Public Universities in Germany: Fees, & 15 Top Universities for Indian Students

  • Last Updated on: November 2, 2026 by
  • Swapna Kanchikacherla
Public Universities in Germany
Public Universities in Germany

In the QS World University Rankings 2027, the top public universities in Germany are TUM at 25, LMU Munich at 61 and Heidelberg at 86, according to QS. Tuition is usually zero, but “free” has a catch: Baden-Württemberg and TUM charge non-EU students, and Bavaria lets each university decide. Hochschule München charges new international students from winter semester 2026/27, and FAU follows from summer 2027. Every student also pays a semester contribution, listed below for 14 of the 15. Still weighing the country itself? Start with our study in Germany guide.

Written by
Swapna Kanchikacherla
Head of European Desk
Specialises in Germany and France student admissions and visa documentation, with a focus on Campus France, APS, blocked-account and proof-of-funds files.
9 Years, 1100 Visas
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • In QS 2027, TUM (25), LMU Munich (61) and Heidelberg (86) are Germany’s highest-ranked universities, according to QS.
  • Baden-Württemberg charges non-EU students with a foreign school certificate EUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh) a semester for bachelor’s and follow-on master’s degrees.
  • TUM usually charges new non-EU master’s students EUR 4,000 or 6,000 (₹4.27 or 6.40 lakh) a semester, more from winter 2027/28.
  • In Bavaria each university decides: Hochschule München charges from winter 2026/27, FAU from summer 2027.
  • Each semester, every student pays a semester contribution of EUR 70 to 430 (₹7,465 to 45,857).
  • A private degree counts on the international job market only if the institution is state-recognised.
  • Visa funds: a EUR 11,904 (₹12.69 lakh) blocked account, a sponsor living in Germany, or a German or EU scholarship.
Table of Contents
Are Public Universities in Germany Free for Indian Students? Scroll here ↓ 15 Top-Ranked Public Universities in Germany for 2026/27 Scroll here ↓ Semester Contribution at German Public Universities Scroll here ↓ Public vs Private Universities in Germany Scroll here ↓ University or University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) Scroll here ↓ How Indian Students Get Into a German Public University Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Are Public Universities in Germany Free for Indian Students?

Public universities in Germany are tuition-free for most degrees, with exceptions in two states. In 2026, DAAD’s guide to costs of education and living confirms there are generally no fees for a bachelor’s or most master’s at state universities. Baden-Württemberg, though, charges most non-EU students EUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh) a semester. So your university’s state decides whether you pay tuition.

The second exception is harder to track: in Bavaria, each university decides whether to charge non-EU students and how much, and DAAD notes fees can reach several thousand euros a semester.

WhereNon-EU tuition per semesterWho pays it
Baden-Württemberg (Heidelberg, KIT, Freiburg, Tübingen, Stuttgart)EUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh)Non-EU students with a foreign school certificate, in a bachelor’s or consecutive master’s (a master’s that follows on from a bachelor’s), since winter 2017/18
TUM, if you enrol before winter 2027/28Bachelor’s EUR 2,000 or 3,000 (₹2.13 or 3.20 lakh); master’s EUR 4,000 or 6,000 (₹4.27 or 6.40 lakh)New non-EU enrolments; usual bands, by programme
TUM, from winter 2027/28Bachelor’s EUR 2,300 or 3,400 (₹2.45 or 3.63 lakh); master’s EUR 4,600 or 6,800 (₹4.91 or 7.25 lakh)New enrolments; enrolled students keep their starting rate
Hochschule MünchenBachelor’s EUR 500 (₹53,322); master’s EUR 700 (₹74,651)International students enrolling, or switching programme, from winter 2026/27
FAU Erlangen-NürnbergEUR 1,000 to 6,000 (₹1.07 to 6.40 lakh)Non-EU students enrolling, or changing subject, from summer 2027
LMU MunichEUR 0No one, since winter 2013/14
Other statesEUR 0 for a bachelor’s or most master’sGenerally no one; certain continuing-education master’s may charge

Three fee rules catch Indian applicants out:

  • A Studienkolleg (a preparatory year for school-leavers without direct entry) doesn’t exempt you from TUM tuition in the bachelor’s that follows. Our study in Germany after 12th guide covers it.
  • A German bachelor’s usually exempts you from TUM’s master’s tuition, if proof of it reaches TUM by the enrolment deadline, five weeks after lectures start.
  • Baden-Württemberg’s EUR 650 second-degree fee doesn’t apply if you already pay the international fee, and a degree earned in India isn’t counted.

Parents: set the loan amount after you know the state, because a two-year master’s means four tuition bills at TUM and none at a Berlin university.

15 Top-Ranked Public Universities in Germany for 2026/27

Read the fee column before the rank column. Sorting by rank first is the shortlisting mistake we see most, because a few ranking places move your budget far less than the state does. For private options too, our guide to universities in Germany compares both.

