Skip to the content
Compass
AboutWhat can I enter?Sign in

The guide

Close

Berlin

Germany · Europe

Europe's largest startup scene outside London, where English-only tech jobs are normal, alongside a deep art, music and film culture.

Who this suits, and who it doesn’t

Suits you if you want a serious degree without tuition debt and are willing to learn German properly over a few years. Look elsewhere if you need high salaries quickly, or can't tolerate administrative friction.

The catch, and the way in

The catch

Outside tech you need German. Housing is genuinely hard to find, and salaries are well below American ones.

The way in

German public universities charge no tuition (only a semester fee of a few hundred euros), including for non-EU students. It is the cheapest serious degree in Western Europe. A residence permit for job-hunting follows graduation.

Living there

What living here is actually like

Flat, spread out, and organised around excellent public transport and cycling; the semester ticket that comes with enrolment usually covers your travel. Life is comparatively unhurried and shops genuinely close on Sundays. Bureaucracy is real and paper-based: registration, insurance, bank account, permit. Doing it in the right order is a rite of passage everyone complains about.

How the money works

Tuition isn't your problem here; rent is. Berlin's housing market is the single hardest part of arriving, and non-EU students must show a blocked account with a year's living costs before the visa is issued. Plan that lump sum early, because it's the real financial gate. Health insurance is mandatory and is a fixed monthly cost, not an optional one.Described in shape rather than figures on purpose: rents and salaries move every year and we cannot keep numbers true, but what is expensive and what quietly eats income stays true for far longer.

The language you actually need

Tech and startup work genuinely runs in English, and you can be hired without German. Everything else needs German: the authorities, the doctor, the landlord, most non-tech employers, and most friendships outside the international bubble. B2 is the honest level at which the city opens up.

The work that clusters here

The kinds of work Berlin is a route into, each with what it actually involves, and what the catch is.

Who is named here

Not a ranking and not in order of merit. These are the places a subject is actually studied and taught at in this city, so you have something to search for.

  • Humboldt University of Berlin

    • Humanities & Social Sciences
    • Law
    • Natural Sciences

    Some English-taught programmes

  • Technical University of Berlin

    • Engineering
    • Computer Science

    Some English-taught programmes

Language of teaching moves within a cycle, so check it on the university’s own page for your own entry year.