Berlin and its universities: Studying in Berlin

Berlin is proud of its longstanding academic tradition. It offers a choice among several institutes of higher learning, 4 of them being traditional universities. Renowned free university (Freie Universität Berlin), Humboldt university, Berlin university of arts and Berlin university of technology are among the most important and traditional institutes.

Humbold University (HU)
Humbold university was founded in 1810 as a modern institute of learning and research. Wilhelm von Humbold himself was the founder and his belief in all-round humanistic education has inspired students and teachers at this university. The main building is centrally located on "Unter den Linden".

Freie Universität (FU)
The 'Freie Universität' was initially founded by the US after World War II. It is located in Berlin-Dahlem and is actually the largest university in Berlin and in Germany. During the 1960s it was home to Utopian thinking, today it follows the newest trends and strives for excellency and is considered to be one of Germany's elite universities.

Technical University (TU)
Founded in 1170, the 'Technische Universität' is proud of its long standing tradition. Its main building is situated in fancy Charlottenburg district. It is part of the initiative T9, where 9 technical universities all over Germany have joined forces to offer varied and high quality studies to their students.

University of Arts (Universität der Künste, UdK)
About 5000 students at the university of arts profit from 300 years experience and the close connection to Berlin's vibrant cultural scene.

Academic traditions in Germany
The unique mix of tradition and modern technologies, scientific research and pedagogic experience attract faculty staff and students from all over the world.
The institutes are open to everyone as academic freedom is a basic principle of Germany's educational framework. However, certain requirements need to be fulfilled prior to enrolment.

You might need a visa and you will have to prove your language skills and educational qualification. Attention: a tourist visa will not do, you need to apply for a students visa.
Applying for a long term visa (more than 3 months) can take quite long. Visas for shorter stays are more speedily issued but can NOT be prolonged in Germany.

Information on required documents and deadlines is best acquired at the Foreign Students' Office ('Akademisches Auslandsamt') at the university of choice. The guidelines laid down by Campus-Germany are also immensely helpful.

Note: The German word 'semester' translates as term. However, the academic year in Germany and Austria is differently structured than the British and American equivalents. The German academic year is divided up into Winter 'semester' ('WS': October - March) and Sommer 'semester' ('SS': April - September).

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