Knowledge comes with a price tag, or so it may seem. After all, it takes a lot of money to run an institution, recruit talented faculty, provide educational resources, and then have some set aside for providing scholarships to the exceptional students. There are many such reasons why degrees have become so costly. In the US alone, knowledge is one of the costliest commodities.
No wonder parents start saving up for their kid’s college even before they plan to have a family! But there are, surprisingly, avenues that you can explore if you want to keep your education meaningful, yet pocket friendly. Read Cost of doing an MS in the US and Cheapest countries to study abroad.
In this article, we have attempted to collate the list of countries, from the European continent, that have policies, and the subscribing universities, that make the pursuit of a degree possible without the doom of an inconceivable student debt. These include undergraduate as well as graduate courses (Read How to study abroad for free). The list below is not comprehensive, but provides a rather useful glimpse at the trends in the European university system.
Germany has been one of the few countries leading the world in treating education as an investment rather than a consumer product. All public universities have been tuition free for not only German, or EU students, but also for other international candidates. Though a Masters degree may come at a small cost, much smaller as compared to US universities, PhD degrees are largely free for at least the first six semesters. Unfortunately though, this happy situation has been reigned back with reforms in the Ministry of Education – Baden Wuttemberg Act on State University Fees 2017 – to compensate for the country’s debts. Undergraduate degrees, in some public universities, are no longer free for non-EU internationals who don’t qualify the following criteria:
The fees for qualifying students, exempt from tuition, is less than $250 per semester for administrative costs. For the rest, it is about $1,800 per semester in addition to the administrative fees. While most of the public universities are free, we have compiled a list of ten to give a glimpse of the range of financing, you may need, to get a degree under their excellent tutelage for undergraduate and Masters degrees.
The reforms seems to have touched various public universities to varying extents. Some still offer free education with a semester fee cheaper than an iPhone four generations ago. For further information, read MS in Germany – Costs, Top Universities and Eligibility.
Though not a very well known international student study destination, finishing in a Finnish school keeps your pocket from running dry. Their schools are well regarded with University of Helsinki featuring amongst the top schools in the world. As far as how costly it is to obtain a degree in Finland, well, it depends. You can study for free as long as you are an EU candidate. That one being straight forward, you can also qualify for a tuition exemption if you fulfill one of the following golden criteria.
As long as you satisfy these conditions, you can be spared a tuition of $5,000 to $24,000 (minimum of $1,800) depending on the category of your degree, professional degrees being more expensive. But if you can wise up early enough and buy your copy of Rosetta Stone for Finnish, or Swedish, you can save a chunk. Here are some of the public universities that have to abide by the University Act requiring the changes to tuition as per the above rules.
Besides these, there are also a list of Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) like the Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Centria University of Applied Sciences, Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, and about 20 more that fall under the same category and follow similar policies.
State Universities, in Norway, are largely free barring the payment of a small semester fee of the order of $100. Certain specialized Masters degree may have a slightly higher price tag though. This is true for all students, whether Norwegian, EU, or from any other part of the world. Your health insurance also automatically falls under the care of the National Insurance Scheme, as long as you are enrolled in a program of a duration greater than a year. All you have to keep in mind is the cost of living in Norway. It can be a steep $1,300 monthly expense for a single person, in Oslo. So while tuition will never be a concern, your daily meals might. Here are a list of some of the Norwegian state schools with low/absent tuition-fees.
Sweden is not as forgiving, about tuition, as some of the other Nordic countries like Finland or Norway. Cost of a degree depends on where you are from. You may be exempt from paying a single dime if you happen to be
For the rest, it can vary from around $20,000 per year, for a Masters course like Bioinformatics, to $17,000 per year, for a Bachelors in Physics. Here are a list of some of the public universities where EU citizens can enjoy free education, in Sweden.
Yet another Nordic nation, its tuition fee policies are similar to that of Sweden. EU/EEA citizens, permanent residents, exchange students, temporary residents who can be upgraded to permanent residentship, children of non EU/EEA parent holding a resident permit, and citizens of Switzerland, are exempt from ponying up on study fees. For the rest it can range between $7,000 to $20,000. A glimpse of some of the universities, and their payment, are listed below.
A highly multilingual nation, the teaching medium mainly follows French with some courses offered in English as well. While it may not be completely free, the tuition is comparatively low and manageable. We have listed some of the low cost education centers in Belgium.
In the case of Universities, in Austria, students from the country and other EU/EEA nations are exempt from paying any fees for the normal plus two semester tolerance of the course duration. Beyond the extra two semesters, they are liable to pay $480 per semester, for Bachelors, Masters and even Doctorate studies. Other categories that fall under the exemption include,
For students from third countries, a fee of $870 per semester applies. Tuition for Applied Sciences universities doesn’t come cheap and the individual amount is the discretion of the particular university. The same is true for private universities. Here are some of the public universities in Austria.
As you can probably already guess, tuition in public universities is lower than private. Public universities, however, can charge tuition in the neighborhood of $1,000 a year, but a lot depends on the applicant’s financial situation. Some of the universities have individual means to determine the cost of a degree. Here are some public universities listed.
Below are a list of a few more countries with excellent faculties at a reasonable fare. In the interest of not overwhelming the reader, we will stick to a few well known countries. You are strongly advised to follow the lead and check out what the rest of the European continent has in store.
National students of EU states, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Andorra, have a reduced fee per credit. In all, Bachelor degrees cost less than $2,500 while Masters and PhD cost less than $3,500. University of Barcelona, Autonomous University of Madrid, and University of Valencia, are some of the well known universities in Spain.
