Since 2015, Germany has followed a welcoming policy for refugees and has made efforts to integrate them in German society through initiatives such as development programs. However, very few refugee students have actually managed to enter German Higher Education (HE) institutions. Using a qualitative methodology, the researcher interviewed Arab refugee students studying in pre-academic and academic degree programs in Germany, to obtain answers to the following two main questions: 1) What are the main challenges that refugee students have experienced on their path to Germany as a host country? 2) What are the challenges that refugee students faced in HE in Germany and how does the German HE system respond to their needs? The findings suggest that, despite Germany’s desire to open up access to HE for refugees, the implementation of the policies adopted often sets administrative and social challenges to refugee students along their pathways to German HE institutions. These challenges include rigid access policies and procedures, unwelcoming public discourse and feelings of alienation. Nevertheless, students positively valued the new window of opportunity and universally applicable procedures offered in Germany, although they had not quite provided adequate responses to the refugees’ needs. The paper concludes with implications for policy makers wishing to open pathways for refugees to HE in intercultural academic spaces where they can interact and integrate within the academic community in preparation for their full integration into their host society.

自 2015 年以来，德国对难民采取了欢迎政策，并努力通过发展计划等举措将他们融入德国社会。然而，很少有难民学生真正成功进入德国高等教育 (HE) 机构。研究人员使用定性方法采访了在德国学习预科和学位课程的阿拉伯难民学生，以获得以下两个主要问题的答案：1) 难民学生在前往德国的道路上遇到的主要挑战是什么作为东道国？2）难民学生在德国高等教育面临哪些挑战，德国高等教育体系如何满足他们的需求？调查结果表明，尽管德国希望为难民开放高等教育的渠道，所采取的政策的实施往往给难民学生在通往德国高等教育机构的道路上带来行政和社会挑战。这些挑战包括严格的访问政策和程序、不受欢迎的公共话语和疏离感。尽管如此，学生们积极评价德国提供的新机会窗口和普遍适用的程序，尽管他们没有对难民的需求做出充分的回应。本文最后对希望在跨文化学术空间中为难民开辟通往高等教育的途径的决策者产生影响，在那里他们可以在学术界互动和融入学术界，为他们完全融入东道国社会做准备。