WDS trains bilingual or trilingual specialists in foreign language studies for foreign language professions - optionally with an additional profile in business/IT or in one of the specialist languages of the natural sciences or economics.
The Würzburger Dolmetscherschule (WDS) was established over 60 years ago and is a private, state-approved specialist academy and vocational school for translators and interpreters, International Administration Manager ESA and foreign language correspondents. It is affiliated to a service for foreign language and in-company trainings as well. With its wide range of programs, WDS sees itself today as a national center for modern languages, attracting students from all over Germany. WDS graduates are bilingual or trilingual foreign language specialists – with an optional additional specialization in business, IT or in the terminology of economics or natural sciences.
The double degree top-up Bachelor offers students the opportunity to obtain academic degrees at home and abroad within two semesters. This combination of practical training and a short course of studies is a genuine alternative to studies for a university or a dual system degree. WDS has collaborated with numerous universities over the course of many years. Contrary to science-based university studies, yet with comparable entry requirements, WDS has a clear focus on perfect fluency and professional practice. In terms of numbers, WDS, with its 250 students, is still nicely manageable and a very attractive alternative to state universities with their frequently impersonal environment. Contacts with teachers and fellow students are quickly established, and WDS, as a private school, is a most trusted name also with regard to technical innovation and personal commitment of its lecturers, who, for the most part, are native speakers.
Nearly 65% of the entire student body is comprised of high school or vocational school graduates with a passion for languages. Both the high school and the secondary school graduates keep achieving above-average grades in almost all final examinations – even compared to the high Bavarian standards of education. Success rates of the training are at 90% – due to a challenging, modern tuition and clear expectations of the linguistic aptitude of the participants.
The WDS history began in 1954, with an interpreters’ school for young talents from all over Germany. From 1964 on, it operated under its current official name “Würzburger Dolmetscherschule” which it kept when it was taken over in 1971, by ESO Education Group. In the course of the following decades, WDS developed into a “Competence Center” for foreign language professions in Lower Franconia and beyond. Under the management of Pierre Semidei, WDS received its state approval as a vocational school in 1973 and, in 1977, became a specialist academy for language professionals. WDS has strengthened its high reputation also by substantially contributing to the relevant curricula and by participating in the development of the Bavarian school system. At the same time, WDS has become an official examination center for the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Paris, London and Madrid.
Würzburg
