Study Sport in Germany

In a sport degree programme, you study human movement. However, there are very different orientations and disciplines of sport programmes, including sports science, sport pedagogy, and sports psychology, sport journalism as well as sport management, sport marketing or the promotion of sport in society. Therefore, the field of study can be part of various departments, e.g., the department of natural sciences or the department of social sciences. In some cases, higher education institutions have independent sport science departments, and the German Sport University in Cologne is a university dedicated solely to sport.

Accordingly, different subjects are taught: In sport education, students often aspire to become teachers and therefore focus on pedagogy. In sport management, on the other hand, the focus lies on business skills. Depending on the specific degree programme, you will take classes in economics, biology or ecology. Accordingly, you should have basic knowledge and an interest in the relevant disciplines.

For most degree programmes, you need a higher education entrance qualification or a qualification recognised as equivalent for admission to the programme. There might be exceptions for admission to colleges or private higher education institutions, which can have their own admission procedures. Some higher education institutions do not have any additional admission restrictions; however; some have a so-called numerus clausus (NC), i.e. an above-average minimum grade. In addition to the NC, sports aptitude tests, letters of motivation and/or personal interviews can be added as admission restrictions. However, the admission restrictions you might face will depend entirely on the institution and the specific degree programme. For example, aptitude tests are not very common for a degree programme in sports management but are more frequently set as a prerequisite for sports science. There are also differences between universities and, for example, universities of applied sciences.

It is therefore important that you search out relevant information early for the higher education institution of your choice whether you have to take a sports aptitude test, as, in this case, earlier registration and application deadlines often apply.

By the way: It is difficult to generalise the admission requirements for Master’s programmes in the field of sport. Since they are often highly specialised, the application modalities vary greatly. However, a successfully completed Bachelor’s degree is often sufficient for a Master’s programme, and there is rarely an NC here either.

For full-time studies, you can normally expect a standard period of study of six semesters for a Bachelor’s degree and four semesters for a Master’s degree. As a rule, only full-time study is possible for some degree programmes. Other degree programmes can also be completed as distance learning or dual studies. Some specialisations, such as fitness, are more often offered at private higher education institutions. Accordingly, regular study times may differ here.

You cannot study sport without passing any practical units; the degree programmes both at Bachelor’s and Master’s level, as a rule, integrate compulsory internships in their curricula!

If you want to study at a public higher education institution in Germany, you will usually not have to pay tuition fees. However, there are so-called semester contributions that range between 100 and 400 euros. These are used, for example, to pay for the student union, but often also cover a ticket for local public transport. Depending on where you study, this ticket may be valid for the city, the region or even for all of Germany. Ask your higher education institution whether such an offer is currently available. This means that you don’t have to worry about public transport anymore.

However, for those sport degree programmes offered at private higher education institutions, you should expect costs of – often double-digit – thousand euros. In order to be able to cover the costs, dual courses of study, for example, but also scholarships are options.

Another, not insignificant, cost factor is your rent payment. Here, too, there are differences within Germany: As is the case everywhere in the world, popular and large cities are usually significantly more expensive. However, if you opt for student halls of residence or a shared apartment, you can often save a lot of money. As soon as you have decided on where you want to study, you should start looking, as halls of residence can fill up quickly. , you can find information on local halls of residence and the respective application process for most cities.

To finance your studies in Germany, you should also find out about scholarships. There are many different scholarship programmes and excellent grades are not the only deciding factor. You can learn more about scholarships  and find suitable programmes directly on My GUIDE.

Depending on which degree programme you have chosen, you now have a Bachelor/Master of Arts or a Bachelor/Master of Science – or perhaps you studied to become a teacher or switched to sports medicine via a medical degree? Your title can vary accordingly, and so do the possible occupational fields and job titles.

Following your graduation, you might have the following career options:

• sport teacher, in a school or in adult learning
• gym or health centres
• management of sport associations
• media, e.g. as a sport journalist
• sport tourism
• research, e.g. in the development of new sport equipment
• health consulting
• non-medical treatments and therapies, for prevention or rehabilitation purposes

Of course, your starting salary depends on the industry and the area you studied. In general, however, large companies pay better than fitness studios, for example, and with a Master’s degree, you often have a higher salary than with a Bachelor’s degree.