International students who are not citizens of an EU/EEA country and who do not have a German university entrance qualification (Abitur) have to pay tuition fees of € 1,500.00 per semester when starting or switching to a Bachelor's study program, a Master’s study program, or a state examination program.
This means that international students coming to Germany for the purpose of studying will usually have to pay tuition fees.
International students must pay €1,500 tuition fees for each semester in the program. In addition, they have to pay the usual semester fees, currently in the amount of €186.70.
There are also programs that charge additional fees on top of the existing tuition fees (e.g., MSc Food Systems) or have a different fee structure (e.g., Master of Finance). Please refer to the page of the respective degree program for information about the costs.
The term "tuition fees" in this text thus refers to the fees in the amount of €1,500 per semester, which are charged in accordance with Sec. 3 of the State University Fees Act (LHGebG) for the courses offered, including the specific support associated with them.
The tuition fees and the general semester fees for the first semester are due in full for the first time when the application for enrollment is submitted. Please refer to your admission letter for the deadline for enrollment. This means that when you apply for enrollment, you must upload proof of payment, among other things.
As a rule, we recommend transferring the tuition fees and semester fees and applying for enrollment after your visa (if applicable) has already been issued and you are absolutely sure that you will begin your studies at the University of Hohenheim.
Refunds are possible, but they involve a rather complicated and lengthy bureaucratic procedure. A refund of tuition fees is only possible if you are either not enrolled at all or if you have exmatriculated with immediate effect within one month of the start of the lecture period. In all other cases, tuition fees will not be refunded, even if you do not actually start the degree program.
To avoid delays in unblocking the blocked account or opening a German account, it is advisable to transfer the tuition and general semester fees in one amount while you are still in your home country. Please make sure that the transfer fees and possible losses due to the exchange rate are also covered by the payment. If the amount received from the University of Hohenheim is less than the amount due, your enrollment will not be processed until the difference has been paid. If you overpay, the difference will be credited to the next semester.
You can ask another person in Germany or abroad to transfer the money for you, but make sure that the purpose entered on the transaction (Verwendungszweck) is correct. Cash or card payments are not possible on site. It is not possible to pay in installments. Payments for two semesters at the same time are not possible. Please transfer the fees for the second semester to your blocked account or another bank account of yours if proof of availability of these funds is mandatory for the visa application.
Please refer to your admission and fee notification and the application for enrollment at the end of the online enrollment for information on bank account and purpose (Verwendungszweck).
If you need a payment confirmation for your visa application, please send us a proof of payment to the email address given on the right. We will issue a payment confirmation as soon as the amount has been received.
From the second and subsequent semesters, tuition fees and general semester fees are due in full for each summer semester on 15 February and for each winter semester on 15 August. The deadlines refer to the day on which the University of Hohenheim receives your transfer and not to the day of the transfer! Allow approximately one week for the Cashier's Office to receive the fees. You must therefore make sure to transfer the total amount on time! You are then re-registered and can retrieve your confirmation of student status and validate your student ID.
A fee of €20 must be paid for late re-registrations (money received on or after 16 February or 16 August).
It is not possible to pay in installments! Please do not make any partial payments, as this makes the allocation of fees and contributions considerably more difficult. Please do not round the total amount up or down. The cent amounts must be exactly right.
You can view the purpose of the transfer (Verwendungszweck), bank details, and the current status of your payments in the HohCampus student portal throughout your time as a student. Please be sure to state the purpose of the transfer (Verwendungszweck) when transferring the fees, otherwise there will be delays in booking them to your account.
Please also check on HohCampus whether your account has a credit balance. If yes, please transfer only the difference (exactly as indicated in HohCampus).
Usually international students have to open a blocked account (Sperrkonto) in order to receive a visa for Germany. Tuition fees typically cannot be transferred from a blocked account. It is generally not recommended to mix tuition fees and financial means in blocked accounts. Blocked accounts exist to secure your livelihood and ensure that you can get a residence permit at the Foreigners’ Office. Thus tuition fees must be paid by other means.
That is why we recommend you have two accounts in Germany: one that is blocked that you open from abroad and one regular account that can be opened after your arrival in Germany.
Even if you can arrive in Germany without a visa, you should have enough funds to cover both your living expenses for obtaining a residence permit as well as tuition.
In principle, German nationals or nationals of an EU/EEA country and students who have obtained their university entrance qualification (e.g., Abitur) in Germany or who have a German university entrance qualification (German schools abroad) do not pay tuition fees.
In these cases, the fee is automatically not charged.
