Step-by-Step Guide
This is a step-by-step guide to studying at university in Germany. For an overview of how universities in Germany work, see the university overview page.
Step 1: Find a German university that offers a degree course you’re interested in
Germany, unlike the United States, requires you to choose your degree program before enrolling. You do not just take a little of this and a little of that until you decide what to do - you enrol in a particular degree program at a particular university, as opposed to enrolling in a university and then deciding what you want to study.
The DAAD has a comprehensive database of all degree programs in Germany. At the undergraduate level, over 98% are taught in German, but there are a few which are taught in English. At the Master’s level and above, there is a substantial minority of English-language degree programs.
To do further research on universities and programmes look into the wiki resources. You also might want to contact university or faculty staff to get detailed information. To do so you may search for (Fach)Studienberatung or
Studienkoordinator. Another possibility is to get in contact with a Fachschaft, the student council for a faculty or course of study. You should look at what modules a particular course offers, to see whether they match your interests.
Unless you’re looking to do your doctorate, you should pretty much ignore any “university rankings”, as they are fairly meaningless in Germany. Any public university will offer a similar quality of teaching, and a degree in a particular subject from any public university has about the same “prestige” as the same degree from any other. While there are a few universities which are a bit better-known in their field, the differences are very slight.
You should also do some research about the town or city the university is located in. Unlike in other countries, students spend much of their non-academic time outside of the university, so the quality of life in the town or city will make a difference. Some people prefer a smaller, more cosy student town, while others prefer the hustle and bustle of a big city. Also, don’t forget cost of living; many larger cities (particularly Munich, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart) have very expensive rents, and are generally expensive to live in. In general, towns and cities in eastern Germany are cheaper than in western Germany.
Step 2: Check the requirements
To find out whether you are eligible to enrol in a German university in the first place, you can visit the DAAD database which has information for most countries and is in English. If your country is not on their list, you have to go to the official ANABIN database which is only available in German. Only people with a secondary school diploma equivalent to a German Abitur may enrol in university. Anabin and DAAD have lists of which diplomas allow direct entry to university, and which ones aren’t quite sufficient, and therefore require that you attend a foundation course, called the Studienkolleg, first. This step is not optional and depends on the evaluation of your educational background so far. If the database tells you that you have to go, you have to go.
As mentioned above, most undergraduate/Bachelor’s programmes in Germany are taught in German and therefore require very good German language skills. Usually the most common accepted language certificates are the DSH and TestDaF. The usual level to be accepted is either DSH-2 or TestDaF TDN4 (or 16), which are equivalent to a CEFR C1 level, but some universities can accept students with a lower level or with a different certificate as well (e.g. from a Goethe Institute). The language requirement for the Studienkollegs is usually around B2 level. An exception are programmes in the areas of (veterinary) medicine, pharmacy and dentistry that require DSH-3 or TestDaF TDN5 (equivalent to CEFR C2).
Any additional requirements (in terms of specific grades or anything else, e.g. a special test for programmes in the area of sports, music or art) usually vary from university to university and have to be looked up on their respective websites.
Step 3: Submit your application
Many universities conduct their application process via uni-assist, meaning that you have to send your documents to them first and after they conduct their pre-check, they will forward your application to the chosen university. They charge 75 Euros for the first university application and 30 Euros for each additional one for the same semester. Uni-assist do not choose any applicants themselves but only enforce the regulations and conditions set in place by the universities. Some universities also receive applications directly (without going through uni-assist first, especially for many Master’s programmes) but to find out you will have to have a look at the website of your desired university or contact them directly to find out.
Step 4: Wait
Now you wait to find out if you were accepted. Unlike the United States, you will not find out months before the semester begins. Most likely you’ll find out 1 month or so before. This will make moving to Germany a bit rushed. In the meantime, you can go looking for dates of the orientation weeks or other activities for international students (most universities offer them).
Step 5: The response
You will receive a response from your university as to whether or not you were accepted. If you weren’t, sorry. It’s a tough process.
If you were accepted, congratulations! The university/ies which accepted you will send you a Zulassungsbescheid, which is essentially a document saying “you may enrol in this course”.
