Study Master Degree Tuition Free in Germany

It’s been a while since I shared on studying abroad. For this edition, I will look at the opportunities that Germany has to offer. And I can tell you now, Germany has a lot to offer both during your studies and after you graduate from your degree. Let’s start off with a little introduction to Germany.

About Germany

Germany is located at the heart of Europe, bordering on nine other countries. Clockwise from the North, those are:?Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic,?Austria,?Switzerland,?France, Luxemburg,?Belgium,?Netherlands. That makes Germany an ideal destination if you’re eager to explore other parts of Europe, as well. Within Europe, both train and bus connections are also a viable option due to Germany’s central location and thanks to dense networks of rails and highways. Within Germany’s cities, you can expect a high standard of public transportation. Most large cities have a subway system, and extensive bus and streetcar (tram) line networks are the norm. I traveled through Germany in November 2023 and from the couple hours I spent in Frankfurt, it is a very beautiful place. The public transport system is the best, except when there is a slow storm, but that’s given if there is bad weather, everything is disrupted. Let’s now go deeper into why studying in Germany is so great.

About studying in Germany

Studying in Germany will certainly be life changing. German universities have an outstanding reputation throughout the world. They follow the Bologna Process just as Poland, Austria, Romania and Slovakia. The Academic Year is comprised of two semesters; Winter Semester (October to March) and Summer Semester (April to September). So, the best time to apply for admission into a university would be between April and May for the Winter Semester.

Germany is similar to Austria in that there are many universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschule) that offer up to master’s degree in the areas of business and STEM. These types of universities offers a more practical curriculum that tailors to the demands of professional life. Then there are the regular universities, which offer a broad range of degrees in many areas of study. However, they curriculum are more research driven in nature and will most likely offer PhDs as their highest degree offering.

Germany is best for international students who already has their bachelor degree and looking to pursue further education. Majority of the public universities in Germany use English as their language of instruction. Based on the DAAD website, there are around 100 bachelor degrees and over 800 master degree options that are being taught at public universities in English. Here is the database you can search to find the universities and degrees that are offered in English: https://www2.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/international-programmes/en/

Tuition Cost in Germany

Majority of universities in Germany are public and are funded by either the German government, the Lutheran church or the Catholic church, so there is no tuition. There are also over 120 private universities, however, they are very costly. Stick to the public universities. Public universities such as RWTH Aachen University, Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin and the Universitat Hamburg are globally ranked in the top 200. Not all public universities in Germany has free tuition. Public universities in the cities of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Tubingen, Hohenheim and Konstanz in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg charge between 1,000-3,000 Euros per year for tuition.

There are other fees besides tuition fees when you study. In Germany, I would use the American term, the ‘miscellaneous fees’ are the other fees that all students need to pay. Miscellaneous fees or expenses in Germany comprise of Enrolment fee, Social Contribution Fee, Student Union Fee, and Semester Ticket – for public transportation, which normally totals between 300-500 Euros per semester compared to the 4,000-7,000 USD a year that a university in the US would charge.? Very affordable if you coming from the Caribbean. In the US, miscellaneous fees tend to be anything the university feel they want to charge you for, for example; ‘wellness fee’, and ‘dental fee’, which to me do not make sense, because when you get sick, you will still need to go to the hospital and pay the hospital bills or doctor fees. Germany has universal healthcare, so healthcare or going to the hospital is heavily subsidized and in most cases free. Since I mentioned Germany’s healthcare system, lets now look at the cost of living.

Cost of Living in Germany

Germany has a very efficient public transportation system (trams and buses), so you can rent an apartment on the outskirts which is 45 mins away from city center. As it relates to living cost, the average international student needs between 1,000-2,500 Euros per month in order to live comfortably. This cost includes; renting an apartment (400-700 euros monthly), groceries (depending on your preference between local or imported brands), internet & mobile data plans, and leisure expenses.

From research, it is found that cities in the North have the lowest cost of living at around 1,000 Euros a month, and as you go South, your monthly living expenses can be more than 2,000 euros month. Please bear in mind that Northern Germany is colder than Southern Germany, hence the reason why people majority of the German population tends to be South of Frankfurt.

As of 2024, the cities with the lowest cost of living are; Halle, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Hamburg, Bremen Dresden, Kiel, Rostock, Kaiserslautern, Duisburg, Hanover, Munster, Erfurt and Bielefeld. Here are some public universities that are located in cities that have very low cost of living: Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, University of Leipzig, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, University of Erfurt, Erfurt University of Applied Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden University of Applied Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, Ruhr University Bochum, Technical University of Dortmund, University of Kiel, Kiel University of Applied Sciences, Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences, University of Passau, University of Rostock, and Technical University of Chemnitz

Scholarship Opportunities

Since tuition is free, one may assume that there are no scholarships available to cover living expenses. That is not true, because international students can apply for scholarships from numerous organizations, such as the DAAD, politically-affiliated foundations, religious institutions and business-related organizations. Scholarships such as Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Ernst-Ludwig-Ehrlich Studienwerk, Heinrich B?ll Stiftung, Evangelischen Studienwerk e.V. Villigst, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the list goes on, international students can apply to. You can find more scholarships at: www.daad.de or some universities when you get accepted can assist you with accessing funding to cover your living expenses.

Visa Process

Generally, all foreigners must apply for a visa at the responsible German diplomatic mission in their home country before travelling to Germany. Do not enter the country as a tourist, because there is no visa conversion process as in Asia. So, apply for a student visa once you get all the Notice of Admission from the university with all other corresponding documents.

For the Eastern Caribbean islands, the German Embassy is in Trinidad & Tobago. Here is the address:

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

19 St. Clair Avenue, St. Clair, Port-of-Spain

Trinidad, W.I.

Website: https://port-of-spain.diplo.de/

Once you get your student visa, it is valid for 3 months. As soon as you arrive in Germany, you must apply for a residence permit at the city’s Alien Registration Office. It is highly recommended to arrive in Germany a month (Early September) before you start to study. This will allow time to process other documents needed for the application of the residence permit.

Post-Study Opportunities

Currently, the fastest growing industries in Germany are Information Technology, manufacturing, transport, chemical, engineering, medical, service industry, energy and the environment. So, if you do your master’s degree in any of these fields, you will most likely get a job when you graduate.

Germany is a large economy with countless opportunities for foreign graduates. Germany’s economy is not centered around one or two specific locations. Industrial hubs are scattered across the country: Hamburg is home to trade and media companies; Munich and Stuttgart are strong in automotive and manufacturing; Frankfurt is the leading financial capital and Berlin is considered the Startup Capital of Europe.?

However, it is one of the European countries that are experiencing a major population decline. So, the government is really banking on highly skilled foreign professionals who have studied in Germany and wants to call Germany home to fill that gap. The Federal Government of Germany has created many classifications of work visas that will make it easy for international students who studied in Germany to remain and build a life there.

Students from non-EU countries who graduate with a German degree in a field that is in demand can extend their residence permit for up to 18 months to find work relating to their studies. The 18 months begin as soon as you receive your final exam results, so you should start looking for employment during your final semester. In these 18 months, you can work as much as you like and take up any kind of employment to support yourself. But in order for you to get a work permit after those 18 months, you will need to get a job that is related to your field of study in Germany.

As soon as you’ve found a job that is within your field of study, you can apply for a German residence permit. Then after 5 years, you will be qualified to apply for Permanent Residency in Germany, which would allow you to work in other EU member states.