Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften – Hochschule Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel

Key Highlights

• Public university of applied sciences founded in 1971
• One institution operating across four Lower Saxony campuses
• Wolfenbüttel is the largest campus, with more than 5,500 students
• Winter semester 2026/27 teaching begins on 21 September 2026

Student Life & Environment

Student life is organized locally at each of Ostfalia’s four campuses, with university-wide support layered over campus-specific activities. First-year students receive access to Stud.IP and Moodle for course organization, the study and examination system, and an Ostfalia Card used for university services. Central academic advising, the International Student Office, and other counseling services help with study choices, transitions, and problems during a degree. Ostfalia does not operate or allocate its own housing. Student residences in Wolfenbüttel, Wolfsburg, and Suderburg are managed by Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen, and students must apply to that organization. Private rentals and shared flats are additional options. Because residence capacity is not guaranteed, students should begin their search after choosing a campus rather than waiting for enrollment. University sport is offered across the locations and includes fitness, dance, and team activities. A university choir rehearses in Wolfenbüttel, while campus and cross-campus initiatives provide further ways to participate. Examples include the Wolfenbüttel student film club, an autonomous-vehicle project, student representation, and interdisciplinary teams that help organize the Expect! careers fair. Available groups can change, so current activity pages are more reliable than older brochures. International students can use the International Student Office and the FYI integration project. Support described by the university includes language courses, tandem activities, advice on practical and financial concerns, job-search help, application training, company visits, and opportunities to meet other students.

Location & Surroundings

The university’s administrative address and largest study location are in Wolfenbüttel, a city in Lower Saxony near Braunschweig. Ostfalia uses more than one teaching site within Wolfenbüttel, including facilities around Salzdahlumer Straße and Am Exer. Applicants should check the faculty address on their program page before arranging housing or calculating a commute. Wolfenbüttel hosts six faculties: Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Law, Social Work, and Building Services Engineering. Students in other fields may instead study in Wolfsburg, Salzgitter, or Suderburg. The four-campus structure makes the listed city in the database an administrative and major-campus location, not the location of every program. Public transport matters for both everyday travel and regional access. The winter 2026/27 semester contribution for Wolfenbüttel includes the Deutschlandsemesterticket, subject to the university’s stated program exceptions. This supports broad local and regional public-transport use under the ticket’s applicable rules. Campus food, library space, residences, and activities are distributed locally, so a prospective student should assess the specific campus environment rather than rely on a university-wide description.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For winter semester 2026/27, Ostfalia lists a semester contribution of €472.80 for Wolfenbüttel, Wolfsburg, and Suderburg. It comprises a €75 administrative charge, €150 Studierendenwerk contribution, €21 student-body contribution, and €226.80 Deutschlandsemesterticket. Salzgitter’s total is €434.80 because its Studierendenwerk component differs. Certain online and continuing-education programs pay reduced contributions without the transport ticket, while Digital Technologies has a separate total. Continuing-education programs can also charge additional program fees, so €472.80 should not be treated as the complete cost for every degree. The official contribution page does not provide a general living-cost budget. Students must separately plan for accommodation, food, health insurance, study materials, and personal costs. Ostfalia cannot guarantee housing; residences are managed by Studierendenwerk OstNiedersachsen and require a separate application. International students should therefore build a campus-specific budget and consult current residence prices and German visa funding requirements where applicable. Long-term-study fees can apply after a student’s study credit is exhausted; the university listed an additional €500 for affected students in winter 2026/27. Career support is practical and available across the institution. The Career Service advises on career planning, applications, compulsory internships in Germany or abroad, and the transition into employment. It also offers transferable-skills seminars, job portals, short-term job listings, company visits, and the Expect! career fair. The FYI project provides targeted employment support for international students. These services and Ostfalia’s practice-integrated programs create routes to employer contact, but the university does not publish verified institution-wide salary or placement outcomes on the cited pages, so no earnings or employment-rate claim is made here.