University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, on the Rhine. It offers a wide range of bachelor's and master's programmes with no tuition fees — students pay only a semester contribution. Bonn is the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven and a compact, student-friendly city; the university estimates average monthly living expenses at around EUR 970.

Master's admissions are organised decentrally by the faculties and departments, so each programme publishes its own requirements, deadlines and contacts — check the programme page of your chosen degree.

Full tuition detail (verified): The University of Bonn charges no tuition fees for standard degree programmes. All students pay a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag): EUR 363.07 for the winter semester 2026/27 and EUR 345.07 for the summer semester 2026. It includes student self-administration (EUR 14), student councils, university sports, a culture pass, the Deutschlandsemesterticket (EUR 226.80 — unlimited regional public transport across Germany) and the Studierendenwerk contribution (EUR 115).

How to apply (non-EU bachelor's applicants)

Register on the university's application portal and complete the online application by uploading all documents — documents must not be sent by post. Complete documents must be uploaded by 15 July for the winter semester and 15 January for the summer semester.

Documents

• Passport copy and tabular CV
• Proof of German language proficiency
• Proof of English proficiency for selected programmes (Archaeologies, Economics and Computer Science, Economics major/minor, Geography, Media Studies, Molecular Biomedicine, Musicology/Sound Studies)
• University entrance qualification with transcripts and certified translations (German, English or French)
• Country specifics: China, India and Vietnam — APS certificate from the Academic Evaluation Center is mandatory; Georgia — apostille; Turkey — official university entrance exam certificate; USA — AP code 9149; IB diploma recognised under KMK rules

Recognised English certificates (for the programmes listed above)

• TOEFL iBT: minimum 72 (Test Date Score; ITP not accepted)
• IELTS Academic: minimum 5.5 overall
• PTE Academic: 59; Cambridge B2 First; telc English B2; UNIcert II

Master's applicants

Admission to master's programmes is organised by the faculties — visit the programme page for requirements, the application process and contacts. For example, the MSc Neurosciences requires an English certificate (TOEFL 550 PBT / 213 CBT / 79 iBT or IELTS 6.0; English as medium of instruction alone is not sufficient).

English language requirements: no single university-wide IELTS minimum is published — requirements are set per programme. Check the programme page for your course.

Programmes

The University of Bonn offers bachelor's degrees (mostly German-taught; some programmes additionally require English at B2 level) and master's programmes with decentralised, faculty-run admissions.

English-taught options

Several master's programmes are taught in English — for example the MSc Neurosciences. Because each faculty runs its own admissions, always check the programme page for language of instruction, requirements and deadlines of the degree you want.

Scholarships

• Deutschlandstipendium: EUR 300 per month (EUR 3,600 per year), awarded and administered by the University of Bonn Foundation; funding runs for one academic year starting 1 October, with applications in spring.
• Ließem scholarship: EUR 300 per month for talented students in need who have lived in the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region for at least five years.
• The 13 organisations for the promotion of young talent (Begabtenförderungswerke) supported by the federal ministry, plus the DAAD database with around 200 scholarships for students from outside Germany.
• Use stipendiumplus.de to search for a fitting scholarship.