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Americans can study in Germany for free, in English

CoolOff

Member
Baffles me that this is still a surprise to people on GAF.

Every thread concerning university tuition in the US, there is someone talking about how university is free in many EU countries.

If you're interested in this, check out Scandinavia, Austria, and other central and southern EU states.

Sweden changed their rules for non EU citizens back in 2012 or something, so now they have to pay.
 

Fritz

Member
Bonus: some fantastic cities

Heidelberg
Heidelberg1.jpg

Munich

Berlin
 
h2ZpXdW.jpg


Seriously cool, how have I never heard of this?!
Looks like it.

I want to go back and study a STEM subject or International Relations and get a first (I did IT at uni, went to a shit uni and barely passed).

If I can do it for free and at a country where degree is as prestigious as UK? It's a no brainer.
 

Meh3D

Member
Hmm. I'm graduating with a MS in Computer Science this semester. I wonder if there is a second masters I could pursue or a Doctorate in Computer Science...

I wish I could take part in this..
 

nOoblet16

Member
Baffles me that this is still a surprise to people on GAF.

Every thread concerning university tuition in the US, there is someone talking about how university is free in many EU countries.

If you're interested in this, check out Scandinavia, Austria, and other central and southern EU states.

The difference between Germany and others is that Germany provides free education even to non European nationals, and regardless of their country of origin.
 

Syncytia

Member
Hm looks like only one graduate option for what I really want to do. I guess having two bachelors is beneficial in that I could apply for something microbiology related instead? But I've more or less decided I don't want to hard micro research. Hmm.
 

nOoblet16

Member
Hmm. I'm graduating with a MS in Computer Science this semester. I wonder if there is a second masters I could pursue or a Doctorate in Computer Science...

I wish I could take part in this..

You can look for Doctrate.
If you are interested in Signal Processing they do have available positions in TU Berlin
 

scamander

Banned
I studied from 2009 till 2013 here and had to pay for it.. :(

right before I started they introduced semester fees and not long after I finished, they canceled them again. xD

Tuition fees were state based and in 2009 there were already several states that cancelled them again or never introduced them in the first place, like Hesse or Berlin. So, you could have studied for free. :p
 

Jacobi

Banned
Hows housing costs for students over there? Thats the biggest hurdle I see in this

With the tuition you save it's not a hurdle at all.

Student acommodations (small rooms, shared bathrooms) cost 170-230€.
Rooms in shared appartments go from 300-450€.
 
I was considering either Sweden or the UK for my graduate studies (as a EU citizen) in a few years time, but I never thought about Germany. I'd be happy if I could get a biomedical or bioinformatics degree from a globally recognized university to help my future job prospects. I would love to further my education in the States (where I'm currently working) since the job prospects are not as dismal here. It's hard to figure out how to go about things.
 
Come for the free education, stay because of President Trump.

I will put this in the op :D

Baffles me that this is still a surprise to people on GAF.

Every thread concerning university tuition in the US, there is someone talking about how university is free in many EU countries.

If you're interested in this, check out Scandinavia, Austria, and other central and southern EU states.

I welcome any info on studying in those places. I'll put it in the op too.

I studied from 2009 till 2013 here and had to pay for it.. :(

right before I started they introduced semester fees and not long after I finished, they canceled them again. xD
I'm kind of in the same boat ^^
But yo, it was just 500 euros per semester. You'll pay like 3000 dollars per trimester (3 undergrad courses) at a random Cal State. It's insane in US.

I don't think I'd want to spend 2-4 years studying in a country where I don't speak the native language (even if the courses are in English).

I did a few months at a school in Paris and it feels kinda alienating and weird. It certainly gave me a lot of respect though for all the barely-fluent people who come to America for college.
This if of course true and should also be considered. Of course your example is sort of extreme (France, Paris ^^), but at the very least most old people will struggle to understand you in Germany. That's for sure.

