University in Germany
Lüneburg, Niedersachsen, Germany
University profile
Leuphana University of Lüneburg is a foundation under public law in Lüneburg, Lower Saxony. It grew out of a College of Education founded in 1946 and received its present name in 2007, when it adopted a model of study created under a mandate from the Lower Saxony state parliament to develop a model university for the Bologna Process. It describes itself as a humanist, sustainable and application-oriented university for civil society.
Teaching is organised in three schools: the Leuphana College for bachelor's degrees, the Leuphana Graduate School for master's and doctoral studies, and the Leuphana Professional School for continuing education. Research is organised in five faculties: Education, Culture and Society, Management and Technology, Sustainability, and Public Affairs. Academic institutions include the International Center, the Kunstraum, the Media and Information Centre, the Methods Centre, the University Music Centre, the University Sports Centre and the Writing Centre.
The university has 9,504 students: 5,582 in the College, 2,533 in the Graduate School and 1,389 in the Professional School. The College offers 13 majors and 19 minors with more than 100 possible combinations, and a first-semester Leuphana Semester shared by all disciplines. The Graduate School runs 6 master's programmes with 18 majors and 22 doctoral programmes; the Professional School runs 17 master's programmes, 2 bachelor's programmes and more than 40 certificate programmes. Master's and doctoral studies can be linked directly through the Doctoral Track.
Most teaching takes place on a compact central campus at Universitätsallee 1, in the former Scharnhorst Barracks, which the university has used since 1997. Its central building, designed by Daniel Libeskind with students and opened in 2017, is a landmark of the campus. The campus has been climate-neutral since 2014 and offers cafés, a canteen, a library, study and music rooms, beach volleyball courts, table tennis tables and a cafeteria lawn. Student halls of residence are run by Campus Wohnen e.V. and the Studierendenwerk Ostniedersachsen, and the university's Accommodation Service supports international students in finding rooms; a first-semester hall on Wichernstraße lies beside the campus.
About 1,100 international students study at Leuphana, and more than a fifth of the Graduate School's students are international. The university offers English-taught bachelor's majors and a large range of English-taught master's programmes, maintains 423 university partnerships and 9 double or joint degree programmes, and is a member of the Hanse University Alliance, of which it is currently the spokes-university, and of University Alliance 11+. Student representation is through the AStA and the students' parliament.
Leuphana charges no tuition fees for its regular bachelor's and master's programmes, including for international students; part-time programmes and double degree programmes are exceptions. Each semester students pay a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag), which is not tuition: EUR 484.24 for winter semester 2026/27, made up of EUR 150.00 for the Studierendenwerk, EUR 75.00 administrative costs and EUR 259.24 student body contribution, which includes the Deutschlandticket and a culture ticket. Long-term study fees apply when the standard period is exceeded by more than six semesters.
Open to bachelor's and master's students of the College, Graduate School and Professional School. It pays EUR 300 per month for two semesters, half from private sponsors and half from the federal government, is independent of income and can be combined with BAföG. Selection is based on grades and academic achievement together with social commitment and special circumstances. Leuphana awarded 32 places for summer semester 2026; the next application period is 1 to 15 February 2027. Deutschlandstipendium
For talented students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, first-generation students and students with difficult starting conditions due to flight (including Ukrainian refugees). Applicants must be enrolled in the winter semester, show above-average performance, be within the standard period of study plus two semesters and not receive other multi-month scholarships. Applications are made through the Leuphana online portal; the 2026 period ran from 10 September to 1 October. Landesstipendium
Doctoral candidates can hold qualification positions as research staff or scholarships advertised by Leuphana, and can apply to the 13 federally supported talent-promotion foundations (for example Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung). The DAAD funds international doctoral candidates. The Graduate School's Qualification Fund supports conference travel and research stays. Funding your doctoral journey
BAföG is applied for through the Studierendenwerk, and the university cites about EUR 1,000 per month for basic living costs. The Leuphana Accommodation Service helps international students find rooms. Financing your studies
Browse the scholarships listed for Leuphana University of Lüneburg and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Leuphana University of Lüneburg →All programmes of the Leuphana College are admission-restricted. A university entrance qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung, HZB) is required, such as the Abitur, the International Baccalaureate Diploma, the European Baccalaureate or a recognised foreign qualification. Applicants with a foreign qualification can check whether it qualifies through the uni-assist database; a successful assessment test at a Studienkolleg gives subject-restricted access. Direct applications are possible with an IB Diploma, the European Baccalaureate, the Feststellungsprüfung or an Abitur from a German school abroad. Selection ranks applicants by their entrance-qualification grade, and the study aptitude test and selection interviews can add points. Nationals of non-EU/EEA countries with a foreign qualification are admitted through the 5 per cent advance and special quota.
