Costs at the beginning of your studies
At the beginning of your studies in Düsseldorf, you will have to pay for various services, e.g. a deposit on your flat, the semester fee and for your health insurance. It is therefore important to have enough money available during your first weeks in Düsseldorf, e.g. in the form of traveller cheques, credit cards or cash.
The semester fee has to be transferred in advance. The exact amount and the required bank details of Hochschule Düsseldorf will be sent with your admission letter. Your student ID-card including the public transport ticket (NRW ticket) can only be issued after you have transferred your semester fee and submitted your health insurance details.
Monthly living expenses
The largest monthly expense for students is usually the rent. It amounts to approx. one-third of the total living expenses. Rental costs in Germany can differ strongly from city to city!
Usually, international students have less money than their German counterparts and must manage on an average of EUR 725 per month (source:“Sonderbericht zur 19. Sozialerhebung – Internationalisierung im
Studium”). On average, German students have about EUR 812 at their disposal.
The chart below represents, what German students on average spent their money for. Not included are semester fees, which have to be paid at the beginning of each semester.
| Rent (including heating & service fees) | EUR 323,- |
| Food | EUR 168,- |
| Clothing | EUR 42,- |
| Transport (car/public transport) | EUR 94,- |
| Health insurance | EUR 80,- |
| Telephone/ internet/ radio & TV licence | EUR 31,- |
| Books & study materials | EUR 20,- |
| Leisure activities | EUR 61,- |
| Total | EUR 819,- |
Source: 21. Sozialerhebung des Deutschen Studentenwerkes e.V. 2016
Scholarships and grants
In Germany, there are many organisations offering scholarships and grants to international students. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), for example, makes an effort to promote master,
postgraduate and doctoral students. Further information on DAAD-scholarships is available here.
Besides the DAAD, many private initiatives from business, media and politics support international young talents. You can get an overview of the opportunities by looking at DAAD’s scholarship database.
Some special scholarship programmes for specific countries or areas might not be mentioned in the DAAD database. Therefore please ask for more information at the DAAD regional office, German embassies or at advisory offices in universities in your country.
As soon as you are enrolled at Hochschule Düsseldorf, you have the possibility to apply for HSD scholarships. Further information can be found at Scholarships and Funding.