Holland too has a reasonable take on education with tuition costs approximately at $2,500 for EU students, with non-EU students expected to pay between $7,000 and $18,000 (for the more expensive professional courses) for a Bachelors degree program. Some of the public schools, in the country, are University of Amsterdam, Utrecht University, University of Twente, Leiden University and so on.
Public universities, in France, predominantly use French as the teaching medium. While private university tuition-fees can be up to $8,000 a year, with professional degrees soaking up even more dough, public university tuition fees can be greatly reduced if you are willing to be taught in French. Undergraduate tuition can be within $200, with Masters around $300, and PhD in less than $400. Engineering and Medicine can be higher in the range of $1,000 a year. University of Paris, Ecole Polytechnic, Pierre and Marie Curie University, Aix Marseille University, University of Paris Sud are some of the public schools in France.
The information above is subject to change and obviously begs your close attention, and thorough research, at the country, school and program of your choice. For completeness, we have provided the following links to finance your university degree abroad.
Sources:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13
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18 Comments
Hi
I am a btech (ECE) graduate who has completed 3yrs in IT industry and planning my MS in US what are the courses i have to prefer as my main focus is on business administration. Mba is too costly I suppose give me and idea how things can work on
I am currently in my third year pursuing computer science from an average private uni. I have a mediocre Gpa around 6.5 I recently gave the gmat and have a score of 720. 10 CGPA in 10th grade and 85% in class 12.
However I consider i have stellar ECs
I have published a machine learning research paper involving finances
Founded the psychology hub in college
I am a music producer and dj and have my own record label
Know 5 languages
I am planning for MFin MAFC and masters in economics from top colleges in Europe preferably UK like LSE ,imperial HEC Bocconi and like wise
Also I have C grade in Economics Statistics and Maths at college will this affect my admissions.
Pls tell how good my prospectus look for getting an admit considering I do not have any financial constraints.
I want to pursue a master’s degree in peace building. I have a first degree in English language and education from a Nigerian university. I have participated in a number of peace building trainings and am a practitioner of race building. Where do I start from.
Warmest regards
Hi!
I have done B.Sc in Hotel Management and have an experience of 2 years in a hotel as an Executive, on the other hand I did not take up Commerce in 11th and 12th, is it possible for me to get into MBA in Finance in college in USA or Uk?
Hi sir! I’m Sukanta rana,currently at the final year of graduation in English from Burdwan university.I wish to get admitted to MBA course after my graduation.As I’m not from commerce background, is it ok for me to go for MBA? Is there good job opportunity after MBA who are from Arts background?
Hi
I am Jay and Currently i am pursuing my bachelors degree in jain college,bangalore and i am planning to go for MIM in UK or Canada can please suggest me which country is better and why?
Thank you
Hi,
I am currently a final year student from NIT Durgapur. I want to give GMAT and have started preparing for it. My future plan is doing a job (placed in Vedanta ) for 2 years and then going for MiM in Europe.
Is this a good choice? Or should I go for MBA? I selected MiM because it requires very less work experience and the tuition fee is less too. Can you please guide me.
I have gone through your articles and I am pretty enthusiastic about MiM
What will be the best college for me in Germany for MBA ? And after completing MBA will I get job there
Hi,
I am an IITD grad(Mechanical Engineering) with a CGPA of 8.46. I have a two year work ex in top e-commerce firm plus 6 month social work as a part of UNICEF program. Also, I am a CFA Level 3 candidate. I am looking out for an International MBA program in US/ Singapore. Which B School should I target ? And what should be a suitable GMAT Score to atleast get a realistic shot at top US college ?
@Rajiv: You can check out MEM programs. Read more here: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2016/02/12/master-of-engineering-management-mem-vs-mba/
@Rictor: We can’t predict chances. But check out these stories of folks who’ve got into good MFin programs. You’ll get an idea of what they’d done:
https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2017/07/24/top-ranking-masters-in-finance-germany-scholarship/
@Aniket & Sukanta: You don’t need a commerce background to do well in an MBA program.
@Jay: Here’s a list of top MiM programs to start looking at: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2015/09/28/best-mim-masters-in-management/
@Ananya: Between the two, I’d suggest MBA, since it’s been around for much longer and considered more ‘mainstream’.
@Ankur: Here’s how to select the right business schools for your MBA: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2016/02/03/how-to-select-business-schools/
Hi,
Am Daniel from Nigeria, I have HND in computer science and Post Graduate Diploma in Project management from chattered Institute of management, and I want to go for my masters program, what should I do and how can I go about it?
i am undergraduate and i want to offer computer science can you people guide me me to make the correct choice in studying in one of these countries with less payment of the fees
I am a Research Scholar (Construction Management) from State Government University, Tamil Nadu, India. I intend to do internship in any European Country. What Should I do.
Hi am Brundon from Cameroon i just completed high school a year ago in welding department and I want to further it. What should I do and how do I goabout
Am a Ghanaian from one of the Technical Universities in Ghana with HND in Mechanical Engineering I would like to apply for one of your programs
I’m Alele-Sunny Oje Joseph I’m a Graduate of Biological Science with a B.Tech degree wish to do a post graduate programme and I really need your advice please.
Hi – Very helpful. Would you happen to know if a Master’s program in La Sorbonne in Paris, taken in French (MBA/Business) is free?
Hello,
I am looking for a free tuition university to study a postgraduate business degree (Ph.D) focusing on strategies for enhancing and growing SME’s.
which university in Europe can take me without paying tuition. I have an MSc in Corporate Strategy and Finance from Edinburgh Napier University.