UniversityQS 2027 rankCity, stateNon-EU tuition per semesterSemester contributionTU9 / Excellence from 2027
Technical University of Munich (TUM)25Munich, BavariaBachelor’s: usually EUR 2,000 or 3,000 (₹2.13 or 3.20 lakh) / Master’s: usually EUR 4,000 or 6,000 (₹4.27 or 6.40 lakh)EUR 97 (₹10,344), summer 2026, Munich campusesTU9 and Excellence
LMU Munich61Munich, BavariaEUR 0EUR 97 (₹10,344), summer 2026Excellence
Heidelberg University86Heidelberg, Baden-WürttembergEUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh)EUR 189.80 (₹20,241), latest publishedExcellence
Free University of Berlin (FU)=98BerlinEUR 0EUR 376.80 (₹40,183), winter 2026/27Excellence (Berlin University Alliance)
RWTH Aachen University104Aachen, North Rhine-WestphaliaEUR 0Not yet publishedTU9 and Excellence
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)110Karlsruhe, Baden-WürttembergEUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh)EUR 184 (₹19,622), latest publishedTU9 and Excellence
Humboldt University of Berlin (HU)=140BerlinEUR 0EUR 381.80 (₹40,717), winter 2026/27Excellence (Berlin University Alliance)
Technical University of Berlin (TU Berlin)=158BerlinEUR 0EUR 379.06 (₹40,424), winter 2026/27TU9 and Excellence (Berlin University Alliance)
TU Dresden=185Dresden, SaxonyEUR 0EUR 361 (₹38,498), winter 2026/27, on-campusTU9 and Excellence
University of Bonn=209Bonn, North Rhine-WestphaliaEUR 0EUR 363.07 (₹38,719), winter 2026/27Excellence
University of Hamburg=209HamburgEUR 0EUR 402 (₹42,871), winter 2026/27Excellence
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg=218Erlangen and Nuremberg, BavariaEUR 0 now; EUR 1,000 to 6,000 (₹1.07 to 6.40 lakh) for new non-EU students from summer 2027EUR 82 (₹8,745), latest publishedNeither
University of Tübingen=230Tübingen, Baden-WürttembergEUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh)EUR 194.80 (₹20,774), winter 2026/27Excellence
University of Freiburg245Freiburg, Baden-WürttembergEUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh)EUR 190 (₹20,262), latest publishedExcellence (new from 2027)
University of Stuttgart=318Stuttgart, Baden-WürttembergEUR 1,500 (₹1.60 lakh)EUR 184 (₹19,622), latest publishedTU9

Ranks are according to QS, which also ranks TU Darmstadt (250), Göttingen (=261) and Cologne (269) above Stuttgart (=318). Stuttgart, a TU9 member, charges the Baden-Württemberg fee. EUR 0 means no tuition for a bachelor’s or most master’s.

Getting in is the harder part. Admission to the top public universities is commonly described as competitive, with TUM and LMU usually named the most selective and universities of applied sciences more flexible. Engineers are usually pointed to the technical universities, TUM above all for engineering and computer science.

  • TU9 is the alliance of nine leading German technical universities; six are in this table.
  • University of Excellence is a title under the federal and state Excellence Strategy, with extra research funding, held by 15 universities and alliances from 1 January 2027. Ten existing holders kept it in March 2026, as Forschung & Lehre reported, and Freiburg, Jena and the University of Cologne are new.
  • Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany’s oldest university.

From our counselling desk: the shortlists that turn into admits for Indian students never sort purely by QS rank. They start from course, budget and city, plus whether you're applying with English or German scores, and bring rank in last as a tiebreaker.

Semester Contribution at German Public Universities

The semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag) is a fee that every student at a German university pays each semester, separate from tuition. In 2026, DAAD’s guide to costs of education and living puts it between EUR 70 and EUR 430 (₹7,465 to 45,857). Over a two-year master’s, the fee falls due four times.

You’re paying for a bundle:

  • the Studierendenwerk (the student services organisation);
  • the AStA (the student government);
  • an administrative fee at some universities, such as EUR 80 at Freiburg and EUR 50 at FU Berlin;
  • in many cities, a semester transport ticket.

The ticket makes the biggest difference. Since January 2026, the Deutschlandticket costs EUR 63 a month, and the Deutschlandsemesterticket (the student version of that monthly pass) is priced at 60 percent of it. That’s the EUR 226.80 sitting inside the Hamburg and FU Berlin fees.

  • Ticket included: Bonn spends more than half of its contribution on the ticket, and TU Dresden’s includes EUR 234.18 for the ticket and bike-share use.
  • Ticket not included: LMU dropped its semester-ticket surcharge from winter 2023/24, so only the basic Studierendenwerk fee is due; Tübingen adds only a solidarity payment toward the regional “naldo” ticket.

So a Munich fee looks low because no ticket is bundled in. Either way, it’s small next to rent and food, which DAAD puts at EUR 900 to 1,200 a month, by city. Parents: budget it as its own loan line, separate from tuition. Our cost of studying in Germany guide prices a full year.

Public vs Private Universities in Germany

As of winter semester 2025/26, Germany has 422 higher education institutions, according to the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK): 273 public and 149 non-state but state-recognised, 111 of them private.

