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Universities in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's most populous state and one of the states with the most universities in our catalogue. Public universities charge no tuition fee, including for international students: you only pay the semester contribution. Its universities include RWTH Aachen, the universities of Cologne, Bonn and Duisburg-Essen, and TU Dortmund.

In short · according to the StudyInFocus catalogue

74 universities in 33 cities: 42 public and 24 private. By type: applied sciences — 42, university — 16, art and music — 9, technical — 2.

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Worth knowing before you choose
  • ·Choose the university for the programme, not the other way round: requirements and deadlines differ between programmes of the same university
  • ·Universities of applied sciences (Hochschule) focus on practice and are usually less competitive; universities focus on research and lead to a doctorate
  • ·Apply to 3–5 universities: the competition of grades is unpredictable
Filters Reset
Country
Germany 74Austria 0
University type
University 16Technical 2Applied sciences 42Art and music 9
Ownership
Public 42Private 24Church-run 8
Language of programmes
German 37English 29
Tuition for international students
Tuition-free 42Up to €1,500 per semester 0
Has a Studienkolleg
At the university 0Refers to a partner college 5Foundation 0

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74 universities
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We will pick universities and programmes for your future profession

The catalogue shows every university but does not tell you where to apply. We start from the profession and your details — school certificate and grade on the German scale, language, budget, dates — and leave a short list of programmes you can realistically get into.

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Frequently asked questions about choosing a university

How many universities are in this selection?
74 universities in 33 cities: 42 public and 24 private. By type: applied sciences — 42, university — 16, art and music — 9, technical — 2.
Do public universities charge tuition fees?
Public universities in most federal states charge no tuition, only the semester fee; Baden-Württemberg charges international students €1,500 per semester. Private universities set their own fees — they are shown on each university page.

A university is chosen for the programme

Requirements, language and deadlines differ even within one university. Start with the programme — the catalogue shows which universities offer it.

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