Step 6: The visa
Prospective students who are not German or EU citizens must apply for and receive a residence permit to study (Aufenthaltserlaubnis zum Studium) from the German state in order to be allowed to live and study in Germany. Student from certain countries (Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, and the US - see this list don’t need a visa to enter Germany, and can apply for a residence permit from within Germany, at the Ausländerbehörde. Students from other countries must apply for a visa and a residence permit at a German embassy in their country.
In order to receive a student visa in Germany you must be enrolled in a university. To do this, contact the university with your Zulassungsbescheid and pay the semester fees (they cover things like your discounted public transport ticket).
Once you’re enrolled in the university, then you can apply for the residence permit (and/or visa).
You will need to show that you have 11,208 euro on a blocked bank account in Germany (that allows you to withdraw 1/12th every month) or you show a scholarship over 934 euro per month or your parents (or someone else) could guarantee that they will support you financially or a combination of the above. Later when you renew your student visa in Germany you can instead show how you make the money that you use for your cost of living (“For the extension: bank statements of the last six months”).
Since you’ll likely have more than the legal minimum in funds, you should open a second (normal) bank account, and transfer the rest of your money into it.
For more details, see the student finances page, and the Studying in Germany FAQ by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt).
Step 7: Health insurance
By law, anyone who lives in Germany (including students) must have health insurance, and that insurance must be comparable to German public health insurance.
EU citizens can continue to be covered by the insurance in their home countries (assuming they have insurance) through the EHIC card. However, make sure to read the EHIC rules for your country carefully - EHIC cards are only supposed to be used for short-term stays in another EU country, so a multi-year degree course may not qualify.
If you are a non-EU citizen, then your best option is to enrol in German public health insurance. The premiums are about 90 € per month (although they increase for long-term students). You can sign up with any of the German public health insurers - Techniker Krankenkasse is often recommended, as they have reasonably good English support, but the coverage and cost at any of the others are essentially equivalent. Public insurance for students is highly subsidised, and is likely the best deal you’ll get on health insurance in Germany. Coverage is comprehensive, with essentially no co-pays or deductibles.
As an alternative, you can opt for private health insurance (from one of the big private insurers, e.g. Debeka, DKV, AXA, Allianz, Signal Iduna, HUK, and others). Note that if you get private insurance at the start of your university education, then you can’t then switch to public insurance; you’d be stuck in private health insurance for the remainder of your studies.
If you’re coming to Germany well in advance of the start of your studies (e.g. to attend language school, or just to get settled in), then you likely can’t sign up with public insurance just yet, as you haven’t enrolled in university yet. You can get travel insurance (from companies like Mawista or Care Concept) which cover emergency medical care, until you can get “proper” health insurance. Note that these companies also advertise “student” insurance - this is nothing but rebranded travel insurance, and is a borderline scam. Their premiums are very low, but their coverage is terrible, and they have a reputation for fighting tooth and nail against paying out anything. They also don’t meet the minimum requirements for health insurance for residents (see §9c of the German Residence Act), so you’d be in violation of your visa. Only use their insurance for short stays in Germany, or to tide you over until you can get “proper” health insurance.
For more information about health insurance, see our health insurance FAQ.
Step 8: Finding a place to live
Unlike in other countries, the vast majority of students at German universities have to find their own accommodation on the open market. Most commonly, students live in shared flats (Wohngemeinschaften, usually called “WGs”) with other students, where everybody has their own room, but share a kitchen and a bathroom. Alternatively, students can also rent individual rooms (e.g. in a larger house), or even entire apartments, if they have enough money. The housing section of the wiki has detailed information about how to find housing in Germany. Note that it can be very difficult to find housing, particularly in the larger cities, so start looking early enough, and plan on living in temporary accommodation at the start (until you find something more permanent).
Some universities also have a hall of residence (Studentenwohnheim). This is usually the cheapest option for housing, but demand far outstrips supply, so you usually have to apply very early to have any hope of getting a spot (and most applicants don’t get a spot at all).
Credit
Thanks to /u/deineblauenaugen for their guide to studying in Germany, upon which much of this guide is based.