University of Bremen
Universität Bremen
A young, tuition-free campus university in northern Germany known for marine science and space research.
- Students
- 18,719
- International
- 20%
- of students
- Tuition
- Free
- 2026-27
- Founded
- 1971
About Uni Bremen
The University of Bremen opened in 1971 in a port and trading city that had never had a university, and its early "Bremen model" of interdisciplinary, project-based study still shapes how many programmes are taught. Today it has 18,719 students, about 19.5% of them international, spread across 12 faculties that run from physics and electrical engineering to law, cultural studies and educational sciences, and more than 100 degree programmes.
Research is concentrated in five high-profile areas: marine, polar and climate research; social change, social policy and the state; materials science and production engineering; minds, media and machines; and health sciences. Since January 2026 the university has hosted two Clusters of Excellence under Germany's Excellence Strategy: "The Ocean Floor" at MARUM, the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, and the new "The Martian Mindset", an engineering cluster built around designing for scarce resources. Bremen and Oldenburg have also applied jointly for Excellence University status, with a decision due in October 2026.
There are no tuition fees, only a semester contribution of about €440 that includes a nationwide Germany semester ticket. Almost all bachelor's degrees are taught in German and require C1-level German; a few, such as Marine Geosciences and Natural Sciences for Sustainability, are taught in English. It suits independent students who like project work, the natural and engineering sciences, or the social sciences, and who want a campus university in a manageable northern German city.
Why students choose Uni Bremen
No tuition fees for German, EU or non-EU students: the only regular charge is the semester contribution (€443.40 for winter 2026/27), which includes a Germany-wide public transport ticket.
Two Clusters of Excellence funded from 2026 to 2032, in ocean-floor research (MARUM) and scarcity-driven engineering ("The Martian Mindset").
English-taught bachelor's options in Marine Geosciences and Natural Sciences for Sustainability, which need only English B2 (plus German A1 for Marine Geosciences).
The campus is home to ZARM's drop tower, a 146-metre tower where experiments experience up to about 9 seconds of weightlessness.
Admissions
Winter semester 2027/28 entry (standing annual deadlines)
Selectivity
Bremen publishes no overall admission rate. Open-admission programmes admit every applicant who applies on time and meets the requirements; restricted-admission (NC) programmes allocate places mainly by the grade of the school-leaving qualification, and Psychology also uses the nationwide BaPsy-DGPs aptitude test.
Typical entry requirements
| German Abitur or equivalent (German and EU/EEA applicants) | Direct application through the moin portal; NC programmes rank applicants by average grade, and some programmes have extra programme-specific requirements such as language levels or a pre-study internship |
|---|---|
| Non-EU school-leaving certificate | Apply first to uni-assist for a Preliminary Review Documentation (VPD) showing your German-equivalent grade, then apply to Bremen with it; applicants without direct university access or without enough German can enter the preparatory studies programme |
| English language | Almost all bachelor's programmes require German at C1 level: TestDaF with 16 points and at least 3 in every section, DSH-2 or DSH-3, DSD II, Goethe C1 or C2, or telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule. English-taught bachelor's programmes set their own levels, e.g. Marine Geosciences (English B2 and German A1) and Natural Sciences for Sustainability (English B2). |
Deadlines
- Bachelor's: summer semester 2027 Non-binding Next deadline · In ~3 months15 January 2027, 11:59 pm
Application period 1 December to 15 January, only for certain open-admission programmes; non-EU applicants should get their VPD by 1 December.
- Non-EU applicants: uni-assist VPD (winter semester 2027/28) Non-binding In ~8 months6 June 2027 (recommended)
Bremen recommends applying to uni-assist for the VPD by 6 June so it arrives before the university's own deadline.
- Bachelor's and Law: winter semester 2027/28 Non-binding In ~9 months15 July 2027, 11:59 pm
Application period 1 May to 15 July; teaching starts in October. The full range of programmes is open. Enrolment in open-admission bachelor's programmes is also possible from 1 to 30 September.
Bremen publishes standing annual windows (1 May to 15 July for the winter semester, 1 December to 15 January for the summer semester); the 2027 dates above apply that pattern. Preparatory studies have no application deadline.
How to apply
German applicants and EU/EEA, Swiss and UK citizens with enough German apply online in Bremen's moin portal. Non-EU applicants with foreign certificates first obtain a VPD from uni-assist (€75 for the first course, €30 for each additional one; allow at least 4 weeks), then upload it in moin. Applying to Bremen itself is free.
What admissions looks for
- A recognised university entrance qualification; in NC programmes, places go mainly by the average grade.
- Proof of German at C1 level for German-taught bachelor's programmes, which Bremen treats as essential for studying successfully.
- Programme-specific requirements ("ssv"), such as particular language skills or a completed internship, met by the time of enrolment.
- For Psychology, a good result in the BaPsy-DGPs aptitude test alongside the school grade.
Tips for applying to Uni Bremen
- 1 If you are from outside the EU, start with uni-assist early: the VPD takes at least four weeks, and Bremen recommends applying by 6 June for the winter semester.
- 2 If your German is not yet at C1, use the preparatory studies route: you enrol in a language course of at least 20 hours a week, can stay on a student visa, and can apply at any time.
- 3 Check each programme's specific requirements well before 15 July; some need an internship or language level before you enrol.
- 4 Look at the English-taught options in Marine Geosciences and Natural Sciences for Sustainability if you do not speak German yet.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 · figures in EUR
Bremen charges no tuition fees, and long-term study fees were abolished from winter 2020/21. German citizens and others with a permanent residence permit can apply for BAföG state support through the Studierendenwerk Bremen, and the International Office advises on scholarships.
