Fachoberschulreife - What is the English translation? English translators help English translators with the translation of Fachoberschulreife

Conges terminology question

257 months ago

Christine (a guest user) asked this question:

Language pair:	German > English
Subject:	Other
Level of diffculty:	Easy / medium
Word or term in question:	Fachoberschulreife
Context:	Zeugnis wurde im Hinblick auf
Keywords:	reife erteilt

The answer of Silver Fern Translations was rated best

A secondary school examination / qualification entitling the holder to attend a German "Fachochschule". See comments below.

My comment:

This examination is set at a slightly lower level than the German "Abitur" and does not qualify the holder to attend a German university. Instead, as stated above, the holder may attend a "Fachhochschule".
The German "Fachhochschule" is usually translated in Germany as a "university of applied sciences", a sort of equivalent to an English polytechnic college, (I prefer the latter translation, as in my view the Fachhochschule is NOT a university, but that's a purely personal opinion). The important point about the Fachhochschule is that, apart from its more practical approach, it is NOT a German "Universität", or a university in the classical sense, which, in Germany, is more theoretical in its approach. Graduates of a "Fachhochschule" are required by law to write (FH) in brackets when referring to their Fachchochschule qualification in writing, e.g. "Dipl. Ing. (FH), for a degree in Engineering.