# Study in Hamburg, Germany > 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. **Find a course:** https://app.whereismyuni.com/dashboard/map?area=HH ## Cost of living - Rent: ≈ €700 (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 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 - **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. ## 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 - [MLP Studentenwohnreport 2026 (IW Köln)](https://www.iwkoeln.de/studien/michael-voigtlaender-christian-oberst-philipp-deschermeier-mlp-studentenwohnreport-2026.html) - [Wikipedia — Hamburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg) - [Wikipedia — Speicherstadt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speicherstadt) - [Wikipedia — Elbphilharmonie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbphilharmonie) - [Wikipedia — Hamburger DOM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger_Dom) - [Wikipedia — Airbus Hamburg Finkenwerder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg_Finkenwerder_Airport) --- Published by [Where Is My Uni?](https://whereismyuni.com) — every German university on one map. Canonical page: https://whereismyuni.com/study-in/hamburg. Last updated November 2026. [How we research](https://whereismyuni.com/study-in/how-we-research).