Graduation
The University of Göttingen arranges and reviews the course structures for all degree programmes in order to ensure that they are feasible to study and comply with the standard course length, so that the length of an individual student’s studies does not exceed that personally necessary.
Varying progress on individual studies resulting in an extension of the length of studies are not seen per se as an indicator of the degree programme being of inadequate quality. Instead, the responsible stakeholders at the faculties systematically analyse any studies that overrun their allotted lengths for their causes.
As well as offering a wide range of information and advice on starting a career or continuing academic studies, the central Career Service also organises many varied events designed to help with the transition after graduation to further studies or professional life. It offers information and advice not only on careers and starting working life in Germany but also abroad. Above all it focuses on German and international students’ individual skills profiles and how to enhance them, guidance through the decision-making process and preparation for the job application process. Extensive and wide-ranging materials were developed to assist with independent studies and provide information as part of the mentoring programme on starting a career in the Brückenschlag+ project in the period 2018 to early 2021 and these are available to students on Stud.IP, on the Mahara platform and on a website. The materials include a digital workbook and an e-portfolio designed to provide specific guidance on starting a career, as well as career papers and interviews with external experts relevant to the programme’s target groups.
Besides the central Career Service, the faculties also have specific advice services for the graduation phase and the transition to working life, and these can be found on the relevant website pages. At the Faculty of Social Sciences, the office for Internship and Job Services supports students with an analysis of CVs and accompanies them during their job application process. They include specific advice and support services for students who are finding it hard to graduate, as well as special support for the preparation and completion of theses.
Once a year, the University puts on an interdisciplinary PraxisBörse or recruitment fair, to put companies and therefore potential employers in touch with future graduates. Some faculties also offer specialised recruitment fairs, such as the annual SoWi GO! at the Faculty of Social Sciences, which caters for the specific career interests of students in that faculty. Another important service element in relation to the transition from higher education to working life is internships which take place during the degree studies with the support of the faculty. The annual survey of graduates allows the University to find out from its alumni whether they have found suitable employment and how long it took. At the same time, the ALUMNI Göttingen association offers many opportunities to keep in touch with the University even after graduation.
Some faculties also offer opportunities involving the cooperation of alumni, such as the lecture series Berufsperspektiven für Studierende an der Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät, where alumni report on their professional careers and outline prospective vocational fields for social scientists drawing on their own experiences.