University in Germany
Siegen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
University profile
The University of Siegen (Universität Siegen) is a state university in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia, working under the guiding idea "Zukunft menschlich gestalten" (shaping the future humanely). It describes itself as a mid-sized, interdisciplinary research university that is rooted in its region and widely networked nationally and internationally. Teaching and research are organised in four faculties and the Centre for Teacher Education and Educational Research.
Faculties. Faculty I is the Philosophische Fakultät; Faculty II covers Bildung - Architektur - Künste; Faculty III covers Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Wirtschaftsinformatik und Wirtschaftsrecht; and Faculty IV is the Naturwissenschaftlich-Technische Fakultät. The Zentrum für Lehrkräftebildung und Bildungsforschung (ZLB) coordinates teacher education across faculties, an area with a particular emphasis on special-needs education (Förderpädagogik). The programme range runs from architecture and civil engineering to business, media studies, languages, social sciences, natural sciences, psychology and engineering, with more than 100 degree programmes across Bachelor, Master and doctoral level and a number of dual-study engineering programmes.
Campuses and city. The university is spread over several sites in Siegen, including the Haardter Berg campuses (Adolf-Reichwein-Straße, Hölderlinstraße, Paul-Bonatz-Straße) and city-centre sites such as the historic Unteres Schloss and the Emmy-Noether-Campus. Facilities include a university library with branch libraries, learning spaces called LEOs, canteens and cafés run by the Studierendenwerk, and a university sports programme.
Research strengths. The research profile is organised around areas including media, data and language; conflict and public negotiation; social inequality and participation; matter and quantum systems; new materials, sensing and artificial intelligence; shaping digital transformation; and smart products and production systems. The university takes part in the Excellence Cluster "Color meets Flavor" (ExC 3107) with the Universities of Bonn and Dortmund and has been a member of the ATHENA European University alliance since 2020.
Students and international community. 12,545 students were enrolled in the summer semester 2026, among them 2,206 international students (1,749 of them Bildungsausländer) from more than 100 countries. The university reports more than 250 cooperations at over 150 higher-education locations. The department STARTING handles international admission, enrolment and preparatory German courses (DSH), and the International Office runs exchange, buddy and support programmes. The Studierendenwerk Siegen manages student halls with 972 places, and the university is a public institution of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Every student pays the Semesterbeitrag. For winter semester 2026/27 it is 393.80 EUR, made up of the Deutschlandsemesterticket (226.80 EUR), the solidarity contribution (7.00 EUR), the social contribution to the Studierendenwerk (140.00 EUR) and the AStA contribution (20.00 EUR). Exemption from individual components is not possible. Students in the preparatory German course pay an additional course fee of 500 EUR (893.80 EUR in total). Refugees can take the courses free of charge through the state programme NRWege ins Studium. Details are on the semester contribution page.
The university awards around 80 Deutschlandstipendien each year for one year, open to all Bachelor and Master students and generally to all disciplines, though some are given preferentially to students in subjects such as civil engineering, vocational-college teacher training, mechanical and electrical engineering, industrial engineering, computer science or IPEM. The amount is 300 EUR per month. In addition, three scholarships take personal financial circumstances into account, at 1,250 EUR per semester. The application deadline for the current round is 5 October 2026. Applications and advice are handled by the Studienförderfonds Siegen e.V. (contact).
The Studienförderfonds Siegen e.V. supports students regardless of origin and financial situation through financial support, non-material support and the prospect of a student assistant position after the funding year. Scholarships are awarded for very good academic performance (for first-year students, very good school results) or on grounds of financial need. Non-material support runs through the Siegen Junior Fellows network. See the scholarship overview.
Funded by Openbank Deutschland AG, three programmes are applied for through Santander Open Academy: the Your Way to Siegen Student Scholarship for international exchange students (one-off 500 EUR or 1,000 EUR; motivation letter, transcript of the home university and enrolment certificate), the Your Way to Siegen Research Grant for international doctoral students (1,000 EUR for a research stay of at least two weeks, applications continuous for stays in 2026), and Summer/Winter School Grants for Siegen students going abroad (one-off 500 EUR for Europe or 1,000 EUR outside Europe; application windows 15 March to 30 April and 15 September to 31 October 2026). Details are on the Openbank scholarships page.
Acceptance as a doctoral candidate does not include funding by the university. Routes include employment as a research assistant, scholarships advertised by the House of Young Talents (usually around June and December) and scholarships within the integrated graduate college of the Collaborative Research Centre 1187 "Medien der Kooperation"; the university also awards doctoral and habilitation scholarships to women each year.
Participants of the Goethe-Institut programme Studienbrücke (a partner programme since 2019) receive advice from the International Office. The Gesellschaft der Freunde und Förderer der Universität Siegen and faculty support associations fund research and students; see the supporters page.
