The degree as a qualified engineer: What this title still brings today

Bachelor, Master and Graduate Engineer

Anyone aiming for a university degree usually achieves their first professional qualification after six to seven semesters – the Bachelor, or BA for short. If you want to specialize in more detail, you can complete your master’s degree, or MA for short, within four additional semesters. This also applies to technical courses, the final qualification of which often falls within the engineering spectrum. Bachelor graduates can already call themselves engineers.

In addition to the bachelor’s and master’s system, there is also the option of enrolling in a diploma course that lasts ten semesters and leads directly to the title of Diplom-Ingenieur, or Dipl.-Ing. for short. represents. This applies to the respective selected subject and is equivalent to the master’s degree.

Is it all about title pride?

According to statistics from the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), there are over 20,000 courses in Germany – including 179 diploma courses at technical colleges and universities. As the analysts of the time note, engineers in particular would depend on the title of graduate engineer, as this enjoys a high reputation internationally. According to the education portal, there is even a tendency for the title Dipl.-Ing. is perceived as having a higher value than the MA title.

Ernst Schmachtenberg, the former rector of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule in Aachen, has a clear opinion on this in relation to brand eins. He compares the title of Dipl.-Ing. with one of the most valuable brands in Germany: “Abolishing this internationally radiant brand makes about as much sense as if Mercedes were to part with its star” and also refers to the prestige that goes with the more than 100-year-old job title. He adds: “[…] the Dipl.-Ing. stands for German workmanship worldwide – for the fact that the car drives, the bridge holds and the power plant works”.

This is what freshmen should know

As Prof. Gerald Gerlach, Pro-Rector for Education at the Technical University of Dresden, notes in relation to the time, both the BA-MA career path and the Dipl.-Ing. career path have their advantages and disadvantages. However, he underlines the flexibility of the BA-MA system by pointing out that many freshmen are still unclear at the beginning of their studies as far as their academic career and specialization are concerned. He therefore notes that he prefers the BA-MA path because of the greater freedom of choice and also points out that many first-year students want to start working life after the first six semesters or take a different path, saying: “Then it certainly is first of all cheaper to start with a bachelor’s degree.” If you want to delve deeper into the subject, you can decide to do a master’s degree after completing your first degree.

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