By Dr. Brian Otieno, Study Abroad Advisor · September 2025 · 9 min read
Everyone talks about the UK, the US, and Australia. Very few East African families know that Germany offers tuition-free public university education — including to African students — at some of the world's top engineering and research institutions.
Public universities in Germany — with the exception of Baden-Württemberg state — charge no tuition fees to either German or international students. Students pay a "semester contribution" of €150–€350, which includes a city transport pass. This is the actual cost. Not a scholarship. Not a discount. Free.
Students need to demonstrate they have €11,208 per year available (as of 2025) to cover living costs — this goes into a blocked account (Sperrkonto) at a German bank. Monthly living costs are €800–€1,100 depending on city. Munich is expensive; Leipzig, Dresden, and Aachen are affordable.
You do not need German to study in Germany at postgraduate level. Over 1,700 Master's programmes are taught entirely in English. At undergraduate level, English-taught options are more limited but growing — primarily in engineering, business, and computer science.
Technical University of Munich (TUM), RWTH Aachen, Heidelberg, Humboldt Berlin, and LMU Munich all rank in the global top 100. Engineering schools like TU Berlin and TU Dresden are world-class. A Master's from any of these is on the same footing as a UK Russell Group degree, at a fraction of the cost.
African students must first get their academic qualifications verified by the Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) at the German Embassy in their country. The process takes 8–12 weeks and costs around KES 25,000. After APS, you can apply directly to universities.
Germany offers an 18-month post-study job-seeker visa. Most graduates find employment within that window — engineering, IT, and finance graduates especially. After 2 years of work, you can apply for permanent residency. After 5 years of work, German citizenship.
If your child is studying IGCSE or A-Level and wants to study engineering, computer science, or the sciences without the financial burden of UK or US tuition, Germany should be on the shortlist. We place 20–30 students there every year through our Study Abroad programme.