University in Germany
Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
University profile
The University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university in the Rhineland, founded in 1818 and based in the former electoral palace in the centre of Bonn. It has been a German University of Excellence since 2019 and, with eight Clusters of Excellence, holds more than any other funded university. It has a 200-year tradition of combining research in many disciplines with research-led teaching, and the only two German Fields Medal winners are professors in Bonn.
Around 31,300 students (of whom about 5,285 are from abroad) and 6,769 doctoral students study across about 200 subject areas and 253 academic disciplines and degree programmes. Teaching and research are organised in seven faculties: Protestant Theology, Catholic Theology, Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences (the only faculty of agricultural science in North Rhine-Westphalia), Mathematics and Natural Sciences (the largest faculty), Medicine, Arts, and Law and Economics. They are supplemented by central research institutes, interdisciplinary centres and six Transdisciplinary Research Areas that cut across the faculties.
The university works from some 250 buildings across Bonn and about 100 more outside the city, grouped on five campuses: the Central Bonn Campus around the main building (Faculty of Arts and Law), Poppelsdorf, Endenich (Mathematics and Natural Sciences, plus technology units and start-ups), Venusberg (University Hospital Bonn) and the Klein-Altendorf agricultural research campus. The baroque main building, the Hofgarten and Poppelsdorf Palace form a historic ensemble; 67 of the university's 349 buildings are listed monuments, and its 58 libraries hold about five million volumes.
Strengths include mathematics (Hausdorff Center for Mathematics), economics (ECONtribute), physics and astronomy, immunology and life sciences (ImmunoSensation3), quantum technologies (ML4Q), agricultural robotics and sustainability (PhenoRob), and the humanities and social sciences, notably the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies. Bonn is the German city of the United Nations, hosting 20 UN centres and other international organisations.
Student life includes the Hochschulsport programme (rowing, boxing, yoga and many other sports), eleven university museums and collections including the Academic Art Museum, canteens and student housing run by the Studierendenwerk Bonn, student groups, music and arts activities, and the International Club with Welcome Days, a Welcome Buddy Programme and German courses for international students. The semester contribution includes the Deutschlandsemesterticket for regional public transport. About 5,000 students from over 130 nations study in Bonn, and most Master's programmes taught in English are international programmes, some leading to double degrees with partner universities.
The University of Bonn does not charge tuition fees, except for a handful of continuing-education Master's programmes. All students pay a semester contribution (Semesterbeitrag, not tuition) each semester: 363.07 euros for winter semester 2026/2027 and 345.07 euros for summer semester 2026. It includes the Deutschlandsemesterticket (226.80 euros in winter 2026/2027), 115.00 euros for the Studierendenwerk, 14.00 euros for student self-administration and smaller contributions. It may be waived in part in cases of social hardship and is reduced during a leave of absence (21.26 euros in winter 2026/2027). Average monthly living expenses in Bonn are given as 864 euros (22nd DSW/DZHW Social Survey, 2023).
Awarded and administered by the University of Bonn Foundation for particularly gifted and responsible students: 300 euros a month (3,600 euros a year) for one academic year starting 1 October. Applications are made in spring.
Also from the University of Bonn Foundation for especially talented students in need who have lived in the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region for at least five years and are not older than 27 at the start: 300 euros a month for one calendar year from 1 January. Applications can be submitted at any time up to 31 October.
International students enrolled for a Bachelor's, Master's or state examination with a non-German entrance qualification can apply for a degree completion scholarship (good to very good results, average grade of at least 2.5, graduation expected within 12 months), an equal opportunity scholarship (refugee background, disability of at least 50 per cent or chronic condition, care for children under 18 or relatives) or a scholarship for exceptional voluntary engagement (at least second programme semester, voluntary work over at least six months). Equal opportunity and engagement awards were 650 euros a month for five months from 1 October 2025. The next call is expected in December 2026, subject to DAAD and Federal Foreign Office funding approval. Exchange students from partner universities in the Global Exchange Program can receive a DAAD-STIBET I scholarship of 650 euros a month for up to 10 months, applied for through the partner university.
