In short
Berlin has 33 universities and colleges offering 1,224 degree courses (485 Bachelor's, 681 Master's), and 34% of them are taught in English or bilingually. A student flat costs about €725 a month (30 m² flat in Berlin incl. utilities, MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026). Tuition for non-EU students: €0 — Public universities charge no tuition for regular degrees; you pay only the semester contribution (roughly €300–400, including the semester ticket).
Germany's capital and its most international city: start-ups, galleries, huge parks and a nightlife that never really stops. Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität and TU Berlin sit alongside dozens of smaller colleges, and you can get by in English almost everywhere.
University cities
Every city in Berlin with a university. Cities with a guide link to it.
Cost of living
What studying in Berlin costs, from the latest figures we could source.
- Rent for a student flat
- ≈ €725 / month30 m² flat in Berlin incl. utilities, MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026
- Tuition for non-EU students
- €0 / semesterPlus the semester contribution every student pays. The rules are summed up in In short.
- Proof of funds for a visa
- €992 / monthThe proof of funds German missions currently ask of student-visa applicants (€11,904 a year) — confirm with the German embassy or consulate handling your application.
Good to know
- Berlin is Germany's second-most expensive student city after Munich (≈ €725 for a 30 m² flat, MLP 2026) — start the flat hunt before you arrive and watch out for rental scams.
- Register your address (Anmeldung) at a Bürgeramt early — appointments can take weeks, and you need it for a bank account and your residence permit.
- Most public universities include the Deutschland-Semesterticket in the semester contribution, so all city transport and regional trains in Germany are covered.
Industries & employers
Big names that hire graduates, and offer internships and working-student jobs, in and around Berlin.
Zalando
E-commerce
Europe's big online fashion platform, headquartered in Berlin.
Delivery Hero
Tech
Global food-delivery group, headquartered in Berlin.
N26
Fintech
Mobile bank, headquartered in Berlin.
Deutsche Bahn
Transport
Germany's national railway, headquartered at Potsdamer Platz.
Siemens
Engineering & tech
One of its largest sites worldwide; it is rebuilding Siemensstadt as a research and tech campus.
Charité
Health & research
One of Europe's largest university hospitals.
Culture & people
Berliners are direct — the famous 'Berliner Schnauze' can sound rude but is rarely meant that way. The city is young, diverse and informal: about one in four residents holds a foreign passport, and many offices, cafés and shared flats run in English.
Life spreads across neighbourhoods (Kieze) each with its own feel — Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Prenzlauer Berg, Charlottenburg. Late-night kiosks (Spätis), döner and currywurst are everyday staples, and the city's history, from the Wall to reunification, is visible on almost every street.
Events & festivals
Berlinale
February
One of the world's big film festivals — and unlike Cannes, most screenings are open to the public.
Karneval der Kulturen
Pentecost weekend
A street festival and parade in Kreuzberg celebrating the city's many cultures.
Berlin Marathon
Late September
One of the world's fastest marathon courses, with crowds lining the route through the city.
Festival of Lights
October
Landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin Cathedral lit up with projections for ten nights.
Places to see
Museum Island
UNESCO
Five world-class museums on an island in the Spree, including the Pergamon and the Neues Museum.
Tempelhofer Feld
Park
A former airport, closed in 2008 and now a huge park for cycling, kites and barbecues on the runways.
East Side Gallery
History
About 1.3 km of the Berlin Wall, painted by artists from around the world.
Brandenburg Gate
Landmark
The symbol of division and reunification, at the end of Unter den Linden.
Berlin Wall Memorial
History
The open-air memorial on Bernauer Straße keeps a full section of the border strip.
Reichstag dome
Landmark
The glass dome above the German parliament — free to visit with advance online registration.
Getting around
U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses cover the whole city, and on weekend nights the U-Bahn runs around the clock. Most public universities include the Deutschland-Semesterticket in the semester contribution, so you can also take regional trains anywhere in Germany. Berlin is flat and has a growing network of bike lanes.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) is about 30 minutes from the centre by train. Berlin Hauptbahnhof has direct ICE trains to Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne, and night or EuroCity trains to Prague, Vienna and Amsterdam.
Student experiences
First-hand posts from students in Berlin, read by our team before they appear.
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Studying in Berlin: FAQ
Do international students pay tuition in Berlin?
No. Berlin's public universities charge no tuition for regular bachelor's and consecutive master's degrees, for EU and non-EU students alike; you pay only a semester contribution of roughly €300–400, which includes the semester ticket.
Is Berlin expensive for students?
Rent is the main cost: a 30 m² student flat costs about €725 a month and a shared-flat room about €659 — second only to Munich among the 38 cities in the MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026. Food, transport and culture are still cheaper than in most Western European capitals.
Can I study in English in Berlin?
Yes — 34% of the 1,224 degree courses listed for Berlin on Where Is My Uni? are taught in English or bilingually, one of the highest shares in Germany.
How many universities are there in Berlin?
Where Is My Uni? lists 33 universities in Berlin, from the large Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität and TU Berlin to universities of applied sciences and art colleges.
How do I get around Berlin as a student?
With the Deutschland-Semesterticket included at most public universities, you can use every U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus in Berlin plus regional trains across Germany; the U-Bahn runs all night on weekends.
Sources & photo credits
Sources
- MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026 (IW Köln) (opens in a new tab)
- HU Berlin — Germany semester ticket (opens in a new tab)
- HWR Berlin — Semester fee (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Berlin (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Tempelhofer Feld (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — East Side Gallery (opens in a new tab)
- University and course numbers: the Where Is My Uni? catalogue, rebuilt from official university data.
Photo credits
- Museum Island — Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de (opens in a new tab), CC BY-SA 3.0
Ready to find your course in Berlin?
Open the map on Berlin: every university, every course, filtered by degree, subject, language and cost — free.