Free higher education in Germany - an incentive for Ukrainian students

Since October 2014 the state higher education was free throughout Germany. Moreover both for Germans and foreigners.

Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

Since 2006, each semester the students of seven German states had to pay for their education on average EUR 500 for so-called educational duties. However, the question of free higher education had been hotly debated in German society. The heat was added by the German students' protests.

Under the pressure of public, the federal lands one after another began to abolish tuition fees in public universities. This is done in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Saari, Hamburg, Bavaria, and last year "surrendered" eventually ruling politicians of Lower Saxony. 

December the 10th, 2013 the Parliament of Germany had adopted a long-awaited federal state law on free education in public higher education throughout Germany. It applies to both the Germans and foreigners, including citizens of Ukraine.

The educational documents of Ukraine and knowledge of German language are the necessary conditions for entering the German Universities.

To attend public universities one should have a high school diploma or university bachelor's degree, as well as adequate knowledge of German language, which must be confirmed with appropriate language certificates. The language level should be B2 according to the pan-European scale of foreign languages knowledge. However, it all depends on the specialty, language training or individual requirements of a particular institution. To enter the English language educational programs students from Ukraine usually had to prove their knowledge of English.

In addition, for Ukrainian citizens  there should be proof of their financial capacity in the amount of EUR 7908 (EUR 659 per month), according to the website of the German Embassy in Ukraine.

The final abolition of payment for education in all federal states opens up  a lot of new prospects for free education for Ukrainian students in Germany.

 DW.DE