Thousands of other Americans have made the same decision as Bliss in recent years. In an email to VOA, the Institute of International Education, a U.S.-based nonprofit group, says there were 3,069 Americans doing full degrees in Germany in the 2013-14 academic year, a jump of 50 percent from five years earlier. It attributed the data to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), an organization of higher education institutions in Germany.
Bliss says Americans who qualify for undergraduate programs in Germany typically can study in English for the first year. But he says those students are required to take intensive German language courses to prepare them for completing their studies in the local language.
“The language barrier is probably the biggest challenge,” said Bliss, who already had some German skills before moving to Germany. “But there is a tradeoff. You either pay a lot of money to study in English in the U.S., or you learn the language in Germany and [study for free].”
Bliss says he is considering a switch to studying design after failing to pass his latest physics exams. But he says he has no regrets about the move to Germany.
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