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Distance learning subjects:
which one fits you?

Twenty-six fields of study, each with what actually matters before you enrol: who gets in without A-levels, what your work experience is worth, and what the qualification opens professionally. And where it runs into limits.

Before you choose

The order that prevents wrong decisions

Most people pick the subject first. The other way round works better.

A subject is not an end in itself, it is a tool for a goal. Which is why this order pays off:

  • The goal first. Do you want a position that requires a formal qualification? Do you want to change field? Or do you need the evidence for an admission requirement?
  • Then the level. Sometimes a university certificate is enough, sometimes it takes a bachelor's, sometimes only a master's opens the door. The differences are set out in academic degrees explained.
  • Then the subject. And via the module handbook, not the programme name. Names are marketing, modules are content.
  • The provider last. Choosing the university first means giving away the credit transfer lever.

What that means in detail is covered in choosing a degree and choosing a university. For comparing specific providers across Germany, Austria and Switzerland there is the Hochschulnavigator, where distance learning universities are set side by side with sources.

Fields of study

26 subjects in distance learning

Each with admission, credit transfer, workload and the routes that follow.

The shared lever

What works the same in every subject

Regardless of what you decide on.

However different the subjects are, two things hold everywhere. First, access: in almost every field there is a route through your profession rather than through A-levels, usually via completed vocational training with work experience or via an advanced vocational qualification. Second, credit transfer: what you have already earned in a qualified form, you should not have to study twice.

The second point is the strongest lever there is, and the least used. It does not reduce your weekly workload, it reduces the total: if sixty of 180 ECTS are credited, 120 remain, and nine years become six. How the procedure works is set out in ECTS credit transfer. For an initial estimate, use the credit transfer check.

Next step

Unsure which subject carries your goal?

That is exactly what the initial consultation is for, and it costs you nothing but thirty minutes.

Lars Ritter Studienflüsterer

Hi, great to have you here. How can I help?

Free intro call