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Degree programmes: all subjects and how to choose a degree

Subject-specific requirements instead of general writing tips

What counts as a good thesis depends on your subject. A literature paper is measured by how densely it cites evidence, a physics paper by its error analysis, a nursing paper by its case analysis. This overview sorts degree programmes into seven subject groups, from languages and humanities to engineering and computer science, and adds a group of pages on choosing a degree. When you pick a degree, comparing subjects within one group usually helps more than a long list of every subject. A few terms are specific to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, so we explain them where they appear: the NC (numerus clausus) is an admission restriction based on grades, and the Staatsexamen is a state examination that replaces a bachelor or master degree in subjects such as law, medicine and teaching.

The subject groups at a glance

Languages and humanities

Work in these subjects lives from close engagement with texts. What is assessed is less whether you have the right result than whether your interpretation is backed by the material, so the demands on quotations, references and a clean separation of summary and your own argument are high.

  • German studies: literature, linguistics and teaching methods
  • English studies: literature, language and cultural studies
  • History: epochs, sources and methodology
  • Philosophy: logic, ethics and the history of ideas
  • Linguistics: language system, acquisition and analysis
  • Literary studies: text analysis and literary theory
  • Romance studies: French, Spanish and Italian
  • Cultural studies, ethnology and religious studies

Art, music and media

Creative and media-related subjects combine practice with theory. Alongside your own work there is almost always a written part that places it in context, and that text often decides the grade, because it shows whether a design is justified or merely pleasing.

  • Design: portfolio, concept and design theory
  • Product design: from idea to finished object
  • Journalism: research, formats and traineeship
  • Media studies: analysing media instead of producing them
  • Communication studies: empirical research on the public sphere
  • Musicology: analysis, history and entrance exams
  • Theatre studies: performance, dramaturgy and analysis

Social sciences and education

Theory and practice mix here. Almost every paper links a theoretical framework with your own observations, interviews or practice reports. The most common weak point is the transition between the two: theory and empirical work stand side by side instead of relating to each other.

  • Education studies and teacher training (including the state examination and traineeship)
  • Social work: case work and practice research
  • Psychology: admission restrictions, methods and the route to licensing
  • Sociology: theories and empirical studies
  • Political science: comparing systems and policy analysis
  • Sports science: aptitude test, training and movement science

Law, business and administration

Legal and economic subjects work with fixed schemes: the expert-opinion style in law, models and key figures in business. The typical mistake is structural rather than linguistic: a model is applied without saying why that one was chosen, or facts are told instead of examined.

  • Law: opinion style, state examination and specialisation
  • Business law and criminology
  • Business administration and economics
  • Finance and tax studies
  • Marketing and human resource management
  • Logistics and real estate
  • Tourism and health management
  • Business psychology and public management

Natural and life sciences

Science subjects write more tersely and more formally. The text often follows the strict order of introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion. Language problems show up mainly when tenses jump or when the results section already interprets what belongs in the discussion.

  • Biology, biochemistry and biotechnology
  • Neuroscience
  • Chemistry, physics and mathematics
  • Geography, earth sciences and environmental sciences
  • Agricultural and forest sciences
  • Nutrition science and food technology

Medicine and health

In medicine and health subjects, what counts is the individual case. Papers are short, strictly structured and almost always tied to guidelines or the state of the evidence. Free-form writing loses points: the expected answer is the established statement, not your own opinion.

  • Medicine: admission, waiting time and structure of the degree
  • Dentistry and molecular medicine
  • Pharmacy: state examination and licensing
  • Nursing and nursing science
  • Midwifery: a degree rather than a vocational training since 2020
  • Physiotherapy: training, degree and direct access

Engineering and computer science

Technical subjects work with models, standards and code. The text carries the reasoning: why this method, why this measurement, why this set-up. Other typical problems are inconsistent technical terms when two languages are mixed, and figures that prove nothing without a caption.

  • Computer science, media informatics and business informatics
  • Bioinformatics, data science and artificial intelligence
  • Robotics, mechanical engineering and mechatronics
  • Electrical and energy engineering
  • Process engineering and medical engineering
  • Civil engineering, architecture and environmental engineering
  • Industrial engineering

Choosing a degree and orientation

If your choice of subject is still open or you are thinking about switching, these topics help. They do not replace a study advisory service, but they give you criteria for comparing degrees sensibly.

  • Choosing a degree: from your interests to a suitable subject
  • The hardest degrees: where dropout rates and workload are highest
  • University rankings: what they say and what they do not
  • Orientation tests: which ones really help
  • Universities: the higher education landscape at a glance
  • Distance learning: studying without a fixed campus

When your topic falls between two subjects

More and more papers sit between two disciplines: a study on digital teaching belongs half to education and half to computer science, an analysis of health communication half to nursing and half to linguistics. It is still graded by one department, and that department expects its own conventions.

The practical rule is therefore: citation style and structure follow the subject you are enrolled in and that awards the grade. The second subject contributes literature and technical terms, not the form. Mixing both formats produces exactly the inconsistency that reviewers notice first.

For terminology, a short list in the margin is worth it: which term is used in which sense when both disciplines use the same word differently. Model, evaluation and intervention mean something different in computer science than in education. In editing, we mark exactly these double meanings instead of silently making them uniform.

What really differs between subjects when writing

The differences mostly concern three things. First, the culture of evidence: in the humanities almost every statement is referenced, while in technical subjects a reference to the standard or the library is often enough. Second, the citation style: footnote citation in the German tradition, APA and IEEE produce completely different pages, and mixed forms stand out immediately (see our overview of citation styles).

Third, the role of your own voice. In an interpretation your own reading is the goal, in a lab report it gets in the way. Students coming from school often carry an essay-like tone into a subject that expects sober reports, or the other way round.

For editing this means we do not correct against a general norm but against the convention of your subject. That is why stating your degree programme when you order is more than statistics: it decides who edits your text. Prices do not depend on the subject. We charge by standard page of 1,800 characters including spaces and by the service you choose.

How to cite this page

Updated: 8 September 2026

corrected.eu. (2026, September 8). Degree programmes: subject groups and choosing a degree. corrected.eu. https://corrected.eu/degree-programmes

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a subject page and a writing hub?

A subject page answers what to expect from the degree: content, entry requirements and structure. A writing hub answers how people write and cite in that subject. Writing hubs exist for subjects where we have enough subject-specific material.

My subject is not listed. What now?

First look at the nearest subject group: many subjects go under another name, for example education studies instead of pedagogy. If you cannot find it there either, see our study tips and the knowledge base. We edit every subject anyway, including those without a page of their own.

What is a subject group page for?

It shows all subjects of a group at once, what their papers have in common, what we look out for when editing and where the subjects lead professionally. If you are still undecided, you see several related subjects side by side instead of one at a time.

Will someone with subject knowledge work on my paper?

We assign by subject area. A legal paper goes to someone who knows the citation conventions, a statistical paper to someone who can handle SPSS output.

Do prices differ by subject?

No. We charge by standard page of 1,800 characters including spaces and by the service you choose, not by subject.

Do the subject guides also help with a term paper?

Yes. The conventions for structure, citation and technical language apply whatever the length of the text. Only the amount of literature work differs. See also term paper editing.

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