Germany: a tuiton-free country?

Almost all of Germany’s federal states have meanwhile abolished tuition fees for both domestic and international students. Tuition fees at German public universities have never been very substantial, commonly around 1,000 EUR per academic year. However, for some students from low-income countries this amount could still make a difference.

At the moment, there are only two federal states left which continue to charge general tuition fees: Lower Saxony (capital: Hanover) in the northwest and Bavaria (capital: Munich) in the south. Both states may soon join the rest of tuition-free Germany. The present conservative government of Bavaria is pondering to end the era of tuition fees, which would make some of Germany’s most prestigious universities even more affordable than they are now. In Lower Saxony, the upcoming elections may topple the present state government; the opposition parties have promised to abolish general tuition fees.

Thus, soon Germany may be one of very few countries in the world that offer free university education to all students. It won’t be completely free, though. All universities charge an enrollment fee that ranges from 50 to 250 EUR per semester and often includes free local public transport. Apart from this rather marginal fee, some universities continue to introduce partly self-financed English-taught graduate programmes which commonly charge tuition fees of several thousand euros per year.

Chris

germanstudycentre@gmail.com