Applicants who are EU, EEA or Swiss nationals with a school certificate from those countries apply directly through the Leuphana online portal; all others apply through uni-assist. The application period for the following winter semester runs from mid-May to 15 July.
English-taught majors require proof of English and no German. Accepted proofs include IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 90, Cambridge B2 First (scale 175), PTE Academic 63 and TOEIC 850 (listening and reading) with 340 (speaking and writing), with test results not older than two years; the IB Diploma with English A at Higher Level (grade 6), the European Baccalaureate with English L1 or L2 (grade 8.0) or an English-language degree also count. German-taught majors require German: DSH at least level 1, Goethe-Zertifikat C1, TestDaF with a total of at least 12 points and at least 3 in each part, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule, DSD II or a Studienkolleg assessment test. The Engineering major requires both German and English; its English minimum is IELTS Academic 4.5 or TOEFL iBT 60.
Master's programmes start in the winter semester (October). Applicants need a completed bachelor's degree or equivalent; a degree not yet completed can be replaced by proof that 81 per cent of the credit points have been earned (145 of 180 or 170 of 210). Programmes are consecutive: the first degree must be in the same or a related discipline with sufficient ECTS credits, assessed by the selection committee. Documents include the degree certificate, transcript of records, proof of English, a current certificate of study and, for German-language programmes, proof of German. Applicants with an EU/EEA degree apply through the myCampus portal; others apply through uni-assist. Deadlines are stated per programme; for Management & Entrepreneurship they are 1 June for EU degrees and 1 May for non-EU degrees. Applicants with a non-EU degree to Management & Entrepreneurship or Management & Sustainable Accounting and Finance must take the GMAT (at least 505) or GRE (50th percentile).
For most English-language programmes (for example Management & Data Science, Management & Entrepreneurship, Sustainability Science) the accepted proofs are TOEFL iBT 95, IELTS Academic 7.0, PTE Academic 76, Cambridge C1 Advanced or TOEIC 945, or an English-taught degree; proofs must not be older than five years. Some programmes set their own levels, for example IELTS 7.0 or TOEFL iBT 96 for International Law and Sustainability, and IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 79 for International Law of Security, Peace and Sustainable Development. Native speakers from listed English-speaking countries are exempt.
Applicants need a Diplom, Magister or master's degree (or Staatsexamen) with a grade better than 2.6, a research topic set out in a proposal of no more than five pages, and a supervisor among Leuphana's professors, evidenced by a confirmation of supervision and a supervision agreement. Applications go through myCampus and each faculty's doctoral regulations (Promotionsordnung) set the detailed requirements. Through the Doctoral Track, master's students may be admitted to the doctorate in parallel with a bachelor's degree of at least 1.7 (or top 10 per cent of graduates) and a bachelor's thesis of 1.3 or better.
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals need no visa. Other nationals generally need a student visa, for which proof of financial means (EUR 992 per month, which may be shown through a blocked account, a recognised scholarship such as DAAD or a declaration of commitment) and health insurance is required. Statutory health insurance costs about EUR 140 per month for students from countries without an agreement.
Campus facilities include a library, study and group-work rooms, cafés, a canteen, music and art rooms, ensembles (choir, orchestra, big band), beach volleyball courts, table tennis tables and green spaces. The campus is fully accessible, with ramps, lifts and reserved parking. Solar panels cover most buildings and the campus has been climate-neutral since 2014. Student halls of residence are run by Campus Wohnen e.V. (six halls on and near the campus) and the Studierendenwerk Ostniedersachsen (six residential complexes in Lüneburg).
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