University tuition no longer free for many non-EU citizens

Hello,

This has been done for many years in Belgium. And that's normal.

Thanks for your post. My fiance and I really want to study in Germany and eventually live there as well. The free tuition is certainly a part of it, and I didn't know about the growing trend of fees. It does make sense, however I pay more than that here (US) for just one class at a community college! So it hasn't changed our minds very much about studying/moving there. We still have a long way to go and a lot of German to learn. Hopefully one day we'll make it there!!

I need to add more details to what I wrote above.  I mentioned increasing fees but this should actually read tuition. All university programs involve some fees anyway. In the meantime, I learned that while some bachelor programs are still tuition free for non-EU citizens in public universities, ALL masters will have tuition. And private universities are often in the 10 to 20 thousand euro/year range. So why would one even consider a private university in Germany when the public ones are so much cheaper if not free? The overwhelming reason that foreigners would do this is because private institutions offer most of the programs taught in English.

One has more options, and likely cheaper ones, if they have the German skills to study here but one usually needs a C1 level which is very high. But especially for people who consider immigrating to Germany long term and getting a job after studying here, having strong German can be essential. I hear of foreigners that are bitter because they got a degree taught in English in Germany but then found no jobs in their field without the proper language skills. Germany does offer great opportunities for education but one really needs to know their long term intentions to find the fitting situation.

So how much would tuition be at a public university for a masters? Thanks for the info. I certainly plan on learning German and continue taking German classes until I am competent enough to go study there. I know it will be hard and take years, but it's better than a life time of debt.

tally943 wrote:

So how much would tuition be at a public university for a masters? Thanks for the info. I certainly plan on learning German and continue taking German classes until I am competent enough to go study there. I know it will be hard and take years, but it's better than a life time of debt.

Thats like asking how much does a car cost? It depends. Look at the site www.daad.de/en It gives all the needed information about studying in Germany and lists all programs and costs.

Wow, thanks much for that link! This is my degree..

https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studie … amp;page=1

Looks like some are free, some around $6,000! That's crazy!

Interesting that it shows Masters degrees that are free. I had information that Master's degrees for non-EU citizen always had tuition but maybe that is only true for certain subjects?!

Maybe... hopefully!

I would certainly say good German language skills are a must when studying in Germany. I began studying here in September with barely B1 level German and it has been a big struggle for me! All my lectures were in German including my Exams somehow I managed to pass everything but it was not easy. It´s very disheartening going to lectures and not understanding a word! Also in regards to study notes and lecture slides things get lost in translation.

Aisling12: A C1 German certificate is normally required to enter university here. How did you get in without?

Its because I do a dual degree where two years of my University are in Ireland and two years are in Germany. Therefore I didn´t need to pass a language assessment as I began my degree in Ireland. I began my second two years of college in Germany in September and it hasnt been easy! My german has definitely gotten much better though and I am happy I challenged myself!