These include:
- Students from the EU and the EEA (EU + Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
- International students who hold a German university entrance qualification are not subject to the obligation to pay fees. § 58(2) numbers 1 to 6 and 12 LHG
- Students in a doctoral study program
Students who have an “established domestic connection” to Germany are exempt. Roughly speaking, these are foreigners who have a residence permit in Germany not only for the purpose of studying, but also for family reasons (e.g., spouse, partner or child of a German, an EU/EEA citizen or a foreigner with a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis)), because they are a refugee from their home country, or for reasons of international law, humanitarian, political or other reasons.
Please note that in this case you have a duty to cooperate and must complete an information form and submit the relevant documents as part of your application or enrollment if you wish to claim an exception.
There are exceptions to the obligation to pay fees for:
- Spouses, life partners, and children of EU/EEA nationals pursuant to § 3(1) and (4) of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU or children who are not entitled to these rights because they are 21 years of age or older and do not receive financial support from their parents or their spouses or life partners
- Foreign nationals with a permanent residence permit for Germany or an EU permanent residence permit
- Refugees who regularly reside in Germany who are recognized abroad under the Geneva Refugee Convention and are not only temporarily entitled to reside in Germany
- Homeless foreign nationals under the Act on the Legal Status of Homeless Foreigners in the Federal Territory
- Foreign nationals who have their permanent residence in Germany and have a residence permit for reasons of international law, humanitarian, political, family, or other reasons with good prospects of remaining. This includes everyone who has a residence permit in accordance with §§ 22, 23(1), (2), or (4), Sections 23a, 24, 25(1) or (2), §§ 25a, 25b, 28, 37, 38(1) sentence 1 no. 2, or Section 104a AufenthG
- Spouses, life partners, or children of a foreign national with a permanent residence permit who have a residence permit in accordance with §§ 30 or 32 to 34 AufenthG
- Foreign nationals who permanently reside in Germany due to a ban on deportation or another obstacle to leaving the country, with a residence permit in accordance with § 25 (3) or (4) sentence 2 or (5) or § 31 AufenthG, who have been residing in Germany legally, permitted, and tolerated for at least 15 months without interruption
- Spouses, life partners, or children of a foreign national with a residence permit who have a residence permit in accordance with §§ 30 or 32 to 34 AufenthG and have been residing in Germany legally, permitted, and tolerated for at least 15 months without interruption
- Foreign nationals with a “tolerated” status with permanent residence in Germany who have resided legally, permitted, and tolerated in Germany for at least 15 months without interruption
- Foreign nationals who have resided in Germany for a total of 5 years and have been legally employed
- Foreign nationals of whom at least one parent has resided in Germany for a total of three years during the last six years before the start of the degree program and has been legally employed for that time
- Foreign nationals who have completed a Bachelor’s and a Master’s program or a Staatsexamen or Diplom program in Germany (then please see Zweitstudium fee)
A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree obtained in Germany is not sufficient for an exception to the obligation to pay fees!
If you are not sure whether your residence permit entitles you to a fee exception, please check the information in the “Remarks” field in your residence permit, read the information form linked on this page, or contact the Office of International Affairs and ask. Without notification from the University of Hohenheim that you are excepted from paying tuition fees, you are initially obligated to pay the tuition fees.
| 1) | Students are exempt from paying the tuition fee if they are enrolled in a development-related Master’s program supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (currently the Master's program in Agricultural Economics) and
To get the exemption, applicants must complete the information form, which can be downloaded from this page, and submit it along with supporting documentation as part of their application. The information form can also be submitted later, as this type of exemption does not take effect until enrollment. Please note that this exemption is exclusively valid for Agricultural Economics Master’s program and no other program of the University of Hohenheim. |
| 2) | In the cases described below, you have not only a requirement to cooperate but also an obligation to request the exemption, and you must complete an application and submit the accompanying documents if you wish to claim the exemption. You may request an exemption after you have received the official notification of tuition fees. The request forms can be downloaded here and must be submitted before the start of the lecture period. The following groups are eligible for exemptions:
If you are already enrolled, the application is made via HohCampus. It is best to arrange this a few weeks before the re-registration deadlines so that it is clear beforehand whether you will have to transfer the tuition fees for international students or just the regular semester fees. Alternatively, it is possible to transfer the entire outstanding amount, including tuition for international students, in order to be re-registered, and submit both applications before the start of lectures and the supporting documents as soon as possible. Until proof is provided, your requests will not be processed. Tuition will be refunded if you submit both requests by the deadline and your request for a leave of absence is granted.