Around 90 percent of Germany’s roughly 2.9 million students enrol at public ones. Most state-recognised private universities are small, teaching a narrow range such as business, media studies and design, as HRK’s overview of the higher education system notes.

PointPublic universityPrivate university
TuitionNo tuition for most degrees; fees in Baden-Württemberg and some Bavarian universitiesGisma: bachelor’s EUR 13,825 (₹14.74 lakh) a year; UE: master’s from EUR 8,158 (₹8.70 lakh) a year on a current offer
Degree value abroadRecognisedCounts on the international job market only if state-recognised
Visa fileProof of living fundsAlso the fee invoice and proof that year-one fees or a substantial deposit are paid

Parents: the private route is harder on the loan, because the German Missions in India student visa checklist wants year-one fees, or a substantial deposit, paid before the visa decision. Before taking a private offer over public universities in Germany, check the name against the HRK’s list of state-approved institutions.

University or University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule)

Choose the type by what you want after the degree.

  • A Universität (research university) is the only type that can award a doctorate. Germany has 122 of them, teaching 1.67 million students.
  • A Fachhochschule or Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften (HAW), a university of applied sciences, is built around practical, applied work, often in engineering, business and social sciences. There are 243, with 1.17 million students, and most private institutions are this type.

Don’t assume an applied-sciences school is free in Bavaria: Hochschule München is a HAW, and it now charges new international students. Planning a PhD? Pick a Universität. Want a job-ready applied master’s? A HAW often fits better. The HRK’s Hochschulkompass guide to institution types sets out the difference.

How Indian Students Get Into a German Public University

Seven steps, in this order, take you from a shortlist to a seat and through the degree:

  1. Entrance qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung). Your school certificate must be recognised; the anabin database (run by the KMK, the state education ministers’ conference) lists accepted ones. Two or three semesters of Indian university study can qualify you. If not, the Hochschulkompass page on foreign entrance qualifications names the route: a Studienkolleg and its Feststellungsprüfung (the compulsory final test).
  2. APS certificate. The APS (the Academic Evaluation Centre that checks Indian academic documents) charges INR 18,000 to register, as the APS India process page shows.
  3. Language. English-taught programmes need English proof, some at a set level such as a TOEFL score; German-taught ones need satisfactory German, as the Hochschulkompass page on further prerequisites notes. For 2026/27, the DAAD International Programmes database lists 1,589 English-only master’s, public and private combined.
  4. Application. Apply through the university’s own portal or through uni-assist (the central service that checks international applications). The uni-assist fee is EUR 75 for the first course and EUR 30 for each extra one. The Germany application process guide sets the order.
  5. Visa and funds. The German Missions in India national visa fee is EUR 75 if you’re over 18, non-refundable, plus a service-provider fee. For funds, the Missions accept a blocked account (Sperrkonto) holding EUR 11,904 for year one, with withdrawals capped at EUR 992 a month, which our Germany blocked account page explains. They also accept a formal commitment from a sponsor residing in Germany, or a German or EU scholarship. Parental income isn’t on that list, and an education loan needs its own proof on top.
  6. Work during and after. A student residence permit lets you work up to 140 working days a year under Section 16b of the Residence Act, with details in our part-time jobs in Germany guide. Student jobs (studentische Nebentätigkeiten) don’t count toward it. After graduating, you can get a permit to look for work for up to 18 months under Section 20 of the Residence Act; the post-study work visa guide has the rest.
  7. Funding. TUM’s study grant pays EUR 500 to 1,800 a semester, judged on grades and finances, and you can reapply each semester.

Get in Touch

Frequently Asked Questions

TUM, on the QS measure. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, TUM is 25th in the world, LMU Munich 61st and Heidelberg 86th, according to QS. The best for you depends on your course, since a lower-ranked university can be stronger in your subject, and TUM charges non-EU tuition.

No. For a bachelor’s, new non-EU students usually pay EUR 2,000 or 3,000 (₹2.13 or 3.20 lakh) a semester, by programme. A master’s usually costs EUR 4,000 or 6,000 (₹4.27 or 6.40 lakh) a semester. From winter 2027/28, new students pay more, while anyone already enrolled keeps the rate they started on.

Yes. For 2026/27, DAAD’s International Programmes database lists 1,589 master’s taught only in English, at public and private institutions combined. You’ll need English proof, and some universities ask for a set level such as a TOEFL score. A German-taught programme needs proof of satisfactory German instead.

Not always. State universities generally charge no tuition for a bachelor’s or most master’s, but certain continuing-education master’s programmes may charge fees. Ask whether an MBA falls in that group before you budget. Baden-Württemberg and parts of Bavaria can also add non-EU tuition.

Where tuition is zero, the yearly bill is two semester contributions of EUR 70 to 430 (₹7,465 to 45,857) each, plus living costs. For the visa, you show EUR 11,904 (₹12.69 lakh) for the first year, released at up to EUR 992 (₹1.06 lakh) a month. Baden-Württemberg and some Bavarian universities add tuition.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

Show 37 more sources

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