Germany's Duales Studium Explained: Combining a Company Apprenticeship with a Degree

What duales Studium means

Duales Studium (dual study) is a German higher education model that combines a Bachelor's degree with structured, paid work at a partner company. You are enrolled as a student and, at the same time, tied to the company through a training contract, so you study and work under one combined program instead of choosing between a degree and a job.

Universities of cooperative education, most prominently the Duale Hochschule Baden-Wurttemberg (DHBW), run dedicated dual study degrees, and many other universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) offer dual tracks alongside their standard programs. The Bundesinstitut fur Berufsbildung (BIBB) , Germany's federal vocational training institute, sets and tracks the national framework these programs follow.

The two main models

Ausbildungsintegrierend programs combine your Bachelor's with a full vocational apprenticeship (Ausbildung), so you finish with both a university degree and a recognized vocational qualification, such as industrial clerk or IT specialist. This model usually takes longer than a standard Bachelor's, since you complete two qualifications in parallel.

Praxisintegrierend programs skip the separate vocational certificate and instead build structured company placements directly into the degree timetable, without a formal Ausbildung qualification at the end. This model tracks closer to a standard Bachelor's length, since it does not add a second qualification on top.

How the schedule works

Most dual programs run on a block system: you spend a set period, often 8 to 12 weeks, at the university, then switch to the same length at the company, and repeat this cycle across the degree. Some programs use a week-based split instead, with set days at university and set days at the company every week.

Either way, the company plans your work assignments around the academic calendar, since it needs you back at the right times for lectures and exams. Check a program's exact rotation before you apply, since the pattern differs between providers.

Pay and your contract

The company pays you a training wage for the length of the program, not only during work blocks, since the contract treats the whole degree period as employment. The wage is set by the individual company and often rises each year of the program, similar to a standard Ausbildung pay scale.

Your company contract usually includes paid leave, statutory insurance contributions, and, in many cases, a job offer at graduation, since the company invests in training you around its own needs. Read the contract carefully for any minimum-service clause requiring you to stay with the company for a period after graduation.

Eligibility if you are not German

You need a recognized university entrance qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung), the same requirement that applies to any Bachelor's applicant in Germany, and your foreign school-leaving certificate needs assessment or a recognized equivalence. Since your work block happens inside a German company, you need strong German, generally at B2 level or higher, even for programs where lectures use some English material.

If you are not an EU or EEA citizen, you need a student visa that permits combined study and work, and the signed company contract is normally part of that visa application, since it proves both your enrolment and your income. Contact the company's HR department directly to confirm visa sponsorship before you apply, since not every company partner accepts non-EU applicants.

How to apply

Unlike a standard Bachelor's, you apply to the company first, not the university. Companies advertise dual-study vacancies the same way they advertise apprenticeships, often a year or more before the program start, and the selection process includes an application, aptitude tests, and interviews.

Once a company offers you a training contract, you use that contract to enrol at its partner university or Duale Hochschule. If you do not secure a company place, you cannot start the dual program, regardless of your school grades, since the company seat is the entry point.

Where to search for programs

Search dual-study vacancies through Hochschulkompass, the official German university and program database, and through individual company career pages. Filter by field, since dual programs exist in engineering, business administration, computer science, health, and social work, among others.

Apply to several companies at once, since competition for well-known dual-study employers runs high, and treat the company interview stage the way you would a graduate job interview, since companies pick trainees who fit their business, not only their course.