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| 3) | There are also other possibilities for exemptions. Students who were exempted according to University of Hohenheim Statutes on Tuition Fee Exemptions for International Students as described in the Sec. 6(4 and 5) LHGebG do not pay tuition fees during their standard period of study (four semesters). The decision on exemptions from tuition fees is made by the faculties according to a ranking list created based on special aptitude, nationality, social criteria, and gender equality aspects. The application for admission submitted properly and on time is thereby considered the request for exemption. This type of exemption does not need to be requested separately and is the responsibility of the faculties. |
International students who were already enrolled at the time the law came into effect (17 May 2017) do not have to pay tuition fees and can complete their study program at the University of Hohenheim as planned without paying tuition. This also applies to students enrolled in two or more study programs at the time the law came into effect. In the case of multi-disciplinary programs, one change of one subject remains free of tuition fees.
If students switch to a new study program, they generally have to start paying tuition fees. This includes beginning a Master’s program after having completed a Bachelor's program.
This depends on certain conditions.
| No fees need to be paid by international students who are enrolled within the framework of university agreements if they come for two semesters as part of an exchange agreement with the partner university and without the intention of obtaining a degree and the exemption from fees has been agreed on a reciprocal basis. | The conditions for exemption from fees are:
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No fees must be paid by international students who are enrolled under agreements at the state, federal, or international level that guarantee exemption from fees. | |
International non-degree students according to § 60(1) sentence 5 LHG, who do not come to the university as non-degree students for a maximum of two semesters as part of university cooperation, must pay fees per semester (e.g., students referred to as free movers). No fees must be paid by free movers who undertake a research stay without acquiring credits (ECTS). | |
Double Degree programs are established in such a way that students enroll and pay tuition fees at their home university. The students enroll additionally at their host university during the year abroad without paying tuition fees. If your home university is the University of Hohenheim, you have to be enrolled here during your entire course of studies and pay tuition fees in Hohenheim. That will automatically exempt you from paying tuition fees at your host university.
This procedure also works the other way around. Students who start their studies at a different home university and then come to Hohenheim won’t pay tuition fees in Hohenheim but continue paying tuition fees at their home university abroad. This ensures that tuition fees won’t be paid twice.
The general rules may be summarized as follows:
- international joint program resulting in a double degree
- compulsory stay abroad at the partner university as part of the program
- mutual tuition fees waiver agreement
Tuition fees are not to be confused with regular semester fees! Double Degree students have to pay regular semester fees at the University of Hohenheim throughout of their entire course of studies. Host universities can charge regular semester fees as well. Thus, you might have to pay regular semester fees at both universities - home and host.
No. Pre-courses and preparatory studies, or language courses that are attended before enrollment don’t have to be paid for. Short-term stays (such as summer schools) are free of charge if you are not enrolled at the University of Hohenheim.
No. If the student has completed a Bachelor’s and a Master’s, state examination, or Diplom degree in Germany, then for further studies they only pay the additional degree program fee (650 euros / semester).
If an international student has not completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s program, then they must only pay the tuition fees for international students (1,500 euros / semester).
If international students start another degree program (e.g. an additional Bachelor’s or Master’s program), then they must pay 1,500 euros in tuition fees. If international students are excepted or exempted (Sec. 5 and 6 LHGebG) from paying tuition fees for these studies, then they must pay the fee for an additional degree program (Sec. 8 LHGebG).
No. Students who have to or can study at several universities in Baden-Württemberg at the same time according to the study or examination regulations are only charged at the university determined in an agreement between the participating universities or which is the main focus of the curriculum.
All students are required to pay the administrative fees and student fees for each semester as well as contribute to the student parliament fee. The student fees do not replace other fees and charges. Tuition fees do not include these contributions either.
It may be that the amount of regular semester fees changes a little each semester. You can find current information about the amount due in your student account during your studies as well as here:
Every student and prospective student subject to fees (e.g., no DE/EU/EEA citizenship and no German university entrance qualification) can fill out an information form during the application process and upload it in a PDF file together with the relevant supporting documents
This information form is used to state whether an exception to the obligation to pay fees exists in accordance with § 5.
The documents are generally accepted as scans. The Office of International Affairs reserves the right to request the originals at any time.
The documents must be submitted at the time of enrollment or re-registration. However, the earlier the documents are submitted, the faster they can be checked!
Subsequently, applicants who have not uploaded/submitted an information form or for whom the evidence was insufficient will receive a fee notice. In this case, an exemption from tuition fees can be applied for in accordance with § 6 State University Fees Act (LHGebG). The application for exemption must be sent to the Office of International Affairs together with the relevant supporting documents. The application must be submitted by the start of the lecture period.
