Germany Eliminates College Tuition

(again)

Germany

 

Might as well add this link here if anyone wants to go EU to study for free.

http://www.scholars4dev.com/4031/list-of-european-countries-with-tuition-freelow-tuition-universities-colleges/

 

There is a tuition free distance leaning university in Germany.

There is only one catch (in most cases): The language of instruction isn't English. But for those who speak German, there even is a tuition free distance learning university, Fernuniversität Hagen, colloquially called the "Fernuni". ("Fernuniversität" literally means "distance learning university" in German.) But tuition free doesn't mean free of any fees. There is a semester registration fee. And yes, it is possible to study there if you live in the US. However, it will be more expensive if you don't live in Germany or the surounding countries, because then you have to take all proctored exams at a Goethe Institute. And these institutes have their own fees. (between €90 and €120 per exam)

Here is the English website of Fernuniversität Hagen: FernUniversität in Hagen
But only a few pages are in English, most of the information on that website is only aviable in German.

By the way, the Fernuni doesn't offer real online degrees. Their degrees are a combination of online and classic distance learning elements. For instance, virtually every material is aviable online, as well as on old fashioned paper. (Therefore, University of the People is right when it calls itself the first tuition free online university.)

 

As a tangent discussion, I wonder if a more complete listing yet exists of other well-known, "foreign" (non-English) universities. It'd be particularly helpful if they were also tuition free.

 

Here is at least part of what you're looking for:

Universities Worldwide: Homepage

 

The German free tuition appears to be for international students too.

German colleges offer free degrees to Americans

 

follow up story as it relates to Americans going to German universities.

For Americans Seeking Affordable Degrees, German Schools Beckon : Parallels : NPR

 

so how's that free education thing working out?

http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20180524141640103

 

So far it looks like a win for Germany. Free Quality Education, lots of quality opportunities, where do I sign up?

 

Well that's a part of the problem, isn't it? I've sprinted through a bunch of those German university websites and haven't found a single program that's offered in English. I know that I could give myself a crash course in German and somehow make it work but to be honest, I know myself well enough to know that I'm not really going to do that. Otherwise it would be a great deal and clearly there are people who are taking advantage - kids coming out of high school with a little German language training going off the some university where they'll earn a free degree and polish their German in the process. For a kid who doesn't mind being away from home it would be a great experience.

 

https://www.studying-in-germany.org/international-programmes-germany/

Click on the degree level to see which programs are in nation of shopkeepers language.

 

Apparently, for English speakers, the foreign language with the largest ROI is German - additional earning due to the additional language.

 

..indeed, countries that want to provide recent college / university grads with a real opportunity, offer free or low tuition. Why start out, already chained to the debt-system rather than landing a job and contributing to the economy? Most of Europe's Universities' tuition costs are quite low for Europeans.

 

this is the official website that collates and shows all the programs offered in German universities that have English language programs.

https://www.daad.de/deutschland/studienangebote/en/

bare in mind, although there is no tuition fees for most places, they still charge a small amount for enrollment

also, for those looking to work in Germany after university there, you can apply for a 18 month resident permit to let you find a job there.

 

There is a second official website with additional information: https://www.study-in.de/en/

Both sites are operated by the German Academic Exchange Service (German abbreviation: DAAD), that's the by far largest German organization in the field of international academic co-operation. DAAD even offers some scholarships for foreign students, usually at Ph.D. level.

By the way, both DAAD websites use the official degree program database of the German University Rectors' Conference which includes all (!) degree programs at accredited German universities.
Here is the English version: https://www.hochschulkompass.de/en/study-in-germany.html

There it's also possible to search for all distance learning programs in English, but the results are disappointing. There are over 19,000 different degree programs in Germany, but only 29 are distance learning programs in English and not a single one is tuition free.
Here is the results page.

The total number of degree programs in English at German universities, however, is 1,398.

Yes, but that fee very often includes a so-called "Semesterticket". That is a ticket for all of the local public transport which is valid for the whole semester. In other words, most B&M students at German universities even get free public transport.