What Students Say
Likes
- No tuition fees, 2 year MS program, Opportunity to do a lab internship for a year and convert that to my thesis project, Transferrable skills
- Excellent faculty, structured syllabus, the opportunity to conduct research for 6 months and then use that experience to write your thesis, do a mini-experiment and have a shot at publishing your own paper
Dislikes
- No Placement cell or post course guidance on what to do after the MS. German culture in general is a cold culture with not many friends or approachable students. So one has to get used to live alone, used to their bureaucracy and rules.
Wonderful learning experience at Freie University Berlin. The 2 years I spent at the university were amazing, enriching, insightful and academically dense. The statistics course especially was tough and aimed at engineers but the professor made sure we understood it and now it pays off as I can understand the complex Math in research Papers. The opportunity to do an internship, my own thesis was the highlight and best part of the course as I got to apply the academic concepts in real life settings.
Course Curriculum
The syllabus is vast enough to cover the subject matter. We had 7 compulsory courses for 2 semesters and 1 block course in the 3rd semester. A mix of graded and non-graded courses. Yes, we had a compulsory 6-month lab internship and the next 6 months were spent writing a Master's thesis. in total 4 semesters, 2 years, and 120 credits.
Faculty
Our class size was 25-30 students and we had a single professor for each of the courses. All of them were learned, approachable. Dirk Ostwald, Timo Schmidt and Felix Blankenburg were the best professors.
Campus Life
The campus had a huge library where one can access plethora of books, reading rooms, study area, cafeteria (special vegan and vegetarian cafeteria). Lab infrastructure was top notch.
Placement
No placement cell. You are left on your own to find a job. Most people do research assistantships under the professors at the university or some other universities and try to convert that internship into a PhD. Others look for jobs on their own.
Accommodation
No on campus accommodation. One has to look for rooms in the city. Availability is an issue. There is central hostel service available but one is always on the waiting list so it is a good idea to get a separate accommodation. One can get a good shared accommodation in 500 euros and in 700 euros a personal studio.
Exams
High GPA and Work experience proof if any. No GRE/IELTS if you have studied in a English language degree program. Yes, LOR was required along with a CV and research interests. Yes, a single interview with professor asking me about my educational background, knowledge of my field, research interests.
Fees
Tuition fees are waived off. One needs to pay around ~320 euros per semester as a contribution to student union and it also includes a 6 month train pass.
Scholarship
No scholarship but tuition fees was waived off.