If the application for exemption has been submitted on time and the relevant evidence is complete, the fee notice will be revoked.
If the documents and evidence cannot be submitted through no fault of your own or can only be submitted later (e.g., because the competent authority was unable to issue them in time), the notification of fees will be revoked and the tuition fees already paid will be refunded. This also applies if the legal reason for the exception occurs within one month of the start of the lecture period.
Students or prospective students who do not receive a fee notice or whose applications for exemption are granted do not have to pay tuition fees. Please note the duration of the exception or exemption granted. If this is only valid for a certain number of semesters or is related to the validity of your documentation, you must apply for a new exception or exemption (if still applicable) in due time after the validity period has expired. We recommend submitting the documents for each summer semester before February 15 and for each winter semester before August 15.
Duty to cooperate: Students and prospective students are obliged to cooperate. This means that you must submit any information and documents required for the levying of fees or for an exception or exemption by the time of enrollment or re-registration at the latest. The University of Hohenheim must also be informed immediately of any changes to the information provided. The University of Hohenheim is not obliged to investigate the facts of the case ex officio.
Citizens of Switzerland and Turkey are generally obligated to pay tuition fees. If you are a Swiss citizen and an employee in Germany or if you are a family member of a Swiss citizen employed in Germany, a possibility of exception may be checked according to the agreement between the European Community and its member states on the one hand and the Swiss Confederation on the other on the freedom of movement from 2 September 2001.
If you are a Turkish citizen and live with your parents in Germany with the proper documentation, and your parents are or were employed regularly in Germany, and if you do not already fall under another exception and do not have a German university entrance qualification, you may request an exception according to the Association Council Decision No. 1/80 from 19 September 1980 on the development of the association (EEC/Turkey).
Please note the information form on this page in both cases.
If a country leaves the European Union or the European Economic Area, and if its citizens would then be required to pay tuition fees, then if at the time the withdrawal takes effect they had been enrolled in a degree program at a University in Baden-Württemberg for at least five semesters, they may continue this degree program without paying tuition fees.
Because of the withdrawal procedure is intended to take two years and a regular, long preliminary period before the withdrawal request has been made, it is ensured that only those students are affected by tuition fees who already knew of the serious possibility that their country would withdraw when they started their degree program. If they still decide to study at a university in Baden-Württemberg, the requirement to pay tuition fees is not unexpected and they cannot expect any protection of legitimate expectations.
With regard to the final consequences of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU, it should be noted that even those British nationals who, without taking up studies, established their residence in Germany by
31 December 2020, and have maintained this residence since then, are to be treated as EU citizens and are therefore not liable to pay fees as international students even if they take up studies at a later date.
In the case of exmatriculation before the beginning of the semester, the fee paid will be reimbursed.
If the student withdraws from university within one month after lectures begin, the tuition fees are reimbursed.
If the conditions for an exception from tuition fees applied during enrollment and international students were not able to show the required documents in time for reasons for which they were not at fault (e.g. documents were not ready), any tuition fees paid will be reimbursed.
Tuition fees will also be reimbursed if the conditions for an exception take effect within a month after the lecture period begins and have been successfully proven by the student.
Please note the request for reimbursement, which you can download on this page.
If fees were not imposed although the student should have had to pay tuition fees, then they can be imposed retroactively.
If by the end of the current semester, the student completes all examination requirements for graduation, including submitting, presenting, or defending the thesis, and is only awaiting the final grade, no re-registration for the next semester is required. Re-registration is possible as long as the Examinations Office has not yet recorded that the degree has been completed.
However, if one of the exams takes place in the upcoming semester (this includes submitting, presenting, or defending the thesis), re-registration for the next semester is required.
The Examinations Office stores the final grade and automatically exmatriculates the student at the end of the current semester if the student is enrolled at the time the completion of the degree is recorded in the system. Even if you have already been exmatriculated, the Examinations Office records your final grade and issues your graduation documents.
Exmatriculation with immediate effect "for other reasons" is possible as soon as all examinations required for the degree have been completed. If you exmatriculate within one month after the start of lectures, the tuition fees will be refunded.
Exmatriculation with immediate effect is final and cannot be reversed. Upon exmatriculating, the student immediately loses student status.
If the student is not exmatriculated within one month after the start of lectures and finishes their studies during the semester, the student will automatically be exmatriculated at the end of the semester and will not receive any tuition fees back.
Ongoing enrollment is sometimes desirable, and exmatriculation with immediate effect can have implications for many aspects of student life, such as health insurance, residency permits, jobs, internships, and so on.
It is advisable to consider this carefully before requesting exmatriculation.
