Humboldt University of Berlin

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is a public research university in Germany's capital, offering around 190 degree programmes across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law and medicine (with Charité). A growing number of English-taught master's programmes — such as Global Change Geography (MSc) and the Joint MA in European History — attract students from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Why South Asian students choose HU Berlin

• No tuition fees: as a public Berlin university, HU charges no tuition — only a semester fee (around €315) covering student services and the Berlin ABC public-transport semester ticket.
• English-taught options: several master's programmes run entirely in English; each programme page lists its language requirements.
• International support: the International Office offers initial counselling for degree-seeking students, including application procedures.
• Scholarships: the Deutschlandstipendium is open to students of all nationalities enrolled at HU.

Full tuition detail (verified): Humboldt University charges no tuition fees. Students pay a semester fee of around €315 per semester, which includes the semester ticket for public transport (tariff zones ABC, 6 months, bicycle included). Per HU's official student FAQ hosted on its CMS domain.

All applicants with a foreign school-leaving certificate or a foreign bachelor's degree must apply via the uni-assist online portal. Applications are submitted entirely online as PDFs; certified translations are required for documents not issued in German or English.

Key steps for international applicants

• Check the programme catalogue for your chosen degree and its specific admission rules.
• Prepare documents: secondary school certificate, transcripts / diploma supplement, module handbook, degree certificate (or confirmation of expected completion), CV, passport copy and proof of language proficiency.
• APS certificate: applications from China, Vietnam and India must include a certificate from the Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) — request it well in advance, as processing takes several weeks.
• Upload everything to uni-assist before the strict cut-off deadline; late or incomplete submissions are not considered.
• Uni-assist forwards verified applications to HU, which makes the final admission decision.

HU charges no application fee itself; uni-assist charges its own handling fee per application. Language requirements are set per programme, not university-wide: for example, the MSc Global Change Geography requires English at B2 level, while the Joint MA European History requires English at C1 plus German at B2.

HU Berlin offers around 190 degree programmes. Options of interest to international students include:

• MSc Global Change Geography — taught in English (English B2 required); for foreign-degree holders the application runs via uni-assist, typically mid-May to late June for the winter semester.
• Joint MA European History — international joint degree requiring English C1, German B2 and a second modern language.
• Bachelor's programmes — mostly German-taught; require a recognised university entrance qualification and German language proof (typically DSH-2/TestDaF level).
• Master's programmes — many German-taught, with a growing number fully in English; each programme publishes its own subject-specific admission rules.

Applicants who do not yet meet German requirements may be directed to a Studienkolleg pathway where applicable.

Deutschlandstipendium: HU's flagship merit scholarship — €300 per month for two semesters, funded jointly by the Federal Government and private sponsors. Students of all nationalities in bachelor's and master's programmes (including first-year students) can apply, provided they are enrolled at HU with their main subject and are within the standard period of study. Selection weighs academic performance, social/political commitment, special circumstances and awards. Applications run once a year — for the 2027/28 funding year the portal is open 9 November to 6 December 2026, funding begins 1 April 2027, and around 90 scholarships are expected.

• Also awarded through special Research Classes (e.g., Sustainability & Global Justice) that combine the scholarship with interdisciplinary research.
• DAAD scholarships (e.g., Study Scholarships for master's students) are applied for via the DAAD, not HU, and can be combined with the Deutschlandstipendium.

See the official portal deutschlandstipendium.hu-berlin.de for the current call.