Hows housing costs for students over there? Thats the biggest hurdle I see in this
If you're foreigner you should get preferential treatment when it comes to dorms. Dorms are cheap as fuck at some 200-300 euros / month with everything (even internet) included. Renting, however, will cost more & require more effort and if you're unemployed or don't work much you'll need someone properly employed to co-sign for you (in case you forfeit rent). However this depends on the landlord. Also you're free to flat / house share: http://www.wg-gesucht.de/en/

How much would it cost in USD? Would the Pell Grant apply (FAFSA)?
As far as tuition free programs go, you can calculate with ~ 250 - 300 euros per semester (so called semester fee) which will net you free public transportation in the city (or the whole state, depending on the uni), check out the links in the op. Also I have no idea what a Pell Grant is ;(

Would totally do this if I wasn't old AF:/ 33

Who cares though? It's never too late to pursue your dreams.

I wish one were allowed to work during the sgudiest, an MBA would be a realistic option for me then. Will still keep an eye on this thanks OP.
You're welcome. You should be able to work part time in most areas, check out the op.

I'm definitely shipping my son off to Europe for university unless something drastically changes here in the next 18 years
I hope so, but by then I also hope you don't have to & US has free education too.

They don't seem to have any music programs for masters of doctorate. Won't help me.

There's like a bazillion music programs in Germany. At my uni when I was dabbling into Korean, they acquainted us with a group of some 50 Koreans (so that we help each other out in studying the respective foreign language). And I kid you not, some 80% of them came to Germany to study music. Seems like studying music in Germany is prestigious.
But it seems like there are no programs which are in English only & free.
Through a more in-depth search I found this:
Music Acoustics • College of Music, Detmold • (University of Fine Arts) • Detmold

Language of instruction
English

Standard length of studies
4 semesters

Degree
Master of Science (Master of Science)

Areas of Focus
Acoustics, Perception, Musical Instruments

Tution fees
The current valid semester contribution at Hochschule für Musik Detmold must be paid (around EUR 230 per semester).

With tuition fees there's also this:
Music Therapy, Master of Arts • SRH University Heidelberg • Heidelberg
Degree Music Therapy, Master of Arts
Course language(s) English
All courses are held in English.
Admission semester Winter semester only
Beginning October
Programme duration 24 months

Tuition fees 620 EUR per month
Enrolment fees 620 EUR, one-time charge

The rest (374 music MA) is in German only.

Edit: I've got to go so I'll update the op tomorrow.
 
Also before I go. Pretty much no one buys textbooks in Germany. Course material often alludes to textbooks as extended material. And even then, most of them are either available from the uni library or available for download. And even if not, no book will ever cost you more than some 30-50 euros. Not even the McGraw-Hills, Wileys & Pearsons -> int. editions ftw :D
 

Des0lar

will learn eventually
I typed music into the search bar and the results dwindled to basically nothing.

Korean and Japanese students come in droves to study music in Austria, but you may be right that the courses are offered in German only. They learn the language parallel to studying music
 

El Topo

Member
I don't think I'd want to spend 2-4 years studying in a country where I don't speak the native language (even if the courses are in English).

I did a few months at a school in Paris and it feels kinda alienating and weird. It certainly gave me a lot of respect though for all the barely-fluent people who come to America for college.

Well, there's always Kaiserslautern (K-Town), which has a large American population due to the military base in Ramstein. Not the most exciting city though.
 
Wow, this would of been perfect for me. Free college and get to travel to another part of the world.

Too bad I'm 35 and stuck in debt. Thanks America.
 
With the tuition you save it's not a hurdle at all.

Student acommodations (small rooms, shared bathrooms) cost 170-230€.
Rooms in shared appartments go from 300-450€.

If you're foreigner you should get preferential treatment when it comes to dorms. Dorms are cheap as fuck at some 200-300 euros / month with everything (even internet) included. Renting, however, will cost more & require more effort and if you're unemployed or don't work much you'll need someone properly employed to co-sign for you (in case you forfeit rent). However this depends on the landlord. Also you're free to flat / house share: http://www.wg-gesucht.de/en/

Hmmm, thanks for the info!
 

Mimosa97

Member
Yet I don't see germans complaing about their " TAX DOLLAAARRZZZ " being used on American foreign students.

