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Institution Types

State/Public Uni

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Undergraduate Only

Junior College

Arts Schools

Business Schools

American Schools

Research Focused

Teaching Focused

Good to Know

Germany lies in the heart of Western Europe with excellent transport links to other European countries, giving you plenty of opportunity to travel whilst you study. It is also a global forerunner in technology and industry.

The biggest attraction for international students is that it is free to study at undergraduate level at public universities in Germany. You are also allowed to work in Germany whilst studying, however there are certain conditions which you must comply with.

Degree Length

Bachelor's degrees in Germany usually take 3 years to complete or 6 semesters.

Education Model

Germany's higher education institutions are internationally accredited.

There are different types of universities for different disciplines in Germany:
Technische Universitäten (Technical Schools) - specialise in technology, science, and engineering.
Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Science) - specialise in business, engineering, and social science.
Kunst-und Musikhochschulen (Universities of Art, Film and Music) - specialise in fine arts, performing arts, music, media and communication.

Higher education is structured by subject area and specialised tracks meaning students will benefit from having a clear career path.

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Application Process

Public university admissions are regulated by a numbered-based system that determines the number of places available on a programme. Admission is also based on your high school grades.

The documents which universities will request from you will vary, however they will ask for a selection from the following: application form, copy of high school diploma or equivalent, proof of language proficiency, CV, letter of motivation, letters of recommendation, and proof of identity.

Writing required depends on university, however you may be asked for one or both of the following:
CV - detailing your education, experience, skills, and achievements.
Letter of Motivation - why you are interested and suitable for the programme you are applying to.

There are two application deadlines which correspond to when your course is due to start.
For courses starting in Winter - 15th July deadline
For courses starting in Summer - 15th January deadline

You can either make your university application through Uni-Assist which is a centralised system managed by the German Academic Exchange Service, which helps you to put your application together, evaluate your certificates, and send your application to universities for you, or you can apply directly to universities yourself.

Application process

Grade Conversion

Research Resources

Global Scholarships

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Database

Global Scholarships is a database holding lots of scholarships which are available to students who would like to study at university. This is a global database so holds scholarship information for a wide range of different countries.

GoToUniversity

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Explore Options

This site is run by a company that supports university applications and whilst its university database is not exhaustive, within the application requirements tab on each university profile they have the average IB scores accepted and where available the application success rate.
They also have average living costs for the area, rankings overviews and some scholarship information.
Be aware that they list programs in all languages, not just English and the IB scores and success rate percentages are averages across the whole institution. However, they are a good indicator if the university does not publish more detailed information.

IEFA

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Finance

A global resource for students wanting to study internationally to find scholarships and grant opportunities

Costs

Public universities are free for all undergraduate students. There is only a small administration cost of 265 EUR per year you will need to pay. The only exception where you will be required to pay tuition fees as an international student is if you are looking at studying in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg.

If you would like to study at a private university, then you should expect to pay between 10,000-15,000 UER per year, however some universities can reach as high as 60,000 EUR.

Germany is generally an affordable place to live compared to other European countries. You will need to budget no more than 1000 EUR per month for accommodation and living costs.

Funding

If you are a domestic, EU student and certain international students, who can not meet the financial criteria for their chosen programme, the Federal Student Financial Aid Program is available in the form of a state-grant and interest-free loan.

As higher education in Germany is mostly free, scholarships are rare to come across. Begabtenförderungswerke is the main organisation which offers scholarships and is made up of a group of 13 scholarship providers. The main scholarship types are as follows:

DADD Scholarships - available for international students and researchers to study or conduct research in Germany.
Deutschlandstipendium - merit-based scholarships awarded to highly talented students enrolled in a degree program.
Erasmus+ Scholarships - available for EU students to study and conduct research abroad.
StipendiumPlus - provides financial support to talented students who face difficult social or personal circumstances.
Foundations and organisations - available on the basis of academic merit, financial need, or other criteria.

You can also find different scholarships available on Scholarship Portal, Studyportals Scholarship, and University Websites.

finance

Universities

Explore the university profiles for this country on the CareersExplore Platform.

Universities