The dual master's programme with Grenoble offers the opportunity to acquire two internationally recognized degrees in electrical engineering and information technology. The two elite universities KIT and Grenoble INP are among the leading institutions in research and teaching in Europe. They offer excellent study conditions in a scientifically interesting environment. The dual master's program enables our students to further their personal and professional development and gain a head start on the job market. In addition, the Franco-German exchange at university level is a cornerstone for European integration. The students on this program also make an active contribution to this.
The dual Master's program is designed in such a way that students from France and Germany have the opportunity to really study together. For the most part, participants are part of a joint group and thus learn from and with their fellow students from the neighboring country for the duration of the entire program.
Why take part?
- Language : Living and studying in French allows you to learn the language in a way that would hardly be possible on a purely academic basis
- Culture : France is our neighboring country and yet there are many differences to discover. The most prominent of these is certainly French cuisine and the famous "savoir vivre", but there are also many new experiences to be had in everyday life, at university and in your free time.
- Teaching: Both KIT and Grenoble INP Phelma are universities of excellence and offer outstanding teaching. In France, you can benefit from teaching in small groups and many laboratories.
- Personality development: A strong personality needs a variety of experiences. Living in a foreign culture, environment and language will help you to develop personally.
- Intercultural competence : This is a much sought-after skill in the job market and what better way to learn and demonstrate it than to live and study abroad for 1.5-2 years?
- Two degrees: Obviously, but not to be sneezed at; who can claim to have degrees from two European universities of excellence? And on top of that, the INP Phelma does not award a Master's degree but the much more prestigious "Diplôme d'Ingénieur".
- Career opportunities: Large and popular companies in particular look for international experience in applicants. With a double degree, you certainly have more to offer here than with a "normal Erasmus stay"
Procedure
KIT students can choose from two different versions of the double degree program. The typical version is variant D1.
VariantD1: This variant offers the great advantage that you start your studies at Grenoble INP Phelma at the same time as your French fellow students. The German students have studied at KIT for two years and the French students have already completed two years of classe préparatoire. This makes integration easier and participation in social events such as the "weekend intégration" or the "listes" election campaign is possible. On the other hand, there will be repetition of subject matter that you already know from KIT. However, this can also be an advantage and give you the opportunity to settle in and learn the language.
Variant D2: This variant has been optimized to offer you the greatest possible technical benefit. Repetitions of material already learned at KIT are avoided as far as possible by starting the second year of study at INP Phelma straight away. Although you will not have the advantage of arriving in Grenoble at the same time as your fellow students, you will be joining a new group of students and will therefore be able to integrate easily. After the first year of study, students at the INP choose their specialization, so that the class composition changes completely in the second year (your first year in variant D2). In this option, you do not go abroad until your Master's degree and only stay at the partner university for three semesters instead of four, but your required study time is automatically extended by one semester.
| Variant D1 | Variant D2 | |
| Duration Stay abroad | 4 semesters | 3 semesters |
| Start | 5th semester Bachelor | 1st semester Master |
| Application | 3rd semester Bachelor | 5th semester Bachelor |
| Advantages |
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Details for KIT students
Bachelor's degree course (D1 only)
The German participants spend the last year of their Bachelor's degree at INP Phelma in Grenoble. They therefore study at Phelma for the first year and arrive at Phelma at the same time as their French fellow students, who usually spend the first 2 years of their Bachelor's degree at other universities (classe préperatoire). The compulsory modules from semesters 5 and 6 of the KIT curriculum are omitted, as is the industrial internship. Instead, the same obligations apply for German students in semesters 5 and 6 (Tronc Commun) as for their French fellow students. There is no Bachelor's thesis in Grenoble! Upon request, a Bachelor's certificate is issued in Grenoble after completion of the 6th semester, which is used for enrollment in the Master's program at both universities.
Bachelor's thesis (D1 only)
The Bachelor's thesis is an important part of the Bachelor's program in Karlsruhe. It is worth 15 ECTS credits and is usually written in the last Bachelor's semester (B6). The independent work on an electrical engineering or information technology topic over several months is completed with the submission of the written thesis and an oral presentation. In B6, the German students are in Grenoble. As the French course does not include a Bachelor's thesis, this is an additional requirement for German students in B6. It is completed between the first and second year of study in France instead of the internship. This internship is compulsory for all students at Grenoble INP Phelma, but can be replaced by a Bachelor's thesis. This is completed during the semester break. The thesis can be written in German or English (French on request). A KIT Bachelor's certificate cannot be issued without a Bachelor's thesis. However, the program can be completed without a Bachelor's thesis, as the Bachelor's degree from Grenoble entitles the student to enter both Master's programs. Students are therefore free to forgo the Bachelor's thesis and thus "only" acquire the INP Bachelor's and two Master's degrees or, with a little extra effort, all 4 degrees.
