Resources for students displaced from Ukraine

This website is intended to provide some initial guidance for students displaced from Ukraine who want to continue their studies in Germany. It was put together by us at Malengo; we are a non-profit organization which supports international students who want to study in Germany. We are grateful to Professors Dietrich Darr (Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences), Anna Göddeke (ESB Business School), and Magdalena Silberberger (University Witten-Herdecke) for helping us to coordinate this initiative.

NEW: Malengo now has a Ukraine–Germany Program. Find out more here:

Malengo’s Ukraine–Germany Program

Register your information if you want to be contacted by universities

We are collecting information from students who are interested in continuing their studies in Germany. We will share this information with universities which may be able to receive displaced students. You can use this form to sign up:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd9CkB0jTu5ZE4dbtScdT3CoZGdBRDvj5uaX19DrWQAyzZeKw/viewform?usp=sf_link

We will also use the contact details you provide on this form to reach out to you if we learn important information about possibilities for studying in Germany. You can withdraw your name from the list at any time if you wish.

Webinar recording with tips for studying in Germany

We held a webinar on March 14, 2022, with information about opportunities for studying in Germany. Below is the video, and the slides from the presentations:

Slide show downloads:

Slides from Johannes Haushofer’s presentation
Slides from Steven Bwete’s presentation

Here is a quick overview of useful links (consult the presentation slides linked above for more detail):

Finding a program

  • Searchable database of all Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in Germany: https://www.mygermanuniversity.com/
    • Can filter by degree type, language, cost, and admissions restriction
    • For example, you can search for Bachelor’s degrees, taught in English, without tuition fees, and without admissions restriction (i.e. anyone with a high school diploma or previous study experience who qualifies for university admission in Germany can register)
  • A list of Bachelor’s programs taught in English, without tuition fees and admissions restriction, can also be found here: http://malengo.org/eligible-bachelors-programs

Do you qualify?

  • For a Master’s degree, you need the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree
  • For a Bachelor’s degree, you need a “HZB” (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung): A high school diploma or other qualification that qualifies for university entry in Germany
  • You can find out whether your previous experience qualifies for university entry using a database called “Anabin” (https://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html). An easily searchable version of this database is accessible on the website of Uni-Assist: https://www.uni-assist.de/en/tools/check-university-admission/

How to apply?

  • Follow the instructions on the website of your chosen program to find out how to apply
  • Most universities use Uni-Assist e.V., a non-profit run jointly by the universities: https://www.uni-assist.de/en/. Again, only use this if that’s what your university requires. The application fee is EUR 75 for the first program, and EUR 30 for each additional program.
  • In many cases you’ll need proof of English proficiency, e.g. the TOEFL. It costs around USD 200. Check with your university if they are waiving this requirement in the current situation.
  • Normally, once you have gained admission to a program of your choice, you apply for a student visa. In the current situation, it’s unclear whether and of whom this will be required. An FAQ on the constantly evolving situation regarding the immigration status of persons displaced from Ukraine can be found on the website of the German Ministry of the Interior: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/EN/topics/ministry/ukraine-war-eng/faq-ukraine-artikel.html

What does it cost?

At the public universities described above, there are no tuition fees for anyone, including for non-EU citizens. You do pay an administrative fee each semester, which ranges from EUR 60 to EUR 330, depending on the university.

Under normal circumstances, the official estimate is that you need EUR 861 per month at your disposal to support yourself while studying in Germany. (In practice, most students from abroad live on less; the average is EUR 646 per month.) To get a student visa, you need to demonstrate that you can support yourself for one year, which means that you need to demonstrate that you have EUR 10,332 available. This amount needs to be deposited into a locked bank account, from where it can then be paid out in monthly installments of EUR 861.

We don’t know to what extent this proof will be required in the current situation, in particular for third-country nationals. We recommend that you check the news and the FAQ on the website of the Ministry of the Interior linked above for updates.

Medical education

Many students who contacted us are medical students. We are aware of only one English-taught medical program in Germany, which you will find here: https://edu.umch.de/

Germany is experiencing a shortage of nurses. Vocational training to become a nurse lasts 3 years and you get paid. Contact local hospitals directly to inquire about openings. You need to know German at level B2.

There aren’t good options for studying medicine in Germany if you don’t speak German. However, our partner organization Chancen eG has kindly provided a list of universities in Bulgaria and Romania that offer medical degrees with relatively low tuition cost. Please find this list below. If you’re interested in any of these options, go to the university websites to find out more.

CityCountryUniversityTuition per semesterLink
PlovdivBulgarienMedical University of Plovidv4.000,00 € 
PlevenBulgarienMedical University Pleven3.500,00 €http://www.mu-pleven.bg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=641:fees&catid=188&Itemid=258&lang=en
SofiaBulgarienMedical University Sofia4.000,00 € 
VarnaBulgarienMedical University Varna4.000,00 € 
TrakiaBulgarienTrakia University3.500,00 €http://uni-sz.bg/engl/tuition-fees-and-bank-accounts/
BukarestRumänienCarol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy3.000,00 €https://umfcd.ro/en/education/programme-studies/
IasiRumänienGrigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy2.500,00 €https://www.studimed.de/universitaten/medizinstudium-iasi-universitaet-iasi/
Cluj (Klausenburg)RumänienIuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca2.500,00 € 
HermannstadtRumänienLucian Blaga University of Sibiu6.300,00 €https://www.ulbsibiu.ro/ro/
Targu MuresRumänienUniversity of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures3.000,00 € 
TimișoaraRumänienVictor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara http://www.umft.eu/

A number of German hospitals offer support to medical students in paying tuition fees and covering living expenses; some even in the English-speaking programs listed above. The list of hospitals that do this is here: https://medizinstipendium.de/stipendien-von-krankenhaeusern-fuer-medizinstudierende. For example, Bezirksklinken Mittelfranken offer the tuition costs for medicine in Varna/Bulgaria. We’re not sure if you have to speak German to take advantage of these scholarships. If you’re interested in these opportunities, contact the hospitals directly.

Other useful links, and offers from specific universities

Here is an incomplete and unorganized assortment of other potentially useful links:

MALENGO DOES NOT ASK FOR MONEY FROM STUDENTS, REFERENCE PROVIDERS, OR ANYONE ELSE DURING THE APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS.