International Student’s Guide to Scholarships in Germany

Germany has become a popular destination for foreign students looking for an international education.  Why Germany?  Germany offers internationally recognized programs at a relatively cheaper cost compared to UK, USA or Australia plus the fact that most undergraduate programs in Germany are still tuition free. Moreover, there are a significant number of available scholarships that allows foreign students to study in Germany for free.

Tuition Free Colleges and Universities in Germany

Before 2006/2007, Germany has been one of the European Countries with tuition free programs. Since then, German universities are now allowed to charge tuition fees for undergraduate study programmes. Currently,  only four out of 16 Federal states charge tuition fees of up to 500 Euros per semester. These states are Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hamburg, and Lower Saxony.  All other federal states do not charge tuition fees and only request a certain amount of money as a semester contribution (about 50 euros).

In most cases, you need to pay tuition fee for Master’s programmes. The fees vary between 650 Euros and several thousand Euros per Semester.  As outlined below, there are a good number of scholarships that can fund Master’s Programmes in Germany.

Detailed information on tuition fees in different federal states in Germany can be found at this page.

DAAD Scholarship Programs

DAAD is a joint organisation of Germany’s higher education institutions and is responsible for promoting international academic relations, primarily through the exchange of students, academics and researchers.  The DAAD scholarship database contains scholarship and funding opportunities for foreign students, graduate students and scientists  who are seeking financial support for their studies, research work or teaching assignments in Germany. The database not only lists all the scholarships offered by the DAAD, but also diverse programmes offered by a wide variety of institutions.

The most popular DAAD scholarship program for developing country students is the DAAD Scholarships for Postgraduate Courses with Special Relevance to Developing Countries.

German Foundations’ Scholarship Programs

A number of political and religious foundations in Germany  offers scholarships to international students from various backgrounds, interests, and qualifications.  studentwerk-berlin.de outlines them in this list.

Heinrich Boll Foundation Scholarships is an example of a scholarship offered by a German political foundation while KAAD Scholarships is an example of a scholarship offered by a religious foundation in Germany.

Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Programs in Germany

German Universities participate in quite a number of study programs which are funded by Erasmus Mundus Scholarships.  The scholarships allow international students to pursue a participating Erasmus Mundus study program for free.

Find the complete list of Erasmus Mundus Master Courses and PhD Courses. In these lists you will find Erasmus Mundus funded courses that are conducted in Germany.