Academic term
In most countries, the academic year begins in late summer or early autumn and ends during the following spring or summer. In Northern Hemisphere countries, this means that the academic year lasts from August, September, or October to May, June, or July. In Southern Hemisphere countries, the academic year aligns with the calendar year, lasting from February or March to November or December. The summer may or may not be part of the term system.
Diplom
The duration of the "Diplom" degree programmes differed depending on subject and university. An official average duration ("Regelstudienzeit") was set by law in each German state, usually being four years for a "Diplom (FH)" and 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)". In exceptional cases, universities were allowed to set longer average durations for certain subjects (HGRP1995 § 26 (3), NHG2007 § 6 (3), HmbHG2001 §53 (3)). However, due to the curriculum set by most universities in Germany, the 4, 4.5 or 5 years for a "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)" were often exceeded.
Although being a first degree, because of its actual duration, the "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)" was and is in Germany not considered as an equivalent to a bachelor's but rather to a master's degree, as also expressed by the equivalent ECTS credits for the "Diplom / Diplom (Univ.)".