List of Tuition-Free Universities in Germany

Overview of Fees

• Until as recently as 2006, tuition fees were waived in all public universities. As of May 2010, tuition fees for full-time students range from nothing to 500 euros per semester. Registration fees of about 100 euros are separate from tuition fees and have to be paid every semester. Private universities do charge fees for tuition.

States That Do Not Charge Tuition

• At present, 10 federal states waive tuition for full time-students. Among these are the states that comprise eastern Germany: Mecklenburg-Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Thuringia, Saxony and all of Berlin. Many of these locations offer the additional advantage of affordable housing and a varied field of study. In western Germany, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse charge no tuition fees. Saarland is expected to abolish tuition fees as early as summer of 2010.

Tuition Free Universities, Spring 2010

• The following list applies to full-time students beginning a university education. The rising cost of education, along with budget problems, will likely necessitate additional states to implement tuition fees in the future.

  Berlin:

  Freie Universität Berlin

  Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

  Technische Universität Berlin

  Brandenburg:

  Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus

  Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

  Universität Potsdam

  Bremen:

  Universität Bremen

  Hesse:

  Technische Universität Darmstadt

  Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

  Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

  Universität Kassel

  Philipps-Universität Marburg

  Mecklenburg-Pomerania:

  Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald

  Universität Rostock

  Rhineland-Palatinate:

  Technische Universität Kaiserslautern

  Universität Koblenz-Landau Abt. Koblenz

  Universität Koblenz-Landau Abt. Landau

  Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

  Deutsche Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften Speyer

  Universität Trier

  Saxony:

  Technische Universität Chemnitz

  Technische Universität Dresden

  Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg

  Universität Leipzig

  Internationales Hochschulinstitut Zittau

  Saxony-Anhalt:

  Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

  Otto von Guericke-Universität Magdeburg

  Schleswig-Holstein:

  Universität Flensburg

  Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

  Universität zu Lübeck

  Thuringia:

  Universität Erfurt

  Technische Universität Ilmenau

  Friedrich-Schiller-Universität (FSU) Jena

  Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Exceptions

• A number of states impose tuition fees for those studying longer than the standard period of five to seven years, depending on the field of study. These states include Bremen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Lower Saxony. Some states implement tuition fees for post-graduate studies. In certain regions, the student's primary place of residence has to coincide with the location of the university in order to avoid tuition fees.