4 State Universities in Germany where you can study Informatics in English
Studying in Germany is a topic that has been increasingly researched by many of my young friends in recent years. The most important problem we encounter in young people who consult me (as you can guess) is German. The known situation of foreign language education in our country, the fact that the schools that do this job properly focus on English instead of German, and the fact that German is less preferred as a second foreign language, even if it is elective, are the main reasons for this.
I agree, German is a very difficult language! What I cannot accept is that “people are taking steps too late in their educational road maps”. I published an article called “Before its too late!” where you can find details about the difficulty of the process and why it is necessary to act early.
“Computer Engineering”, which has not lost its popularity since I started my career, has evolved in recent years and has been divided into many sub-fields and has found many application areas. In industrialized economies like Germany, the “Industry 4.0” revolution has brought about an increasing need for professionals. Today, they have become the most sought-after and highest-paid professionals. As a result, young people are demanding more and more training in this field.
Germany continues to take steps to meet the professional needs of both its own country and the whole world in this field by implementing a very strict education curriculum in informatics. I have written a detailed article about studying informatics in Germany before, you can also review it. The subject of this article is those who do not speak German and want to study informatics in Germany.
I have already written that the majority of English-medium schools in Germany are private schools. Since I know that one of the main sources of motivation to study in Germany is that public schools are free of charge, I do not go into this side of the business at all. For this reason, I list below the public universities where you can get admission with ” Without German”.
HAW ( Hamburg Hochschule) – Information Engineering
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences is the second largest university in Hamburg and the 3rd largest university of applied sciences in Germany. It is also a preferred school for ease of transportation from many parts of the world. These universities are not evaluated in international rankings due to the fact that they are “Fachhochschule”. (See. What is Fachhochschule? ) Although these schools in Germany are seen as “second class universities” by some, they are highly respected by employers in Germany. (See. 8 Best Universities to Study Informatics in Germany. ) You pay 345 Euros as a semester contribution to the school (6-month public transportation ticket included figure).
The application for this 7-semester program is made through the school’s portal after receiving a VPD through Uni-assist. (See Uni-assist Application? and What is VPD?) Applications are between October 1-November 30 for the Summer semester and April 1-May 31 for the Winter semester. The program requires NC, so your university entrance exam score is important. Apart from that, you must provide one of the following language proficiency proofs:
TOEFL (minimum 550 PBT or 220 CBT, 87 IBT), IELTS (min. Band 6), BULATS (65), TELC B2-C1, Pearson (PTE General level 3, PTE Academic 59)
Technische Hochschule Ulm – Computer Science
Ulm University of Applied Sciences is a small school founded in 1960. It has around 3700 students, of which 900 are IT students. The city of Ulm is 90 km from Stuttgart, about 1 hour and 10 minutes by train. This school is a “Fachhochschule”, so what I wrote for HAW also applies here. The total tuition fee you have to pay to the school each semester (including the semester ticket) is 177 Euro.
In addition, international students from outside the EU in Baden-Württemberg are expected to pay a fee of 1,500 Euro per semester, so the total cost will be 1677 Euro per semester. The 8-semester program requires NC, so your YKS score is important. Applications for the VPD should be made to “Studienkolleg Konstanz” and not to uni-assist. The deadline is July 15th. You must also provide one of the following proofs of language proficiency
English language proficiency certificate (TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate, …), level B2 or higher
Program link: https://studium.hs-ulm.de/en/Pages/Studiengang_CTS.aspx
Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt – Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
Another Fachhochschule, Ingolstadt Technische Hochschule, is in a small town north of Munich. It takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes by train. With around 7000 students, it is considered a large Fachhochschule on a German scale. The semester contribution is 67 Euro, if you want you can buy a semester ticket for an additional 220 Euro.
In this 7-semester program, your YKS score gains importance as NC ranking is done. To apply, you must first apply for Hochschulstart (DosV), then apply for VPD from uni-assist. (See Uni-assist Application? and What is VPD?) Then you complete the application on the school’s portal. The application period is from May 2nd to July 15th. Although the program is entirely in English, you are required to prove your knowledge of German at level A1 by the end of the first semester. At the time of application, you have to prove your knowledge of English at level B2.
Program link: https://www.thi.de/en/studies/degree-programmes/details/computer-science-and-artificial-intelligence-bsc/
Saarland University – Computer Science / Cybersecurity
The only university on this list that is not a Fachhochschule. Saarland University ranked 441st among the top 1000 universities in the university rankings in 2023. (In this case, YÖK gives direct equivalence. ) The only disadvantage of the school is its location. Saarland University is located on the border of Germany and France and transportation from Turkey is a bit troublesome. Although there are different options in the summer months, the closest flight point is Frankfurt and from there it is a 3-hour journey.
The school, which offers two IT programs in English (Computer Science and Cybersecurity), has made it very difficult to accept students to the programs. Unlike Fachhochschules, the programs last for 6 semesters (Fachhochschules have a longer education period because they have practical semesters). For admission, in addition to university entrance qualifications and English at level B2, you must meet one of the following two options:
- Either you provide proof of your English proficiency together with a certificate proving that you have participated in the (semi-) finals of an international Computer Science competition (such as IOI).
- Or you will participate in an on-site/online oral training entrance exam (interview) in Saarbrücken (places for this oral entrance exam may be limited. If you want to participate in the interview, you must submit your application by June 15 at the latest).
The semester tuition fee is 293 euros. This includes the semester ticket.
Program link: https://www.uni-saarland.de/en/study/programmes/bachelor/computer-science.html
Above I have shared 4 public universities in Germany where you can study Informatics in English. If you consider that all these schools accept students from all over the world and rank NC, you can imagine how difficult it is to get admission. Therefore, if your idea and goal is to study Informatics in English, you should aim for as high a score as possible in the university entrance exam and work accordingly.
I hope everything will be to your liking. Your opinions and thoughts are important, please contact me via the comments section, my social media accounts and recep[at]recepdayi.com.tr e-mail address.
