Educational Systems, Part 1

The most prominent differences between the USA and Germany, and the ones I encounter each day, are the differences in the styles of higher education. These are some of the more general differences I've noticed.

Many aspects of university study at TUM and, I think, in Germany in general are less formal or regulated than they are in the USA. For example, regular lecture and discussion attendance is not required for a course. Even registration in a course is not required to get credit for it; the only thing that matters is that the student passes the single exam at the end of the semester.

I realize that class attendance is not strictly mandatory in most universities in the US, but the homework and midterm exams given in discussions and lectures often counts for a significant portion of a student's final course grade along with the final exam grade (at least at the U of M). This is not the case at TUM; the final exam grade is the final course grade. Professors do assign homework for classes, but since this is not factored into the course grade it's also technically optional. The tutors who run the discussion sections only give mild admonishments to students who don't turn in their homework (which is often most of the class).

As is the case with many good things things, I didn't realize how helpful a midterm exam or regular graded homework was to my academic performance until I didn't have either anymore. Homework and midterms served as a useful academic barometer for my current level of understanding of the course material. With the homework I'm getting at TUM I'm never sure whether the problems are really the type I'll see on the exam (Physics students who have had to contend with WebAssign might know what I mean). They also provided a good incentive to keep up with the course material. I find regular assignments and exams a much better motivator to study than the distant, vague threat of an exam on the horizon.

Academic issues aside, I've also seen differences in campus organization that reflect a more independent attitude in student life. The standard US college campus with its clusters of academic buildings close to student housing and, in the case of city campuses, local restaurants and businesses is nowhere to be found in Munich. The main student housing is fifteen minutes away by train from either of the TUM main campuses and one of the campuses lacks any independent local restaurants or businesses in the immediate vincinity. The phenomenon of US college sports, including the ubiquitous campus mascot and a feeling of campus identity, also seems to be absent here.

I'm sure many readers who have been to, or are currently attending, a college or university in the US remember the feeling of increased independence and self-reliance that comes with moving out of your parents' home, taking classes you like, and being encouraged to independently investigate and study the course material instead of just memorizing facts. Many of the above differences can be summarized as an extension of this independence, whether for better or worse.