the basic training for a specific professional field, rather, students choose our offer for the following reasons:

• they want to be able to put their existing practical activities on an academic footing and explain them using theories and models in order to work more professionally.
• They have succeeded in reaching their current position without an undergraduate degree thanks to plenty of hard work and commitment and they are now striving for an academic degree.
• They have a bachelor’s degree and want to achieve a master’s degree before launching their career. This target group is smaller.

Master’s programmes provide support in deepening and expanding knowledge that students can apply in their professional lives. Naturally, the master’s degrees from our partner universities can also be helpful in standing out from the competition thanks to an additional qualification. It is not possible to give a generic answer concerning the extent to which employers choose a graduate with a master’s degree from an AIHE partner university. If you have a specific position in your sights for which you wish to become qualified with an AIHE degree course, we would recommend that you get in touch with the relevant company/employer before starting your studies.

For doctoral studies, admission decisions are made on a country- and institution-specific basis. Find out about the applicable conditions (doctoral degree regulations) in the country in which you wish to obtain a doctorate or directly from the university where you wish to study for a doctorate.

Various universities in Europe expect at least five years of academic further education, i.e. a three-year bachelor’s degree and a two-year master’s degree. This means that beginning one of our degree courses without an undergraduate degree may make it difficult to obtain a doctoral position. In Germany, all 16 federal states have different admission criteria which universities must adhere to when awarding doctoral places. Universities use this as a basis to develop doctoral regulations for each specialist area and decide on a case-by-case basis who is admitted for doctoral studies.

According to German law, universities are also allowed to admit graduates holding bachelor’s degrees under certain conditions in exceptional cases. As this is not the general rule, we initially recommend a bachelor’s degree and then a consecutive or suitable two-year master’s degree or two one-year master’s degrees as a minimum – provided your clear goal is a doctorate.

General, more detailed information on doctoral studies in Germany can be found here:Framework conditions and practical information concerning doctorates for UAS degree holders and bachelor’s degree holders

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a bachelor’s degree generally takes three years; in Scotland it takes four years. A master’s degree generally only takes one year. In Great Britain, two-year master’s programmes are rare. Many students are concerned about whether the shorter British master’s degrees are fully recognised. In private businesses, this should not cause problems as the individual qualifications count here. In business, British master’s degrees and so-called “short masters” are generally very well-regarded.

However, it could become problematic for you if you are aiming for a qualification in the civil service, in state-regulated professions or for a doctorate. In all three fields, five years of degree-level study is almost always required, however universities are always able to make decisions following an individual case review. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees obtained in other European countries are not recognised by German universities (e.g. if you wish to study for a doctorate) without an individual case review.

Of course, our degree programs are accredited according to UK and Austrian law.

The London programmes are not BPS (British Psychological Society) accredited but QAA accredited.