Table of Contents
History
The Free University of Berlin was founded in 1948 in West Berlin during the early Cold War, with the free name in it’s name explicitly referring to it’s location compared to the Wall of Berlin.
In the present day it is considered to be one of the nation’s most distinguished college level institutions, and is world famous for it’s research in social sciences.
Programs Offered
Through it’s 14 departments the Free University of Germany offers a wide array of programs for undergraduate students in a multitude of topics, the following are some of the programs currently offered by the Free University of Berlin:
- African Art History
- Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
- Ancient Studies: Classical Archaeology
- Biology with teacher training
- Business Administration
- Catalan Language and Culture
- China Studies/East Asian Studies
- Digital Media and Technology
- Dutch Language and Literature
- Egyptian Language and Literature
- English Language and Literature
- French Language and Literature with teacher
- Geographical Sciences
- Geological Sciences
- History and Cultures of the Middle East
- Language and Society
- Latin Language and Literature with teacher training
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Social and Cultural Anthropology
- Special Needs Education
- Theatre Studies
- Veterinary Medicine
Admission requirements
Application to the Free University of Berlin is mostly based on the prospective student’s high-school scores, for most courses application is done through hochschulstart.de, but some programs with restricted admission will require an application directly to the Free University of Berlin.
If a student’s earned their university entrance qualification in a country other than Germany, they need to submit their application via uni-assist, which acts as a review center to see if applications fit the requisites. This process requires a fee.
Student Life
Entertainment and relaxation comes in many flavors when it comes to the Free University of Berlin, alongside a sports center which offers over 150 athletic opportunities to their students, three different orchestras and an international club designed to make integration easier for new students, the university also counts with one of the most unique botanic gardens in the country, granting a experience unlike any other in Germany.
Part-time work
Part-time work happens to be really common for students in Germany, surveys show that roughly 66% of students have a job, while in the case of the University of Stuttgart it explicitly mentions that a full-time job is not possible while enrolled in their courses, it does offer student assistant positions inside the university, and the employment agency of the city of Stuttgart also has openings for students.
While students from the EU or EEA have little to no restrictions on work, the situation is slightly more complex for international students, German law prevents them from pursuing freelance work and they are only allowed to work 120 full or 240 half days in a year.
Fees
Except for some graduate or postgraduate programs, the Free University of Berlin does not charge tuition fees, there are however some fees involved for enrollment and supporting the university’s various services, and are charged as follows:
- 50.00 € enrollment fee/re-registration fee
- 54.09 € semester contribution to the “studierendenWERK BERLIN” student support service
- 9.10 € including a 7.90 € contribution to the student union and 1.20 € to the “Semesterticketbüro“ (semesterticket office)
- 198.80 € transportation ticket contribution (tariff area ABC), includes 5.00 € to the Social Fond
Ranking
The Free University of Berlin currently holds the 186th place in the global ranking of Universities, making it the 8th best college level institution in it’s home country of Germany.
University Contact
Address: Kaiserswerther Str. 16-18, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49 30 8381
Email: [email protected]
Summary
The Free University of Berlin is a wonderful option for students in a budget, and especially those interested in pursuing a career related to languages or biology, as the university’s reputation in those areas is second to none.