For more information, click in the graphic.

Studying with family obligations

Currently, 6% of students in Germany have children (social survey by the DSW, 2016) and are confronted with challenges in their daily lives. Studying with family obligations can also mean caring for relatives, however. Both situations require flexibility and special requirements when organizing schedules. Here you can get an overview of various points of contact who can offer support in meeting the challenges of everyday student life.

Studying with family obligations

Interview with Anna Gall and Melanie Ilik, both B.Sc. Nutritional Management and Dietetics

How is it balancing your studies and pregnancy / a child?

Anna Gall/ Melanie Ilik: During pregnancy, especially at the beginning you can have difficulties because you’re so tired - it’s hard to stay concentrated and prepare well for exams. Taking all of the exams in one examination period wouldn’t have been possible for us or at least it would have meant our grades would have been worse. We use the possibility to put off exams so we can split up what we need to study.

Melanie Ilik: The child needs to have someone watching him or her so that you can attend lectures. In my case, the child’s grandmother helps out. Others who don’t have family to watch the child need a spot in a childcare center, otherwise it is not possible to regularly participate in the lectures.

Despite a lack of sleep, you have to pay attention during lectures, do all the follow-up work soon afterwards, and at the same time give the child the attention he or she needs. For me, it helps to start studying right after the lectures and not wait until just before the exams. We both have a husband who can help take care of the child, but our husbands both work, too. Depending on the situation, we have to set different priorities. Who stays at home when the child is sick? Is it an exam phase? Can the husband get off work for the child’s appointments (play groups, doctor’s appointments, etc.)?

Stay up-to-date with the lectures, make use of possibilities for making your program more flexible, organize childcare

Do you feel like you get good assistance from the University, and what support have you taken advantage of?

Anna Gall/Melanie Ilik: We feel like we get good assistance from the University of Hohenheim. We quickly got an appointment with the Central Student Counselling Service, and they were able to answer our questions. Our semester leave of absence was immediately approved by the Registrar’s Office. We just had to submit our family registration certificate (Familienmeldebescheinigung) and our maternity report (Mutterpass) or birth certificate with the application.

Use the University’s counselling services, request a semester leave of absence

Anna Gall: I didn’t get BAföG (German Federal Training Assistance Act) counselling. I was able to find the information I needed on the BAföG office’s website. It was also pretty easy to request a childcare spot using the University of Hohenheim’s website.

 
Encouragement for studying with children?

Anna Gall/Melanie Ilik: It’s no problem if you’re pregnant while studying or if you already have a child when you start studying. Really, it’s the most flexible time of your life. We recommend taking care of childcare before the child is born and being very disciplined in studying the lecture materials as you go. That way the material you have to study before the exams doesn’t pile up.

Take advantage of the University’s support offices as well as assistance from other institutions, e.g. the funds for basic supplies for students if you don’t have an income makes a lot of things easier.

Really, your time studying is the most flexible time of your life.

Around 2.9 million people in Germany are in need of care. Of these, almost 73% are cared for at home (Statista-Dossier Pflege in Deutschland, 2015). Students also care for relatives. If you take on caring for a relative in addition to your studies, you can request a semester leave of absence for that period.

You can find initial information about caring for a relative on the Federal Ministry of Health’s homepage.

Get support at an early point in time and get advice from the Central Student Counselling Service.

Studying with family obligations

Contact:

General organization of studies: Central Student Counselling Center

Subject content during your studies: Academic program advising (FSB)

Childcare services: Gender Equality Office

Information on financial support: German National Association for Student Affairs (DSW)

Semester leave of absence

Children under 10 can eat in Baden-Württemberg’s canteens for free since December 2010. You can get a Mensa Kid’s Card (Kinderkarte) at the InfoPoint in the Mensa