If I were Germany I wouldn't allow americans to study for free.
 

Mimosa97

Member
The difference between Germany and others is that Germany provides free education even to non European nationals, and regardless of their country of origin.

My country (France) does the same. University is free + you get help up to 200 or 300 euros/month (don't remember) to pay your rent even if you're a non-EU foreign student. Also free healthcare obv etc...
 
Yet I don't see germans complaing about their " TAX DOLLAAARRZZZ " being used on American foreign students.

If I were Germany I wouldn't allow americans to study for free.
Hm, why? I think it would be cool if more Americans would come over to us. However I hardly met Americans so far.
Our departement even has a Transatlantic Dual Bachelor Degree Program but I can't remember any American student to ever be here.
 

Dr.Acula

Banned
Would totally do this if I wasn't old AF:/ 33

You'd be among the Germans getting their third doctorates.

A doctorate used to be almost an entry-level requirement for work on a prestigious broadsheet such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. If you are then made a professor, you become Prof Dr, or often Prof Dr Dr; and, if you then acquire multiple honorary doctorates, you can be Prof Dr Dr h.c. mult. (for honoris causa multiplex). My favourite was the Hamburg conference panel badge I saw for Ralf Dahrendorf, the German-British liberal intellectual and politician. It read: Lord Prof Dr Dr Ralf Dahrendorf.

I had my own mildly ridiculous experience of this cult some years ago when, on account of some slight work I had done on German history and politics, the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (indirect successor to Frederick the Great's Royal Academy of Sciences) kindly elected me to a fellowship. A form arrived asking, among other things, for my academic title. I replied, correctly at that time, "Mr". A polite letter came back, saying there must be some misunderstanding; they wanted my academic title. I wrote back: "Mr". A third letter arrived, saying in effect that this simply could not be, and I responded, in exasperated capitals, "MR".

The register of fellows arrived, and there I was, listed with the academic title MR, in capitals – MR clearly being an obscure Oxford academic title, perhaps some kind of ancient magisterium. The Prussian academic clerk's mind just could not accommodate the possibility that a fellow of a German academy would not possess at least one doctorate – if not three.
 

Krakn3Dfx

Member
Just stay away from Carrie Mathison while you're there, and you'll be fine.


I was telling my son about this, he's a sophomore this year and we've been trying to figure out what he's going to do for college. This might be an option for sure.
 

Jacobi

Banned
Hm, why? I think it would be cool if more Americans would come over to us. However I hardly met Americans so far.
Our departement even has a Transatlantic Dual Bachelor Degree Program but I can't remember any American student to ever be here.

There are a total of 50,000 Americans in Germany. So not really a lot
 
Nice thread. More people should learn about this.


Anyone know what the best schools for Computer Science are in Germany?

TU Munich is very good. I think University of Ulm is also very good in computer science.
Munich is very expensive, though. Expect to pay at least 400-500€ rent for a room and be prepared for a long an exhausting search. Munich is by far the most expensive german city, but even though prices are high its very hard to find something.

But having lived in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne I'd say with some confidence that munich is the most beautiful german city.
Its also the only german city where you can go surfing in the middle of the city.

Seriously, how viable would this be?

I'd consider it.
I have a couple friends who are currently doing it and they all seem very happy with their decision.

I know very little about the best engineering schools in Europe.

Which are the best ones in Germany?

TU Munich is probably the best choice when it comes to engineering in germany.

11th rank:
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/carousels/global-employability-university-ranking-2015-results



Yet I don't see germans complaing about their " TAX DOLLAAARRZZZ " being used on American foreign students.

If I were Germany I wouldn't allow americans to study for free.

German government looked into it and found that the foreign students stay on average long enough after their graduation to pay enough in taxes so that the investment pays off.
Universities also appreachiate the diversity among students.
 

Pennywise

Member
My country (France) does the same. University is free + you get help up to 200 or 300 euros/month (don't remember) to pay your rent even if you're a non-EU foreign student. Also free healthcare obv etc...

Healthcare isn't free here though, but it costs roughly about 80€ a month as student.
 
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