Studying in Munich: useful information for your stay in Germany
We have collected useful information for people who will be studying at a university in Munich and in general for your stay in Germany.
Higher education options in Munich after your German language course
Since a lot of young people from all around the world come to us with the intention of further studies after they reach a certain level of German, we are here to help! By providing you with the necessary information about further studies in Munich’s universities and colleges, you can have a look at the universities we have in Munich and then decide which course you want to follow:
More private colleges and universities to come soon.
First, a list of public universities in Munich (Links are in English)
- Technische Universität München (https://portal.mytum.de/)
- Ludwig-Maximilian Universität (https://www.lmu.de/en/index.html)
- Hochschule München (http://www.hm.edu/)
Second, a list of private universities and colleges in Munich
- IFOG Akademie (Private College for Digital Design) (http://www.ifog.de/)
The cost of higher education in Germany varies slightly from state to state, but in public universities it is no more than around 1,050 euros per year. The cost of living is calculated at about 700 euros per month and anybody wanting to get a student visa will have to provide a bank account with about 8,000 euros to prove that they have enough money to sustain themselves for a year while they are in Germany. This is also the amount needed for visa renewal every year.
Tuition fees for private colleges and universities can cost anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 euros per year, so your choice of university can also impact your visa (please see below.)
And what about visas and admissions to a university in Munich?
Firstly,the visa:
It is important that those students who don’t come from the European Union ensure that they have the correct type of visa before they come to Germany.
If you are interested in proceeding to a university in Munich or elsewhere in Germany after a language course, make sure to have the right type of Visa before you come to Germany. A visa for a language course only will NOT entitle you to go onto university afterwards and you will be sent back to your home country after the course has ended. Also, language student visas don’t allow you to work part-time in Germany. Only Student Visas allow you to work 90 days per year or 180 days part-time per year (maximum 4 hours per day).
The best course of action, if you are still in your home country and are already thinking about attending one of the above universities or colleges after a German language course, would be to apply for a Student Applicant Visa (In German: Studentenbewerbervisum). The German Embassy in your home country should be able to give you information on that. This type of visa will make it easier for you to extend your visa after the language course and once you are in Germany you can directly go onto the university that has accepted you.
You can also start the process of application for the university of your choice while you are still in your home country, so that you are well informed before you even apply for our language course. Many German universities have pre-clearance tests which decides on your eligibility for further study at the university in question. Since we have 16 different states and each has their own individual laws governing universities’ admissions rules of foreigners, the entrance requirements vary from university to university. Therefore we recommend you first check your university of choice and then have a look at its individual admissions rules before you think about getting the visa for a language course.
One of the most comprehensive websites for international, especially non-EU students interested in doing further studies after a language course is the website of the DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Service. It contains general information about how to approach universities and their admissions offices:
https://www.daad.de/deutschland/en/
Here you can find advice on how to approach the admissions process in Germany in general. Also, if you are unsure about your school or university qualification and its recognition in Germany for direct university entrance you can also check it at the DAAD website before approaching any of the universities:
If you are thinking of applying to one of the above Munich-based universities you will need to make sure that you are eligible for studying at university in Bavaria (the state in Germany of which Munich is the capital), by sending certified copies of your high-school and potentially already-finished or partially finished first degree to an authority in Munich called the Reports Approval Authority of the Free State of Bavaria (In German: Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle des Freistaat Bayern):
The address is the following:
Pfündterplatz 5
80803 München
Tel. +49-89-383849-0
Fax. +49-89-383849-49
E-Mail: zastby@zast.bayern.de
Postal Address:
Post Box 402040
80720 München, Germany
Some universities can also conduct this test online via an online service called “uni-assist”. Here is the list of universities that use uni-assist as a pre-clearance center: http://www.uni-assist.de/uni-assist-members.html.
If you have a transcript in another language than English, Spanish or French, you will need to provide a certified German translation as well for these pre-clearance tests.
If you are admitted by the above entrance authorities there is nothing you need to worry about apart from the universities own admissions rules about the course of your choice, such as limited places, extra interviews or placement tests, but this is down to each individual university.
However, if your qualification is seen as lower standard than the German university entrance qualification you will need to attend one or two semesters of a preparation course for foreign students called “Studienkolleg”. This course is done centrally at one or several study centers in each German state and usually starts once your German is good enough to enter the course. The Studienkolleg usually teaches German and a number of pre-university academic subjects, in order to get you into university at the end. The courses in Studienkolleg are offered free of charge but the general costs for your living will be around 550 to 700 euros per month. You can find more information about these preparation courses at the Studienkollegs’ website in English:
http://www.studienkollegs.de/home.html
We hope that this information has been enough to give you an overview of the options and obligations for you and hope that you would like to register for one of our university language preparation courses soon. Once you know more about the type of course you want to enter, you have been accepted for university entrance and you know which language level is required of you, you can then book a course with us.