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STUDYING IN GERMANY

Germany boosts funding for EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme

The German government is upping the allowance for students who spend a semester abroad under the EU's Erasmus scheme.

Published: 15 June 2022 11:26 CEST
University of Regenburg
A sign directs visitors towards the University of Regenburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Armin Weigel

The Education Ministry is set to increase support for young people who take part in the Erasmus+ scheme – a programme for students who want to spend a semester abroad in another EU country, or the UK.

According to Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), €57 million from the European Social Fund will be used to boost the living allowance for students studying in a foreign country.

“This will enable us to provide higher support for up to 13,700 more young people,” she said. 

The news comes just a few months after the traffic-light coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) announced it would be hiking the basic scholarships available under the exchange programme.

From the coming winter semester onwards, the basic funding for Erasmus+ participants will range from €490 to €600, depending on which country students are studying in. 

In addition, students who have a disability or come from a non-academic home can receive an extra €250 per month to live on.

Stark-Watzinger said the additional funding would open a “new chapter in the 35-year success story of the European social exchange”. 

What is the Erasmus scheme? 

The Erasmus scheme is an EU student exchange programme aimed at improving the prospects of young people in the European Union and fostering a sense of European identity.

First founded in 1987, the name refers to the famous Dutch humanist philosopher, Desiderius Erasmus, and also functions as an acronym for ‘European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students’. 

The scheme has gone through various rebrands in its 35-year history, but it continues to allow bachelors, masters and PhD students studying in EU member states to transfer to a foreign university for a minimum of two months and a maximum of 12 during their studies. 

Students can also complete work experience opportunities and traineeships abroad under the scheme. 

And it’s not just EU states that take part in the programme: under Erasmus+, students can travel to any of the 27 member states as well as Norway, North Macedonia, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Serbia and Turkey.

Since leaving the EU in 2021, the UK is no longer part of the scheme and has instead set up its own exchange programme, known as the Turing scheme.

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STUDYING IN GERMANY

Where can university students in Germany get a ‘Deutschlandticket’ for €29?

Originally launched year ago for €49 a month, the Deutschlandticket allows holders to take unlimited trips around Germany on regional and local transport. As of April it's been rolled out at universities across the country - with a big student discount. But not everyone is eligible.

Published: 3 April 2024 11:37 CEST
Where can university students in Germany get a 'Deutschlandticket' for €29?

The summer semester in Germany started in April, which means that many of the approximately three million students can take advantage of a discounted Deutschlandticket for €29.40. 

The popular transport ticket, launched on May 1st of last year, allows for unlimited nationwide travel on local and regional busses and trains.

However not all Unis are taking part, especially in cases where their previous ‘semester ticket’ is cheaper. Here’s an overview of where the tickets is available to students around the country.

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in April 2024

Baden-Württemberg

In Ba-Wü, the “D-Ticket JugendBW” has been available since December for €365 per year. Like the Deutschlandticket, both tickets entitle the holder to use buses and trains on local transport throughout the Bundesrepublik.

Bavaria

Bavaria continues to go its own way with the €29 “Bavarian discount ticket” (Bayerische Ermäßigungsticket), which has been available to students, trainees and volunteers since September. It also allows for unlimited local and regional transport throughout the country, and for 40 cents cheaper per month than its nationwide competitor.

Berlin and Brandenburg

Of the 36 universities that already have semester ticket agreements with the Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association (VBB), around 80 percent have opted for the Deutschlandticket at a monthly price of €29.40, according to the Berlin Senate Transport Administration. Students who opt for a semester ticket – which will also allow for use of regional and local trains nationwide – can expect to pay €32 in Berlin and €34 to €36 in Brandenburg.

READ ALSO: Working hours to visas: The new rules for international students in Germany

Hamburg and Hesse

The 120,000 students at 17 universities in Hesse and around 85,000 students at 25 universities in Hamburg have been able to use public transport throughout Germany with the new Deutschlandticket since the beginning of March or the beginning of April, depending on when their semester starts.

Rhineland-Palatinate

In neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate, the Deutschlandticket for students will initially be launched in Mainz and Trier in the summer semester, with Koblenz to follow suit in the winter semester.

North Rhine-Westphalia

Most universities in Germany’s most populous state have also switched from the previous semester ticket to the discounted Deutschlandticket at the start of the new semester. They include the universities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Münster, Bochum, Duisburg-Essen and Bonn, TU Dortmund University and the universities in Aachen and Bielefeld. Others are to follow in the winter semester. 

Unlike the Deutschlandticket, the previous semester ticket was only valid regionally.

Tram Leipzig

A tram drives through Leipzig. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jan Woitas

Saxony

Most students at universities in Saxony will be able to use the discounted Deutschlandticket from the summer semester – for example in Dresden, Leipzig and Zwickau. An agreement with Chemnitz University of Technology is currently being finalised, according to the Central Saxony Transport Association. .

Saxony-Anhalt

In many places, the regional semester ticket is considerably cheaper than the nationwide Deutschlandticket – for example at the universities in Magdeburg, Wernigerode and Stendal. As surveys among students are still ongoing, the changeover can only take place there for the winter semester at the earliest, a spokeswoman for the Magdeburg Student Union told DPA.

In Halle and Merseburg, on the other hand, students have been able to use discounted Deutschlandticket nationwide from April 1st.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

In the northwestern state, only the University of Rostock is taking part. The University of Greifswald and the universities of Stralsund and Neubrandenburg have decided against the ticket.

Lower Saxony, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen

In Lower Saxony and Saarland, the Deutschlandticket for students will not be introduced until the winter semester. The same applies in the northern city-state of Bremen.

Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein is also aiming to offer the ticket for the 2024/25 winter semester. Planning is still ongoing, according to the University of Lübeck’s student association.

Thuringia

If at all, the Deutschlandticket for students will not be available until the winter semester, but likely only at major university locations such as Erfurt and Jena.

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