In short
Hamburg has 16 universities and colleges offering 802 degree courses (401 Bachelor's, 373 Master's), and 24% of them are taught in English or bilingually. A student flat costs about €700 a month (30 m² flat in Hamburg 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 (about €300–400, including the semester ticket).
A harbour city with water everywhere — the Alster lakes, canals and the Elbe. Germany's second-largest city is home to media, logistics and aviation employers; it is rainy, green and famously liveable, with the University of Hamburg, TU Hamburg and HAW Hamburg among its universities.
University cities
Every city in Hamburg with a university. Cities with a guide link to it.
Cost of living
What studying in Hamburg costs, from the latest figures we could source.
- Rent for a student flat
- ≈ €700 / month30 m² flat in Hamburg 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
- A shared-flat room (≈ €736) costs more than a small flat (≈ €700) here — the only city in the MLP 2026 study where that is true — so start looking early.
- Get a decent rain jacket: Hamburg's weather changes several times a day.
- HVV harbour ferries are part of public transport — line 62 is the cheapest harbour tour in town.
Industries & employers
Big names that hire graduates, and offer internships and working-student jobs, in and around Hamburg.
Airbus
Aerospace
Finkenwerder is one of Airbus's largest sites, with final assembly of A320-family jets.
Lufthansa Technik
Aviation
Aircraft maintenance group headquartered at Hamburg Airport.
Hapag-Lloyd
Shipping
One of the world's largest container lines, headquartered in Hamburg.
Beiersdorf (NIVEA)
Consumer goods
Headquartered in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel.
Otto Group
E-commerce
Retail and e-commerce group headquartered in Hamburg.
Port of Hamburg (HHLA)
Ports & logistics
Germany's largest seaport and its terminal operator.
Culture & people
Hamburg is Hanseatic: understated, polite and a little reserved, with 'Moin' as the all-day greeting. People dress down, love their city's water and spend summer evenings at the Elbe beaches or on the Alster.
Food is northern — fish sandwiches (Fischbrötchen), cinnamon Franzbrötchen and early-Sunday trips to the Altona fish market. St. Pauli and the Reeperbahn are the centre of nightlife and live music, where the Beatles played their early gigs.
Events & festivals
Hafengeburtstag
May
The port's birthday: tall ships, tugboat ballets and fireworks along the Landungsbrücken.
Hamburger DOM
Spring, summer & winter
Northern Germany's biggest funfair, held three times a year on the Heiligengeistfeld.
Reeperbahn Festival
September
Hundreds of concerts by new bands in clubs around St. Pauli.
Christmas markets
Advent
The biggest one fills the square in front of the Town Hall.
Places to see
Elbphilharmonie
Landmark
The concert hall on an old warehouse; the Plaza viewing deck is free with a timed ticket.
Speicherstadt
UNESCO
The world's largest historic warehouse district, red brick on oak piles.
Binnenalster & Außenalster
Lake
Two city lakes for walking, rowing and sailing, right in the centre.
Planten un Blomen
Park
A large park near the University of Hamburg's main campus, with free water-light concerts in summer.
Old Elbe Tunnel
History
A 1911 tunnel under the river you can walk or cycle through, with a skyline view at the other end.
Miniatur Wunderland
Museum
The world's largest model railway, in the Speicherstadt.
Getting around
The HVV network runs U-Bahn, S-Bahn, buses and harbour ferries. Students at the big public universities have the Deutschland-Semesterticket in their semester contribution, which also covers regional trains across Germany. StadtRAD bike-share stations are all over the city.
Hamburg Airport is about 25 minutes from the centre by S-Bahn. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is one of Germany's busiest stations, with direct trains to Berlin in under two hours and to Copenhagen.
Student experiences
First-hand posts from students in Hamburg, read by our team before they appear.
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Studying in Hamburg: FAQ
Is Hamburg expensive for students?
Yes, it is one of Germany's priciest student cities: a 30 m² flat costs about €700 a month and a shared-flat room about €736 (MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026) — only Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne are pricier for a flat.
Do international students pay tuition in Hamburg?
No. Hamburg's public universities charge no tuition for regular degrees, for EU and non-EU students alike; you pay only the semester contribution, which includes the semester ticket.
Can I study in English in Hamburg?
Yes — 24% of the 802 degree courses listed for Hamburg on Where Is My Uni? are taught in English or bilingually.
How many universities are in Hamburg?
Where Is My Uni? lists 16 universities in Hamburg, from the University of Hamburg and TU Hamburg to HAW Hamburg, HafenCity University and private schools.
How do I get around Hamburg as a student?
The HVV network of U-Bahn, S-Bahn, buses and harbour ferries is covered by the Deutschland-Semesterticket at the public universities, and StadtRAD bike-share is cheap for short trips.
Sources & photo credits
Sources
- MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026 (IW Köln) (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Hamburg (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Speicherstadt (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Elbphilharmonie (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Hamburger DOM (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia — Airbus Hamburg Finkenwerder (opens in a new tab)
- University and course numbers: the Where Is My Uni? catalogue, rebuilt from official university data.
Photo credits
- Speicherstadt — Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de (opens in a new tab), CC BY-SA 3.0
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