Tuition fees of €1,500.00 are not the same as regular semester fees of €186.70 (which are made up of three different fees).
The Office of International Affairs charges tuition fees for international students in the amount of €1,500.00.
The Registrar's Office is responsible for the semester fee.
For more information on the other fees, please see the Exmatriculation page.
Special regulations due to the war in Ukraine
On 25 April 2022, the MWK announced that the responsible offices at the universities are to examine applications for deferral or waiver of tuition fees with special consideration of the current situation in order to avoid individual hardship for students who are in a hardship after the start of the war in Ukraine through no fault of their own.
If paying tuition is a financial hardship for you, you may apply for a deferment or (partial) waiver of tuition.
Please use the forms you can find on the page under Download.
Please note that your application can only be approved if there are substantial reasons which occurred after commencement of your studies through no fault of your own and if these reasons can be credibly and plausibly substantiated by information and documents. Therefore, please only submit an application if the following requirements are met:
- The tuition fees are not yet paid
- The hardship only occurred after the start of the studies
- The hardship arose through no fault of your own
If the tuition fees have already been paid or the hardship occurred after the payment of the tuition fees or before the start of the studies, a deferment/waiver is not possible.
The request for deferral or waiver due to hardship must be plausibly and meaningfully justified and supported by evidence and proof. Please note that all applications will be processed as soon as possible. Due to the expected increased volume, we must ask for your understanding that processing times are longer and it will not be possible to respond immediately. The earlier the documents are submitted, the higher the probability that they will be processed before the re-registration deadline.
Specific regulations because of the COVID 19 pandemic
On 24 April 2020, the MWK announced that the responsible offices at the universities are to examine applications for deferral or waiver of tuition fees with special consideration of the current situation in order to avoid individual hardship for students who, after taking up their studies, find themselves in a predicament as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic through no fault of their own. This possibility still applies as the pandemic continues.
If paying the tuition fee is a financial hardship for you, you can apply for a deferral or request that the tuition fee be waived in whole or in part.
Please use the forms you can find on the page under Download.
Please note that your application can only be approved if there are substantial reasons, which occurred after beginning of your studies through no fault of your own, and if these reasons can be credibly and plausibly substantiated by information and documents. Therefore, please only submit an application if the following requirements* are met:
- The emergency situation only occurred after the start of the studies
- The emergency arose through no fault of your own
- Lectures and courses were cancelled or examinations did not take place and your studies had to be extended
* Please also read the FAQ on the subject of "In which cases are a deferral, whole or partial waiver, or refund possible, and when are these not possible?”
Please note: Before submitting the application, you must have exhausted other funding options.
Please note that all applications will be processed as soon as possible. Due to the expected increased volume, we must ask for your understanding that processing times are longer and it will not be possible to respond immediately.
1. Deferral and waiver according to Hardship Clause Sec. 7 LHGebG
YES: In case of economic hardship after the start of your studies through no fault of your own, especially Covid19-related loss of job or loss of parental funding, the University of Hohenheim can defer or waive the tuition fees.
NO: If the tuition fees have already been paid or if the emergency situation only occurred after payment of the tuition fees, a deferral/waiver is not possible.
The application for deferral or waiver due to a Covid19-related emergency must be plausible and convincingly justified and backed up with evidence and proof.
2. Waiver and reimbursement according to Sec. 22 LGebG
The University of Hohenheim can waive or reimburse the tuition fee in whole or in part if the collection is unreasonable according to the situation of the individual case.
This unreasonableness can have factual reasons, for example because the individual student cannot take part in essential teaching and support activities that cannot be replaced in other formats. For example in the event of cancellation or absence of
- courses (in particular compulsory subjects)
- examinations
- specific support services for internationals (e.g. language courses, counselling)
fees may be waived or reimbursed in whole or in part.
When deciding on this, the university exercises its discretion in each individual case.
Complete or almost complete: reimbursement/waiver possible; if necessary, offsetting against tuition fees for the following semester
Partial: partial waiver/reimbursement possible after checking to what extent the teaching and support services could not be used
Minor: No waiver/no refund, provided that the following semester is not significantly affected by compensation offers or examinations
Reimbursement due to personal inequity: An inequity can also be assumed for personal reasons, with the result that fees can be waived or reimbursed. For example, the offered courses could not be followed for justifiable reasons, e.g. child care during the event or (re-)entry was not permitted. Please note: if you left Germany before or during the Covid-19 crisis for non-urgent reasons and (re-)entry is not possible, the prevented entry does not automatically lead to a waiver.
The regular semester fees are not affected and will not be waived or refunded.