Hochschule

German

Etymology

From hoch (“high”) +‎ Schule (“school”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhoːxˌʃuːlə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Hoch‧schu‧le

Noun

Hochschule f (genitive Hochschule, plural Hochschulen)

1. college; university; graduate school; institute; academy (educational institution for advanced studies, usually academic, but also arts, etc.)

   Hyponyms: Universität, Fachhochschule

Usage notes

The difference between Hochschule and Universität is that a Universität is reserved for institutions that confer doctorates, whereas Hochschule is a broader term that includes those universities and colleges, which only confer lesser degrees and have no doctoral programs.

Note that Hochschule is a false friend and does not mean "high school". There is no equivalent to "high school" in Germany. Germany has a completely different school structure than that of the United States. German students attend Realschule from ages 10 to around age 16. After Realschule, they move on to either Gymnasium (comparable to a "college preparatory school") or move on to a Berufsschule ("vocational school").

Declension

Declension of Hochschule [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Hochschule	die	Hochschulen
genitive	einer	der	Hochschule	der	Hochschulen
dative	einer	der	Hochschule	den	Hochschulen
accusative	eine	die	Hochschule	die	Hochschulen

Derived terms

• Fachhochschule

Further reading

• “Hochschule” in Duden online
• “Hochschule” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache