Best Cities in Germany for Studying

You are choosing a city for a degree in Germany. Three things matter more than the salary rankings written for people who already have a job: whether that university is strong in your field, what student life in the city is like, and what a student room costs there. This page is that shortlist.

If only one programme is strong in your subject, that city is the answer. If several universities teach it, compare the atmosphere and the rent for a dorm or a shared room, not the average salary of someone with a job. A dorm, a room in a shared flat, and a private studio are different prices, so check those for the city before you accept. If you are from outside the EU, compare tuition as well, because some of these cities charge it and others do not, and that gap can be larger than the rent gap. A famous name in a place where students cannot find a room is a weak choice. If you already have a diploma and you are choosing a city for work instead, that comparison is in Best Cities in Germany if You Already Have a Degree.

Start with the programme

If the subject is narrow, a specific lab, a German-taught exam track, or a small master’s, the programme decides the city. For popular fields taught in several places, the city is a real variable, because the degree and the first years of adult life happen in the same place.

Germany’s usual research-university shortlist clusters in a handful of cities: Munich (Technical University of Munich and LMU), Berlin (Free University, Humboldt, and TU Berlin), Heidelberg, Aachen (RWTH), Karlsruhe (KIT), Bonn, Tübingen, and Dresden (TU Dresden). If the path is finance or a corporate internship, Frankfurt (Goethe University) and Mannheim matter more.

This list is research universities. A large share of engineering, business, and applied tech graduates train instead at a university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule), often in a smaller city that never shows up on a prestige ranking. Those degrees are real bachelors and masters, with more time in practice and usually a compulsory work semester. If that is the course you want, choose the programme and the placement, because a famous city will send you to the wrong list.

The table below matches common study goals to the research-university shortlist.

A ranking of “student cities” is not a funding plan. Check dorm waiting lists and shared-flat groups for that city before you accept the place. Enrollment and visa pitfalls are in International Students in Germany: Pitfalls and How to Stay.

Rent, fees, and daily language

Shared flats are the normal first home. On the cheaper end of this shortlist are Leipzig and Dresden. In the middle are Aachen, Karlsruhe, and Bonn. Heidelberg is one of the expensive rental markets in Germany, the town is small, and a shared room there can cost as much as in Berlin. Tübingen looks like a quiet campus town, and ordinary rents there are still among the highest in the country. A shared student room in Tübingen can come out closer to Dresden than to Heidelberg, so check the room itself and do not treat the town as a bargain. At the expensive end is Munich. Berlin has shared flats and a long hunt, and it is not a cheap famous city. Dorms are full in the cheaper cities too, so a lower rent does not mean a room is waiting.

Public universities in most German states still charge no tuition. Baden-Württemberg does not follow that for students from outside the EU: Heidelberg, Tübingen, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim charge €1,500 a semester. At the Technical University of Munich, students from outside the EU who are starting a degree now usually pay €2,000 to €3,000 a semester for a bachelor’s and €4,000 to €6,000 for a master’s. State exam courses, including medicine, are exempt there. LMU Munich still charges no tuition, so the two Munich universities are different bills. Everyone also pays a semester fee, usually €150 to €450, which often includes local and regional transit. That fee is too similar from city to city to change the choice. The living-cost deposit for a student visa is a national sum, €11,904 for the year, and a cheaper room does not reduce it. The fee rules are in University Life in Germany: Housing, Lectures, and Making Friends. The deposit is in Student Visa for Germany: Blocked Account and Work Limits.

An English-taught master’s does not make the city English. Heidelberg and Tübingen are dense university towns, and a lot of student life there happens in English. Shops, landlords, and the citizens’ office are in German in those towns, and they are in German in Berlin and Munich as well. Berlin and Munich offer more English in some services, which helps the first weeks and still leaves the office in German. Learning German in Germany is the plan for that part of the city.

The job during the degree, and the job after

A part-time student job is local. You take what is near campus, and a thin market in your field makes those shifts harder to find. The first full-time job after graduation is often in another city. German employers hire nationwide, and graduates from Aachen or Karlsruhe regularly start in Munich, Stuttgart, or the Frankfurt region. Where those industries sit, and what the salaries look like once you are paying full rent, is in Best Cities in Germany if You Already Have a Degree. The housing search itself is in Finding an Apartment in Germany.

Common questions

Which German cities are best for students?

It depends on the subject. For engineering and computer science, the usual cluster is Munich, Aachen, Karlsruhe, Berlin, and Dresden. For medicine and life sciences, it is Heidelberg, Munich, and Tübingen. For politics and the humanities, it is Berlin, Heidelberg, and Munich. If the programme is unique, take that city even if it is not on this list.

Which German cities are cheaper for students?

On the cheaper end of this shortlist for a room are Leipzig and Dresden. In the middle are Aachen, Karlsruhe, and Bonn. Heidelberg is expensive, and a shared room there can cost as much as in Berlin. Tübingen’s ordinary rents are among the highest in Germany, even when a student room costs less than in Heidelberg. At the expensive end is Munich. A cheaper city can still have a full dorm queue, and the visa deposit for living costs does not get smaller because the room does.

Do international students pay tuition at German public universities?

In most states, no. Baden-Württemberg charges students from outside the EU €1,500 a semester at public universities, including Heidelberg, Tübingen, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim. The Technical University of Munich usually charges those students €2,000 to €3,000 a semester for a bachelor’s and €4,000 to €6,000 for a master’s. State exam courses, including medicine, are exempt there, and LMU Munich does not charge tuition. The semester fee, usually €150 to €450, is separate, and almost everyone pays it. Even the higher German public bills are still a fraction of what a similar degree often costs in the United States or other high-tuition systems.

Do I need to speak German to study in Germany?

You can start an English-taught degree without German. Campus and student life often have enough English, especially in Heidelberg, Tübingen, Berlin, and Munich. Daily life is different: shops, landlords, the citizens’ office, and many part-time jobs run in German in every city on this list. Berlin and Munich make the first weeks easier in some services, and they do not remove that need.

Which German city is best for engineering students?

For engineering, the usual shortlist is Munich, Aachen, Karlsruhe, Berlin, and Dresden, because the technical universities there are strong in those fields. A campus next to industry helps with a student job, while the first full-time role is often in another city, so pick the lab or the programme first if your subject is narrow, then check the room and, if you are from outside the EU, the tuition.

Useful links

• Study in Germany: university search
• DAAD scholarship database
• Numbeo cost of living