In joining the Auswärtiges Amt (German Foreign Office), Moltke joined one of the most exclusive and prestigious branches of the German state. In the Imperial era, joining the Auswärtiges Amt required a candidate to have a university degree, preferably in jurisprudence; to be fluent in French and one other foreign language; and to have an income of 15,000 marks per year, which ensured that only men from very wealthy families could work as diplomats. The average cost of obtaining a university degree in Imperial Germany over the course of four years of study ranged from about 9,000 marks to 25,000 marks, depending on the university, which ensured that only people from very well-off families attended university.
