What Students Say
Likes
- I chose to accept the admission as this is a Public University with no tution fees and it is located in a multi-cultural city. Another important aspect for my consideration was that in my course there were 50% of seats assigned to International students ensuring a diverse learning environment.
- University of Hamburg is a Public University, which has no tuition fees. You only pay approximately 350 Eur (as of 2023) towards administrative costs and public transport ticket costs. In my specific course (which is fully in English), 50% of seats are allocated to International students, which was much higher than most other public universities I looked at.
- With the public transport cost you have unlimited access to all modes of public transport in the city including U-Bahn, S-Bahn, Bus etc. The university is located in a very nice city that is very diverse. There is always something to do in this city so that is a big plus for people coming from large metropolis cities around the world.
Dislikes
- Most courses in the University fall under a German system accreditation and few courses have EQUIS accreditation. In a lot of cases this should not be an issue, but you should look into if this is a relevant issue for you. Incase you plan to continue to a Master's or PHD at the University of Hamburg, you will probably not have any problems.
University is great, located in a very nice city and best of all doesn't charge tuition fees. The main challenge I faced is finding accommodation as the wait time for student housing is very long.
Course Curriculum
My course has a very logical structure. There is focus on building fundamentals and then as you go through the semesters, you will have more research and practical courses to apply those learnings.
Faculty
The faculty to Student ratio can be depend on a number of aspects, eg. Level of study (Bachelors, masters or phd), whether the course is foundational or a specific application of learnings. In some of my foundation classes there are 50-60 students per class whereas in more practical application classes there can be 20-30 students per class.
Campus Life
The University of Hamburg has a wide range of events, clubs and sporting activity opportunities. There are well required libraries and wifi all over the campus.
Accommodation
There are no University specific dorms in Hamburg. There is a publicly run dorm system that caters to students from all Universities in Hamburg. They have a long wait time of 9-12 months hence it can be difficult to get placement into these students dorm accommodations. I suggest applying for these as soon as possible, even before receiving admission, to have the best chance of receiving a room though student housing. Student housing can cost between 270-450 Euros per month depending on the dorm you get and type of options they have. Incase of finding a private room in a shared apartment or house in the open market, it can cost anywhere between 400-750 Euros per month. There is very high demand for housing in Hamburg and is probably the most challenging aspect of moving to Hamburg.
Exams
The admission criteria for my course was based on previous academic scores and the motivation letter submitted during admission. Students from non English speaking countries were required to provide a English test score. However, no standardized tests were required in my case. As I hold a Bachelor's degree from the US I was exempt from the English test score requirement. SOP and CV were required in the admission process for my course. These requirements are course specific so I would suggest checking the exact requirements for your respective course on the University website. No interviews were conducted in my case. My Admission was confirmed based on the documents submitted. This may change depending on the course you apply for.
Fees
No tuition fees.
