Study and research in Germany

Diploma awarded by the Goethe-Institut and the Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP)

• Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom (KDS)
• Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS)
• Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP)

Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom (KDS)

The Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom for foreigners is awarded by the Goethe-Institut on behalf of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

The examination assignments are jointly set by the Goethe-Institut Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich. Correction and grading are done centrally by the two institutions.

The content level of the examination topics corresponds to the knowledge of a generally educated newspaper reader. The situations and occasions contained in the examination sections may relate both to the use of German in a German-speaking country as well as to the use of German as a medium of communication or negotiation between speakers of various languages. Examinees neither need specialist nor historical knowledge in order to be able to understand the examination texts. However, they do need to be familiar with the European living environment.

The Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom can be taken by all candidates who speak German as a foreign language and have well advanced German language skills. The minimum age for sitting the test is 18. Persons whose mother tongue is German cannot sit the exam.

The examination is made up of one written and one oral section.

KDS examinations are held in 77 countries. The examination can be taken at universities and Goethe-Institut centres in Germany, at cultural institutes abroad as well as at some institutions in Germany and abroad which the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes has, in agreement with the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, selected as examination centres.

Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom (GDS)

The Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom for foreigners is awarded by the Goethe-Institut on behalf of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

The examination tasks are jointly set by the Goethe-Institut Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University Munich. Correction and grading are done centrally by the two institutions.

The content level of the examination topics corresponds to the knowledge of a generally educated newspaper reader. The situations and occasions in the examination sections may relate both to the use of German as a medium of communication or negotiation between speakers of various languages. Examinees neither need specialist nor historical knowledge in order to be able to understand the examination texts. However, they do need to be familiar with the European living environment.

The Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom can be taken by all candidates who speak German as a foreign language and have very well advanced German language skills. The minimum age for sitting the test is 18. Persons whose mother tongue is German cannot sit the exam.

The examination is made up of one written and one oral section.

The Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom is top of the range of available language qualifications and is the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes examination that calls for the highest standards of language proficiency and skills from examinees. The examination requires practically native speaker mastery of the German language in all fields of private, professional and public life.

Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP)

The Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung (ZOP) determines an examinee's differentiated general language skills in German and corresponds to the same level of difficulty as the Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom.

The ZOP examines the competent use of language across a broad range of topics and situations. ZOP examinees are expected to have an advanced level of substantial language skills, including an ability to use a full range of language nuances plus mastery of a wide repertoire of idiomatic expressions.

The Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung can be taken by all candidates who speak German as a foreign language and whose German language skills are very well advanced. The minimum age for the examination is 16. Persons whose mother tongue is German cannot sit the examination.

At the Goethe-Institut centres in Germany, the examination can, as a rule, only be taken after attendance of an advanced (Oberstufe) language course. The ZOP is made up of a written and an oral examination section.

ZOP examinations are held in Germany and abroad. They can be sat at Goethe-Institut centres in Germany, at cultural institutes abroad as well at institutions abroad which have been awarded the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes examination licence. These institutions use the quality seal "Prüfungszentren des Goethe-Instituts" (Goethe-Institut Examination Centres).

• Africa Sub-Sahara
• Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania
• Central and Eastern Europe
• Latin America
• North America
• Northern Africa and the Middle East
• Western Europe