- €443.40 (Student Service €130, AStA €21, Germany semester ticket €226.80, culture ticket €2.60, administrative fee €63)
- Semester contribution, winter 2026/27
- €75 for the first course, €30 for each additional
- uni-assist handling fee (non-EU applicants)
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters (winter semester starts in October, summer semester in April)
Marine Geosciences (B.Sc.)
English-taught bachelor's focused on marine sediments, oceanography and the solid Earth, linked to the MARUM Cluster of Excellence; needs English B2 and German A1.
Natural Sciences for Sustainability (B.Sc.)
English-taught programme combining biology, physics and geology around resources, energy, water, climate change and biodiversity, with an optional semester abroad in year 3.
Digital Media (B.Sc./B.A.)
Run jointly with the University of the Arts Bremen; students in Multimedia Engineering must complete a semester abroad.
Psychology (B.Sc.)
Restricted-admission programme that ranks applicants by school grade and the nationwide BaPsy-DGPs aptitude test.
Law (First State Examination / LL.B.)
Bremen's law degree leads to the German First State Examination and an LL.B.
Research
- MARUM, the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, hosts the renewed Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean Floor - Earth's Uncharted Interface" (2026 to 2032).
- The new Cluster of Excellence "The Martian Mindset - A Scarcity-Driven Engineering Paradigm" has been funded since 1 January 2026.
- ZARM's drop tower (Fallturm Bremen) has a 122-metre drop tube producing 4.74 seconds of weightlessness, or over 9 seconds with its catapult.
- Researchers have won 36 ERC grants and 7 Leibniz Prizes (cumulative), and third-party funding reached €122 million in 2025.
Schools & faculties
- Faculty 01: Physics/Electrical Engineering
- Faculty 02: Biology/Chemistry
- Faculty 03: Mathematics/Computer Science
- Faculty 04: Production Engineering - Mechanical Engineering & Process Engineering
- Faculty 05: Geosciences
- Faculty 06: Law
- Faculty 07: Business Studies and Economics
- Faculty 08: Social Sciences
- Faculty 09: Cultural Studies
- Faculty 10: Languages and Literary Studies
- Faculty 11: Human and Health Sciences
- Faculty 12: Pedagogy and Educational Sciences
Student life
The University of Bremen is a campus university on the northern edge of the city, next to a technology park, with the drop tower as its landmark. Students can live in Studierendenwerk halls, in private student residences right by the campus such as The Fizz, Campus Viva and Galileo Residenz, or in shared flats across the city. The semester contribution includes a Germany semester ticket valid on local public transport nationwide, which makes getting around Bremen and beyond cheap. About one in five students is international, with the largest group coming from Asia.
- The Germany semester ticket (D-Seti) is included in the semester contribution and sent digitally before each semester.
- 3,642 international students, 1,957 of them from Asia (2025).
- Several private and Studierendenwerk residences are directly next to the campus.
- The Berninghausen Prize for excellent teaching, awarded since 1992, is described as the oldest teaching award at a German university.
Housing. The university does not guarantee rooms; students apply to the Studierendenwerk Bremen or private providers near campus, and the International Office helps new arrivals and warns about rental scams.
Location
Bremen is a Hanseatic port city on the River Weser in north-west Germany, with a historic old town and a strong aerospace, maritime and logistics economy. The campus sits on the northern edge of the city beside the technology park. Students across Germany reported average living costs of about €1,100 a month.
Nearest airport: Bremen Airport (BRE)
Notable alumni
- HK Hans KoenigsmannAerospace engineer and former SpaceX vice president; Dr.-Ing. from Bremen (1995), then worked at ZARM
- MK Michael KöllingComputer scientist at King's College London, creator of the BlueJ and Greenfoot environments; informatics degree from Bremen
- AB Andreas BovenschulteMayor of Bremen and President of the Senate since 2019; studied law at Bremen (1987-1994)
- WM Werner MüllerGerman Federal Minister for Economic Affairs (1998-2002) and later CEO of RAG; doctorate in linguistics from Bremen (1978)
- SR Sarah RyglewskiSPD politician, Minister of State for Federal-State Relations at the Federal Chancellery 2021-2025; political science diploma from Bremen
- PM Peter MasuchJurist, President of Germany's Federal Social Court from 2008 to 2016; studied law at Bremen (1972-1978)
- HK Hubertus KnabeHistorian and former director of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial; studied history and German at Bremen
- YF Yuliia FedivUkrainian civil servant and diplomat; degree in international and European law from Bremen (2009)
Frequently asked questions
Does the University of Bremen charge tuition fees?
No. There are no tuition fees for German, EU or international students. You pay only the semester contribution, €443.40 for winter 2026/27, which includes a Germany-wide semester ticket.
When is the application deadline for the University of Bremen?
For bachelor's and law programmes starting in the winter semester, the online application runs from 1 May to 15 July at 11:59 pm. Non-EU applicants should apply to uni-assist for a VPD by 6 June.
Can I study a bachelor's degree in English at the University of Bremen?
A few: Marine Geosciences and Natural Sciences for Sustainability are taught in English and need English B2 (plus German A1 for Marine Geosciences). Almost all other bachelor's programmes require German at C1 level.
What German test do I need for the University of Bremen?
For German-taught bachelor's programmes you need C1, for example TestDaF with 16 points and at least 3 in each section, DSH-2, DSD II, Goethe C1 or telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule. DSH-1 is not enough.
How do international students apply to the University of Bremen?
Non-EU applicants with foreign school certificates first get a Preliminary Review Documentation (VPD) from uni-assist, then apply in Bremen's moin portal. EU applicants and those with German qualifications apply directly in moin.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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