Sparrows: Charité's Midwifery Education Suffers Particularly Harsh Impacts - Midwifery Training Program at Charité: Financial Aid Opportunities Provided
Berlin, Germany - Charité University Medicine, one of the city's most prestigious educational institutions, is facing a potential reduction in study place capacities across several courses due to planned cuts in subsidies by the Berlin Senate.
Significant progress has been made on the way to a possible adjustment of the university agreements, as confirmed by unnamed sources. However, the draft agreement does not explicitly detail the current status of negotiations concerning the affected fields of midwifery science and dentistry.
The university agreements, which regulate the financial allocations of the state and are intended to provide planning security, were initially signed at the beginning of 2024. However, due to budgetary pressure, the House of Representatives decided at the end of 2024 not to provide the promised funds.
The Senate Department for Science has declined to confirm that the negotiations are completed, referring to them as ongoing. Senator Ina Czyborra (SPD) has also declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.
Charité would have to reduce its study places as follows: Applied Midwifery Science by 50 percent, Dentistry by 25 percent, Health Sciences by 19 percent, and Medicine by ten percent. A total of 688 study places are planned for the winter semester 2024/25, and 370 for the summer semester 2025 - exclusively in Medicine and Dentistry.
The Berlin Senate, a coalition of CDU and SPD, has suspended higher education contracts for 2024–28, leading to massive cuts in funding for Berlin universities. This has indirectly affected study place capacities across various fields, including midwifery science and dentistry.
Other related issues impacting educational institutions in Berlin include ongoing protests and discussions about potential legal actions against the Senate due to the funding cuts, as well as the union Verdi's negotiation outcome for Charité Facility Management workers, which does not address the reintegration of CFM workers into Charité.
Julia von Blumenthal, chairwoman of the LKRP and president of the Humboldt University, stated that "behind us lie challenging and intensive negotiations." The Conference of Presidents of the Berlin Universities (LKRP) and the Berlin Senate have agreed on a draft for the possible future financing of the universities, but the details of the draft agreement regarding the financing of the universities have not been disclosed.
The submission of the amendment agreement to the Senate is planned for August, and it is unclear if the planned cuts in subsidies for Charité University Medicine will be addressed in the draft agreement. It is advisable to consult specific announcements or updates from the Charité or Berlin Senate for more specific information on the negotiations directly impacting midwifery science and dentistry.
On average, around 1960 students started at Charité annually in the past three years, including those pursuing doctorates and participants in continuing education courses. The university has not yet released a statement regarding the potential impact of the funding cuts on student enrolment.
[1] Verdi-Negotiations bei Charité-CFM: Keine Rückkehr der Beschäftigten in den Auftrag,
[2] Berliner Senat beendet Studienverträge für die Jahre 2024–2028,
- The draft agreement for the future financing of Berlin universities, which includes Charité University Medicine and its fields such as midwifery science and dentistry, has not yet been made publicly available, leaving the specific details on potential adjustments in these areas uncertain.
- The planned cuts in subsidies granted by the Berlin Senate might significantly affect employability, as Charité University Medicine is considering reducing its study places for courses including midwifery science and dentistry by 50% and 25% respectively, impacting employment opportunities in the science, health-and-wellness, education-and-self-development, and finance domains.