Familienstipendium der Universität Siegen →
Your Way to Siegen Student Scholarship (Openbank/Santander) →
Browse the scholarships listed for University of Siegen and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for University of Siegen →Applicants to Bachelor programmes need a higher-education entrance qualification comparable to the German Abitur, for example a secondary school certificate, the university entrance examination of the home country or required years of study in the home country. Whether an application is necessary depends on the programme: some Bachelor programmes are open-admission and others are restricted. Bachelor Psychology, Europäische Wirtschaftskommunikation and Sozialwissenschaften in Europa are admission-restricted, with an application deadline of 15 July for the following winter semester. For all other Bachelor programmes, an application to check the entrance qualification is possible until the end of August for the winter semester and until the end of February for the summer semester, and early application is recommended.
Applicants whose school-leaving certificate is not comparable to the Abitur can attend a Studienkolleg in Germany. The University of Siegen does not currently run a Studienkolleg, but after passing the Feststellungsprüfung applicants can enrol directly in open-admission programmes related to their focus; restricted Bachelor programmes require an application first. Another route to entrance qualification is the TestAS (Test für Ausländische Studierende) together with the university's preparatory German courses; applicants whose school certificate qualifies for study at home but is not recognised in Germany can be admitted with a TestAS standard score of at least 100 in both the core module and the subject module. TestAS does not serve as proof of German language skills and is not currently offered in Siegen. Information on the recognition of foreign certificates is available through the Anabin database and the DAAD admission database.
Non-EU/EEA applicants for Bachelor programmes submit the completed online admission application with a copy of the passport by email to [email protected], attaching proof of entrance qualification (for example secondary school certificate, TestAS result, home-country entrance examination) and proof of German language skills (for example DSH or TestDaF certificate). Applicants with a German school-leaving certificate and EU/EEA citizens apply for the restricted Bachelor programmes through the online portal unisono by 15 July. All Master programmes are applied for through unisono within the application period shown on each programme page. Applications for English-taught Master programmes and for non-EU applicants often close on 30 April or earlier for the winter semester and 31 October for the summer semester because of visa processing. The Master programmes Psychologie, Klinische Psychologie mit Schwerpunkt Psychotherapie and LiDAS (double degree with the University of Orléans) have a deadline of 15 July for the winter semester.
German-taught programmes require the DSH (Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang) at level 2 or higher; DSH 3 is recommended for language studies and media programmes. Comparable certificates are accepted, including TestDaF (4-4-4-4), telc C1 Hochschule, Goethe-Zertifikat C2, ÖSD C2 and the Deutsches Sprachdiplom Stufe II (DSD II), as well as the German Abitur from a German school abroad and IB/GIB with German. Applicants without sufficient German can take the university's preparatory German courses (levels B1.1 to C1/C2, 20 hours per week, leading to the DSH) and are enrolled as students for a maximum of three semesters during the course. Applications for the course run from 1 March to 15 May for the following winter semester and from 1 September to 15 November for the following summer semester, via unisono (degree "Sonstiger Abschluss", subject "Deutschkurs"); a minimum A2 certificate is required with school and university certificates, and certified translations into German or English. External candidates can sit the DSH examination without taking the course (B2 certificate and a certified copy of the entrance qualification required; fee 200 EUR).
Master programmes require a first degree comparable to a European Bachelor degree, together with the subject and language prerequisites set out for each programme. Programmes taught in English list the required evidence of English proficiency on their individual programme pages.
Applicants with a school or university degree from China or Vietnam must obtain the APS certificate from the Academic Evaluation Centre of the German Embassy in Beijing; applicants from India must obtain the APS certificate from the Academic Evaluation Centre of the German Embassy in New Delhi. The certificate is uploaded in unisono with the application, at the latest at enrolment.
After receiving an admission notice, applicants enrol in five steps: register in unisono, confirm health insurance (digital confirmation M10 from a statutory insurer, or private insurance for applicants over 30 or for the preparatory German course), submit the enrolment application with the required documents, pay the semester contribution after the welcome email, and activate the ZIMT account, student email and Deutschland-Semesterticket. Insurance must start no later than the first day of the semester (1 April or 1 October) and be valid for at least one semester. The enrolment period is given on the admission notice.
Applicants with a Fachhochschulreife (school part sufficient) or a vocational qualification can enrol in many programmes (except Psychology and teacher training) after proof of general education (for example a grade average of 2.7 or better) and subject aptitude.
Admission to doctoral studies can be requested at any time from the responsible Promotionsausschuss, which meets irregularly. Applicants first contact a professor and the doctoral committee of their subject area. Enrolment as a doctoral student is possible from July to the end of October for the winter semester and from January to the end of April for the summer semester. A confirmation of admission to the doctorate can be used to apply for a doctoral visa. Support is available from the Welcome Center and the House of Young Talents.
The university is spread over several sites in Siegen (57072 and 57076):
Facilities: the university library catalogue (Katalog plus) covers over 200 million articles, books, journals and e-resources, with learning rooms, group-room booking and courses; LEO learning spaces at most campuses; canteens and cafés on the Haardter Berg and in the city centre; a university sports programme (Hochschulsport) with a semester sports card; and student halls of the Studierendenwerk Siegen with 972 places (single rooms, shared flats and apartments, generally furnished with utilities included in the rent).
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