Bachelor's Degrees in English in Germany: Where They Are and What They Cost

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Germany is famous for English-taught master's degrees. At bachelor's level the picture is different: undergraduate teaching is overwhelmingly in German, and English-taught bachelor's degrees are a small, specialised group. The good news is that most of them follow the same fee rules as German-taught degrees, which means no tuition at public universities in most of the country.

How many programmes

Our catalogue lists 114 bachelor's programmes with English as a language of instruction, out of 4,435 in Germany. You can browse them on the English-taught list for Germany. Most are taught entirely in English; a smaller group is bilingual, with part of the teaching in German.

Our catalogue may not hold every English-taught bachelor's degree in the country. The DAAD's degree search, built on the German Rectors' Conference's Higher Education Compass, lets you filter all German programmes by degree and language of instruction, and is worth a second look before you decide.

Where they are

The English-taught offer leans towards universities of applied sciences (Hochschulen and Technische Hochschulen), which teach practice-oriented degrees in engineering and business. In our data the largest providers are Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Mannheim, the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt, TH Ingolstadt, FH Aachen's Jülich campus, Erlangen-Nuremberg and Goethe University Frankfurt. A few research universities, such as Cologne, Marburg, Giessen, Karlsruhe (KIT), TU Munich and Heidelberg, have one or more.

A smaller part of the list is at private institutions: Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, EBS, ESCP Berlin, Bard College Berlin, SRH, the International School of Management and others.

By city, Heilbronn, Frankfurt, Berlin, Mannheim and Schweinfurt have the most, but the programmes are spread across more than fifty towns, many of them small.

Which subjects

Business and international business lead, followed by engineering: electrical, mechanical, mechatronics and automation, and energy engineering. Economics, political science, marketing, and English and other language studies come next. Medicine, law, teaching and psychology are practically absent in English at bachelor's level: they lead to regulated professions and are taught in German.

What it costs

EU students: in our catalogue, every English-taught programme at a public university costs €0 in tuition. You still pay the semester contribution, which is not tuition.
Non-EU students: the typical figure is also €0, but the maximum reaches €6,000 a year. That is because two states charge non-EU students. Baden-Württemberg charges €1,500 per semester, and several of the largest English-taught providers are in that state: Heilbronn, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Konstanz, Stuttgart, Heidelberg and Weingarten. Bavaria lets its universities set their own non-EU fees, and TU Munich, TH Nuremberg and TH Ingolstadt charge them.
Private universities set their own fees, usually several thousand euros a year. Our catalogue does not hold their prices, so check the university's own page.

Details and exemptions are in how much it costs to study in Germany.

How to apply

The route is the same as for a German-taught degree. Your school certificate must give direct access to German higher education; if it does not, you need a Studienkolleg or a foundation year. Many universities ask you to apply through uni-assist; others take applications directly. Popular programmes have a grade limit (numerus clausus). See how to get into a university in Germany, document recognition in Germany and, for IB students, IB Diploma admission in Germany.

State-run Studienkollegs teach in German, so applicants whose certificate does not give direct access usually need German even on the way to an English-taught degree.

Proof of English

Universities usually ask for B2 or C1, shown by IELTS, TOEFL, a Cambridge certificate or schooling in English. Each programme states its own score. See IELTS and TOEFL for European universities.

Do you need German?

Not for admission to an English-taught degree, but bilingual degrees teach part of the course in German, and some English-taught programmes include German classes in the curriculum, so read the study plan. Outside the classroom you will need it: compulsory internships at universities of applied sciences, part-time jobs, housing and offices all work mainly in German. If you plan to stay in Germany after graduating, German matters even more. See German language exams: TestDaF and DSH.

Non-EU students need a visa and proof of funds; see the student visa for Germany.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.