Begabtenprüfung
Encyclopedia
The Begabtenprüfung is a college
admission examination in Germany
which provides an alternative to the Abitur
or qualifies the student for a "field-specific Abitur" (Fachgebundene Hochschulreife). Its formal German name is Prüfung für den Hochschulzugang von besonders befähigten Berufstätigen (Examination for College Attendance by Specially Qualified Workers).
, trade school training, or governmental/military training and then worked for 5 or more years in that profession, or completed secondary school with a non-college-bound certificate and then have seven or more years of employment and/or as a single head of household with dependents, and show evidence of independent preparation. Those who have failed the examination twice are ineligible to re-take it, subject to the right of individual states
to grant exceptions.
, Hamburg
, Lower Saxony
and Saarland
offer a Nichtschülerprüfung (examination for non-students) or Externenabitur (external Abitur), formally called a non-student Abitur, Abiturprüfung für Nichtschülerinnen und Nichtschüler. This has a minimum age of 19 and requires the candidate not to have been enrolled in an educational institution during the preceding year, except for special cases such as Waldorf schools.
The examination consists of an oral and a written component, to be graded at a standard corresponding to the Abitur.
The written examination consists of 3 components each of 4–5 hours:
The oral examination consists of
immediately after completing his Habilitation
in 1947, entered university after taking the Begabtenprüfung and received his doctorate in 1935.
After the war, making further education available to those who had been unable to graduate from a gymnasium
was a priority in both Western and Russian sectors of Germany, but in the Soviet zone and later the GDR responsibility for the Begabtenprüfung was placed with the college or university rather than the locality; institutions were required to provide Vorstudienanstalten (pre-study institutes) to prepare workers for the examination, and after 1949, to have integrated departments for workers and farmers.
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
admission examination in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
which provides an alternative to the Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
or qualifies the student for a "field-specific Abitur" (Fachgebundene Hochschulreife). Its formal German name is Prüfung für den Hochschulzugang von besonders befähigten Berufstätigen (Examination for College Attendance by Specially Qualified Workers).
Eligibility
Candidates must be 25 or older, unable to enroll in an educational institution and take the non-student Abitur (see below) and not in possession of a field-specific Abitur with the possibility of upgrading it to the general Abitur, and have completed an apprenticeshipApprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
, trade school training, or governmental/military training and then worked for 5 or more years in that profession, or completed secondary school with a non-college-bound certificate and then have seven or more years of employment and/or as a single head of household with dependents, and show evidence of independent preparation. Those who have failed the examination twice are ineligible to re-take it, subject to the right of individual states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
to grant exceptions.
Alternative examinations
Instead of the Begabtenprüfung, the states of BrandenburgBrandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
and Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
offer a Nichtschülerprüfung (examination for non-students) or Externenabitur (external Abitur), formally called a non-student Abitur, Abiturprüfung für Nichtschülerinnen und Nichtschüler. This has a minimum age of 19 and requires the candidate not to have been enrolled in an educational institution during the preceding year, except for special cases such as Waldorf schools.
Examination
The Begabtenprüfung is regulated and administered at the state level by a commission.The examination consists of an oral and a written component, to be graded at a standard corresponding to the Abitur.
The written examination consists of 3 components each of 4–5 hours:
- a German language test
- a test in the candidate's choice of mathematics or a foreign language
- a test in the subject the person wishes to study, which must be offered by a college in the state (this may be waived for demonstrably qualified candidates)
The oral examination consists of
- a test in mathematics or a foreign language, whichever the candidate did not elect for the written examination
- a test in the subject the person wishes to study
- a test in another subject chosen by the examiners from one of two groups such that it is remote from the candidate's employment expertise but demonstrates his or her well roundedness
History
The Begabtenprüfung dates to before World War II. For example, Fritz Behrens, a communist who became a professor at the University of LeipzigUniversity of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
immediately after completing his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
in 1947, entered university after taking the Begabtenprüfung and received his doctorate in 1935.
After the war, making further education available to those who had been unable to graduate from a gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
was a priority in both Western and Russian sectors of Germany, but in the Soviet zone and later the GDR responsibility for the Begabtenprüfung was placed with the college or university rather than the locality; institutions were required to provide Vorstudienanstalten (pre-study institutes) to prepare workers for the examination, and after 1949, to have integrated departments for workers and farmers.