Studying for a Master's degree (D1 and D2)
On entering the second year of study at INP Phelma and thus the Master's degree, a specialization (filière) must be chosen at Phelma. During semesters 7 and 8 (and 9 for D2), German students follow the compulsory study plan of the filière. All filières currently offered can be found on the Grenoble INP Phelma website.
For the 9th (10th for D2) semester, the KIT participants return to Karlsruhe and complete their studies there with further elective modules. At KIT, they are assigned to the International Study Model. The program concludes with a Master's thesis at KIT. This is supervised both at KIT and at Phelma. The thesis must be written in English and the final presentation must be given for both institutions.
Who advises?
The program representative for the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology is Professor Thomas Zwick from the IHE. Interested students should seek advice from him in advance in a personal meeting. To ensure that your studies run smoothly after your return from Grenoble, it is very useful to coordinate your personal study plan in advance, as the courses offered in Grenoble and Karlsruhe do not completely overlap. The guidelines for the implementation of the Karlsruhe-Grenoble Dual Master's program can be viewed at the program representative.
The KIT DeFI can also provide advice on all practical questions regarding the organization of your stay abroad in France. Information on studying abroad in general can also be obtained from the International Services Unit (INTL).
The Center for European Consumer Protection e.V. provides a guide to studying and living in France as a pdf or interactive version. Here you will find lots of information on living, insurance, formalities and much more. It is well worth a look.
The ADKG offers further information, contact with alumni of the program and local support.
Application and admission
Participants are selected at the end of January of the calendar year in which the students join the program (August/September). To date, five students from Karlsruhe can be admitted to the dual master's program in Grenoble each academic year. The complete application documents should therefore be received by the IHE by January 15 at the latest and include the following documents:
- Letter of motivation, also indicating the candidate's chosen version of the program
- Curriculum vitae in tabular formf
- Current transcript of records
The course in Grenoble is taught in French, and in addition to lectures and tutorials, students also take part in team projects. Sufficiently good knowledge of French is therefore essential and an important criterion for the selection of participants. Further criteria are the candidate's personal motivation and above-average grades in the examinations taken at KIT to date. The review of previous achievements is in the interest of all those involved: at the end of the program there are two degrees, and accordingly a targeted and successful course of study is expected. For this reason, the Dual Master's program cannot be compared with a normal semester abroad (Eramus or similar).
Financing
Participants in the Dual Master's program receive financial support from the Franco-German University (DFH) in two ways.
- Students receive a one-off grant for language preparation.
- For the duration of their stay at the French university, students receive a monthly mobility allowance of €300.
All students only pay tuition fees at their home university during the domestic and international phases, if applicable. Administrative fees for enrollment, as well as contributions to the student union and the "CVEC" remain unaffected by this rule.
Furthermore, it is possible for students in the double degree program to apply for ERASMUS+ funding.
Offers at KIT DeFI
All participants or future participants in a German-French study program can take full advantage of the services offered by KIT DeFI. The KIT DeFI provides advice, organizes targeted language courses for German and French students and will also offer interdisciplinary and intercultural seminars for students of all disciplines in the future. For more information on the services offered by KIT DeFI, please contact nadine.berends∂kit.edu.
Helpful links
General information
Program support in Karlsruhe: www.ihe.kit.edu/mitarbeiter_zwick.php
Program support in Grenoble: www.grenoble-inp.fr/fr/personnel/bona-anne-marie
Franco-German University: www.dfh-ufa.org
Association Double Diplôme Karlsruhe Grenoble: https: //adkg.eu/index_de
For German students
Website of the Phelma: phelma.grenoble-inp.fr
Website of the city of Grenoble: www.grenoble.fr
For French students
Faculty of Electrical Engineering: www.etit.kit.edu
International Affairs at KIT: www.intl.kit.edu/istudent/index.php
Website of the city of Karlsruhe: www.karlsruhe.de
Are you still undecided or do you have further questions? Then take a look at our FAQ or contact Professor Zwick directly. We have also prepared a list of the most important websites with information about our partners and Grenoble.