Student union fee and administration fee

The charge for the Studierendenwerk is currently €109.50 per semester, the administration charge is €80 and the student union charge is €12.

Tuition fees

Currently, Baden-Württemberg does not charge tuition fees for students with German nationality and persons of equal status to Germans (i.e. EU/EEA nationals and non-EU/EEA nationals with a German higher education entrance qualification) studying for their first degree. Students with non-EU citizenship who are not of equal status to Germans must pay tuition fees of €1500 per semester in Baden-Württemberg. Further information, including information on fee waivers, can be found on the website of the International Students Office.

Tuition fees of €650 per semester are payable for second degree students. Second degree students are persons who already have a first degree of the same type (e.g. are aiming for another bachelor's degree). Students who already pay tuition fees for foreign students are exempt from this.

Cost of living

The average expenses of a student in Karlsruhe, including fees and depending on your personal situation, are between €800 and €900 per month. This includes rent, food, clothing, health insurance, telephone / internet, learning materials and transportation from home to university.

Parental support

Parents are obliged to support their children until they have completed their initial education. The Düsseldorfer Tabelle provides an approximate guideline for the amount of support required.

Child benefit

Parents receive child benefit from the state for the duration of their children's initial education, but only until the children reach the age of 25.

BAföG

Funding under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) is granted half as a scholarschip and half as an interest-free loan.

Funding is available to German and, under certain circumstances, foreign students of all programs at state and private universities who are under 45 years of age at the time of application. Those who wish to enroll in a consecutive master's program must not have reached the age of 45 at the time of application. Funding is based on the income of the applicant and their parents.

BAföG is granted for a standard period of study (bachelor's and consecutive master's program). Changing subjects is relatively unproblematic until the third semester at the latest. In any case, the responsible administrator should be contacted as soon as you are absolutely sure you want to change your study program. The previous periods of study are counted towards the maximum funding period in the new degree program. However, this does not apply to a first change of subject up to the second semester. In this case, BAföG will be granted again for the entire standard period of study for the new subject. In addition, it is possible to apply for BAföG for studying abroad. Certain students can receive BAföG that is independent of their parents' income.

Repayment is income-dependent and made in installementx five years after the end of the funding period, whereby those who replay their debts in one lump sum may be rewarded with partial debt relief.

Loans, credits, education funds

At this point, we do not want to mention any specific offers, but rather give tips on what to pay particular attention to when taking out loans,

Before consulting with a bank advisor, you should determine your individual financial needs (budget), as bank advisors tend to estimate higher needs than are absolutely necessary. Loands fill gaps and are not suitable for fully financing a degree program.

Offers should be compared carefully (see Finanztest, CHE-Vergleich).

The loan tems and conditions must be carefully considered:

• are there debt limits?
• are there fixed interest rated than can be used to calculate the debt?
• does the loan allow for felxibility (continuation during study abroad or internship)?
• are there fixed payment amounts for which interest is deferred?
• do you also have to take out residual debt insurance of even life insurance, which will result in additional monthly costs?

You should always be well prepared for consultation with your bank.

Scholarschips

The thirteen major state and nationwide funding organizations are:

• Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
• Cusanuswerk-Bischöfliche Studienförderung
• Evangelisches Studierendenwerk e.V. Villigst
• Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Studienwerk (ELES - Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Scholarship Fund)
• Avicenna-Studienwerk
• Hans-Böckler-Stiftung (Hans Böckler Foundation)
• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
• Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (Konrad Adenauer Foundation)
• Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung
• Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
• Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (Rosa Luxemburg Foundation)
• Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung (Friedrich Naumann Foundation)
• Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft - Studienförderwerk Klaus Murmann

Selection is based on academic performance and social engagement. Applicants should be a good fit for the foundation. Support is provided both materially and ideologically (workshops, seminars, some of which are mandatory). A portion of the grant is income-dependent in accordance with BAföG, and a flat rate of €300 is also paid.

Applications should be submitted four semesters before the end of the bachelor's program, or before the first semester of the master's program.

There are also many private foundations that are registered with the Federal Association of German Foundations and can be researched online.

Another option for funding is through the Deutschlandstipendium.

Part-time jobs and internship

If you work part-time during your studies, you should be aware that this way affect other forms of financial support such as BAföG or child benefit. If your annual net income exceeds €9,168 (as of 2019), you may no longer be eligle for these benefits.

Anyone earning more than €520 per months is subject to social security contributions. This also applies to internships that are not mandatory under the examination regulations of the respective degree program.

Although part-time jobs improve your financial situation, they can also lead to time contraints. Working more than 20 hours per week is nor compatible with a full-time degree program, as is usually offered by universities in Baden-Württemberg.

A typical opportunity for students if that of a student assistant (Hiwi job). Offers for Hiwi jobs at KIT can be found on the KIT-Career Service's Job Market.

State social benefits

In rare cases, students may be eligible for social benefits such as housing allowance or unemployment benefit. This may be the case if you are not eligible for BAföG and do not receive financial support from your parents. Applications are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Students with children

Student parents can expect to receive some support. For children up to the age of 14, the BAföG child allowance (€140 per child, as of 2019) can be applied for within the BAföG. Parental allowance can be claimed for the first 12 - 14 months after the birth of a child, followed by state child-raising allowance. In addition, there are affordable childcare options through institutions such as the Studierendenwerk.

Money-saving tips / discounts

Students enjoy a number of financial benefits. These include, for example, inexpensive meals in the university dining hall, discounts at museums, theaters, cinemas, leisure facilites and swimming pools, as well as at the hairdresser, copy shop, and for software or newspaper subscriptions. Students can also open a free checking account, make cheaper phone calls with the social tariff, travel cheaply on public transport with the semester ticket, and travel cheaply with the international student ID card. Those who register their primary residence in Karlsruhe receive, among other things, the semester ticket free of charge once.