Program Overview

University Program Details

The university program in question is the Hochschulfernstudium, which bears a strong resemblance to the Direktstudium at the Juristische Hochschule des MfS (JHS). The primary objective of this program is to educate leading and mid-level cadres.

Program Overview

The Hochschulfernstudium is designed for students between the ages of 25 and 35, who are, on average, ten years older than the Direktstudium students. To be eligible, applicants must possess a general higher education entrance qualification and have a minimum of three to five years of political-operative service experience in the MfS, depending on the study regulations. Additionally, they should hold a position as a team leader or be part of a cadre reserve for such positions.

Program Structure

The program is conducted in the external offices of the JHS and takes place alongside the students' work in the MfS, with regular releases for teaching units and seminar days. This allows for a high degree of compatibility between further education and work performance. The program duration is four years, including the preparation of a diploma thesis, and comprises up to 954 teaching hours, which is significantly less than the Direktstudium with 2,616 hours.

Curriculum

The curriculum covers the following seven subject areas:

• Marxism-Leninism as the basis of the party's policy and the struggle of the MfS
• Fundamental questions of the realization of the right to prevention and combating of subversive attacks
• Fundamental questions of the leadership of political-operative work
• The political-operative securing of areas, territories, groups of people, and their leadership
• The development of operational processes and incident investigations
• Problems of the realization of international law and the Helsinki Final Act
• Pedagogical-psychological aspects of working with cadres

Graduation

Upon successful completion and defense of the diploma thesis within five weeks, the Hochschulfernstudium concludes with a law degree and the promotion to the rank of lieutenant.