In Germany, the 16 federal states operate and finance public universities. All public universities in Germany are heavily subsidized. The German Constitutional Court ruled in 2005 that the law prohibiting tuition fees is not constitutional. The subsequent introduction of a nominal tuition fee in several states was accompanied by large opposition from students and is still hotly debated.
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.
Tags: tuition fees, Technische Universit, public universities, federal states, field study