Ever since the Bologna declaration was signed in 1999, there have been huge discussions about the Bachelor's degree that it introduced to the German university system. While many courses of study handle the new degree reasonably well, particularly technical universities seem to struggle with it. Taking the RWTH Aachen as an example - why is it that Bologna hasn't yet produced the happy and successful students it promised to?

The main reason is without a doubt the "schoolification" of academic study that the Bachelor's degree brought along. In contrast to the Diplom it looks to replace, it leaves students with hardly a choice of subject - and consequently with tight schedules, would-be holidays packed with exams and barely time to sit back and rest. Spoon-fed with prepared and unalterable timetables, students have no option but to comply. As a result, lectures with compulsory attendance prevent them from attending courses in their field of interest, which are important to educate themselves in a self-motivated manner.

Politicians call that international consistency. While the opportunities of a globally comparable degree are by no means bad, the current way to achieve that goal is. Cramming the Magister with a standard duration of four years into the three-year-long Bachelor inevitably leads to work overload, frustration and, ironically, having no time for a semester abroad. It's very naive to think a simple rebranding is enough to adapt to the new requirements - many faculties at the RWTH didn't even update their lecture notes. Assuming that other international universities handle the change in the same way, the term 'international consistency' is rather whitewashing the truth.

In the end, the new degree is still in its early stages so it's best to wait and see while being very critical of the recent developments. One also has to keep in mind that there are more aspects to it than previously mentioned, most of which are depending on the individual field of study.