One-off start-up grants for first-year students in need are available from the federal and state governments (deadlines 30 November for winter and 31 May for summer semester) and from the AStA, which covers the first semester fee. BAföG is handled by the Studierendenwerk Bonn. The university also points to the 13 federally supported foundations for talented students and to DAAD scholarships for international students. The Pathways to Research programme supports early-career researchers with a refugee or migration background, and the NRWege ins Studium programme offers scholarships to students with a refugee background.
Scholarships | Costs and financing for international students | Semester contribution
Deutschlandstipendium at the University of Bonn →
Ließem Scholarship (Ließem-Stiftung, University of Bonn) →
Pathways to Research Scholarships (refugee or migration background) →
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View scholarships for University of Bonn →Applicants check whether their school-leaving qualification is sufficient for the chosen programme through the anabin database or the DAAD admission requirements database. A few programmes also require an aptitude test. Applicants from non-EU/EEA countries must always apply, including for programmes without admission restrictions, and may need to complete paperwork in their home country first. Documents not issued in German, English or French need a translation by a sworn translator. Applications to the university are free.
Programmes with a local numerus clausus: online application from early June to 15 July for winter semester and from early December to 15 January for summer semester, for all applicants. Applicants with a non-EU/EEA entrance qualification apply from June (winter) or early December (summer) until 15 July / 15 January for all programmes, restricted or not; results are announced at the beginning of August / February. Programmes with free admission require online pre-registration and enrolment, open from the beginning of June to 30 September. Human Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy are allocated through the central procedure at hochschulstart.de (Medicine and Dentistry start in winter semester only; Pharmacy deadline 15 January). Higher programme-related semesters: restricted programmes apply from early June to 15 September (winter) or early December to 15 March (summer).
Programmes taught in German require German at CEFR B2 for the application and DSH-2 (CEFR C1) for enrolment; Master of Education programmes require DSH-3. DSH-1 or an equivalent certificate is enough for the Bachelor programmes Anthropology of the Americas, Economics, Economics and Computer Science, English Studies and Celtic Studies. Accepted alternatives to DSH-2 are TestDaF level 4 in all four parts, the Feststellungsprüfung (aptitude test) of a German Studienkolleg, DSD II, Goethe-Zertifikat C2, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule and ÖSD C2. The university offers the DSH examination before the first semester and DSH preparation courses of one to two semesters for applicants with at least B1 (Goethe or telc B1 with at least 75 per cent, TestDaF TDN 3 in at least one part, DTZ or ECL B1), who must hold the entrance qualification for the intended programme and enrol for the duration of the course. Programmes taught entirely in English need no German certificate.
Each Master's programme sets its own admission conditions beyond a relevant first degree, its own deadlines, documents and language requirements, and applications are reviewed by the respective department; applicants apply to the programme coordinator through the application guide.
Doctoral candidates choose an individual doctorate with a supervisor or one of more than 30 structured doctoral programmes. Each faculty sets its own doctoral regulations (Promotionsordnung). The steps are: a signed confirmation of supervision from a Bonn professor, registration at the faculty's doctoral office (a letter of admission follows within four to eight weeks), then enrolment as a doctoral student via the HISinOne portal. Some faculties require language qualifications, for example Latin, Greek and Hebrew in Catholic Theology.
Students from outside the EU/EEA need a visa and apply to the German embassy once they hold the admission letter. Proof of funds is required for the visa, with a minimum of 992 euros a month (11,904 euros a year) since 1 October 2024, for example through a blocked account. Health insurance is compulsory at enrolment.
Facilities: 58 libraries with about five million volumes, 349 buildings (67 listed), eleven museums and collections, university sports, canteens and student housing through the Studierendenwerk Bonn. The main building is open Monday to Friday 7 am to 9 pm in lecture periods (7 am to 7 pm in the break) and Saturday 7 am to 12:45 pm.
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