In 2014, 16 German states introduced an education system which provides free-of-cost education at undergraduate level to domestic as well as international students. Under this system, the students are liable to pay only a small amount as administration and other costs for one academic year. However, in 2017 one state namely Federal State of Baden-Wurttemberg reintroduced the tuition fee structure and charges tuition fees for all students who do not belong to European Union or European Economic Area.
It is important to note that Postgraduate students are still required to pay tuition fees.
Universities in Germany typically offer 4 different types of degrees:
Most German universities require basic knowledge of German if you are enrolled in a degree-program. German proficiency acts more like a prerequisite for securing admission to degree programs. A student can submit the proof of his/her German Proficiency by appearing for tests like TestDaF or DSH. It is important to note that, German proficiency is not required if a student wishes to enrol in an International program at a university in Germany.
The cost of living in Germany is slightly higher than the EU average. However, living cost in Germany is relatively cheap as compared to other major countries such as France. It is estimated that a student would need an amount equivalent to 850 Euros every month to fulfil the living expenses. The cost of rent utilizes the maximum proportion out of this amount.
The silver lining is that most German universities do not charge any tuition fees at the undergraduate level. However, the cost of living in a country like Germany is still a huge amount and may act as a challenge for people who cannot afford it. In order to solve this problem, the German Government funds a few International students through the DAAD scheme or the European Commission’s Erasmus + Scheme. In addition to that, German Universities and external funding bodies also offer funding opportunities to international students.
Fachhochschulen is called University of Applied Sciences in English. Some people also called it Hochschule or High School. German Hochschule focus on hands-on vocational training where students focus on learning skills that can be directly applied to specific employment roles and the economy. A university, on the other hand, provides traditional education wherein lots of theory is taught with little to no practical exposure aside of the internship. In a German Hochschule, a student shall not learn any subject if there is no likelihood that it shall be used in practise. However, in a University a student must learn subjects like maths and statistics even though all of them might never use it in real life.
Munich and Berlin are the best student cities in Germany and also world-renowned student cities. Both of these German cities ranked in the top 10 of the QS Best Student Cities rankings. Germany is home to some of the most popular cities universities in the world. A total of 45 German universities feature in the QS World University Rankings which means that students willing to study in Germany have a variety of options to choose from.
Whether a student needs a German student visa to study in Germany depends on the country of their origin.
Typically, the following documents are required to apply for admission in a German University:
