Studying in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Aalen
A Swabian town of about 68,000 at the foot of the Swabian Jura, with a Roman fort, an iron-ore mine to walk into and an engineering university that teaches in English.
Aalen sits in the upper Kocher valley in eastern Baden-Württemberg, about 70 km east of Stuttgart and 48 km north of Ulm. It is small enough that you can walk or cycle from your room to the lecture hall, and it has a Roman cavalry fort, half-timbered streets from the 16th to 18th centuries and a mine you can ride into. Around it is industrial country: metalworking, machine-building, optics and IT, with ZEISS headquartered in neighbouring Oberkochen. Aalen University (Hochschule Aalen) is the reason most international students come. It teaches engineering, materials, photonics, data and business in English, charges the usual €1,500 per semester for non-EU students, and has dorm rooms from about €210 a month through the Jugendwerk Aalen. Be clear about the trade-off: this is a town, not a big city. Nights out are modest, and large communities from Lagos, Kerala or Hanoi live in Stuttgart or Munich, not here. In return you get a short campus, a quiet place to study, and Stuttgart, Ulm and the Alb all within one train ride.
- Aalen University
- around 4,000 students in over 60 degree programmes; English-taught: 3 bachelor's and 8 master's
- Tuition for non-EU students
- 1,500 EUR per semester, plus the semester fee of 180 EUR (winter 2026/27)
- Dorm rents (Jugendwerk Aalen)
- from 210 EUR to 535 EUR a month, utilities and internet included
- Blocked account for a student visa
- 11,904 EUR per year
- Nearest big airport
- Stuttgart, about 90 km away and roughly 100 minutes by train
Part 1
Living in Aalen
Romans, an imperial city and a railway town
People have lived here since the Stone Age, but Aalen's first claim to fame is Roman. Around AD 150 the Romans built a fort here for the cavalry unit Ala II Flavia milliaria, the largest auxiliary cavalry fort on the Rhaetian Limes, and held it until about 260. The Hohenstaufen founded the town between 1241 and 1246, and in 1360 Emperor Charles IV made Aalen an Imperial City, a status it kept until it passed to Württemberg in 1803.
The modern town was made by the railway. The Rems line arrived in 1861 and Aalen became a hub, with steelworks in Wasseralfingen and a metal industry that still defines it. Bombing in April 1945 destroyed or damaged many buildings, so the old centre is smaller than the history suggests, but the half-timbered houses around the market square survived. Today metalworking leads the local economy, followed by machine-building, optics, paper and IT.
The surroundings help. The town calls itself a geologist's paradise, and a rock stage in the Jurassic, the Aalenian, is named after it. The edge of the Swabian Jura starts just outside, and the Kocher river runs through town.
What to see and do
Most of this is a short walk or bus ride from the centre.
One of the oldest Roman museums in Germany, at St.-Johann-Straße 5, with finds from the fort and the UNESCO World Heritage Limes. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00. Entry is 6 EUR, with a reduced rate of 4 EUR; ask at the desk whether your student card qualifies.
A thermal bath and sauna complex at Osterbucher Platz 3. Check the price page for current entry fees.
A former iron-ore pit that is now a visitor mine, with a small mine railway.
A 26-metre lookout tower from 1898 on the hill above town, reached on foot from the centre.
The 14th-century building on the market square holds the figure known as the Spy of Aalen and a small geology and fossil museum.
The old town and the hills
Festivals, sport and weekends
A town festival held on the second weekend of September since 1975, described as the largest festival in the Ostwürttemberg region.
About 25 concerts in the second week of November. The festival has hosted artists such as Miles Davis and Ray Charles.
The town's football club, founded in 1921. It played in the 2. Bundesliga from 2012 to 2015 and plays at the Scholz-Arena.
A cycling marathon through the Ostalb hills that the university sport office promotes to students.
Getting around
Aalen station is a regional rail hub. An Intercity line runs Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Aalen and Nuremberg every two hours, which is how most students reach Stuttgart (about 70 km west) and its airport, about 100 minutes away by train. Ulm is 48 km south. Buses in town and across the district run on the OstalbMobil fare system, and the town has had double-decker city buses since 1966. The campus sites at Beethovenstraße, Burren and the Waldcampus are all inside the town, so many students walk or cycle. The student body runs a bicycle workshop where you can repair your bike yourself.
Work and employers
Industry is the reason a technical degree here makes sense. None of this is a promise of work: most office jobs and internships ask for German.
Metalworking, machine-building and optics ↗
These lead the local economy. Around 4,700 businesses are registered in Aalen, and about 16,000 people commute into town each year.
The optics and photonics group has its headquarters in nearby Oberkochen and a branch in Aalen. It is a natural place to look for internships if you study photonics or engineering.
Aalener Industriemesse (AIM) ↗
An industry fair that the student group UStA organises each autumn, with about 150 companies visiting the university.
Part 2
Student life in Aalen
Where you can study
Aalen University (Hochschule Aalen) ↗
Founded in 1962 and based at Beethovenstraße 1, with the Burren and Waldcampus sites. It has around 4,000 students and over 60 degree programmes in five areas: economy and management, health and natural sciences, engineering and future technologies, computer science and AI, and design and communication. English-taught bachelor's: Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering and Sales Engineering. English-taught master's: Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, Advanced Systems Design, Applied Photonics, Electrical Engineering, Health Technology Management, Machine Learning and Data Analytics, Marketing and Artificial Intelligence, and Polymer Technology. English B2 is required (for example IELTS 6.0), and a uni-assist preliminary check applies.
International office ↗Pädagogische Hochschule Schwäbisch Gmünd ↗
A teacher-training and education university at Oberbettringer Straße 200 in Schwäbisch Gmünd. It has 2,308 students. Check the degree pages for the language of each programme.
International office ↗Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd ↗
A design school in Schwäbisch Gmünd that marks 250 years of design teaching in 2026. Bachelor of Arts in interaction design, communication design and product design, and a master's in strategic design. It has an English-language section on its site for international applicants.
International office ↗DHBW Heidenheim (Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg) ↗
The dual university for the Heidenheim, Aalen and Ulm area, with about 2,400 students and more than 20 bachelor's programmes. Dual means you study and work for a partner company in alternating blocks, and you normally need a training contract before you enrol.
International office ↗Ulm University (Universität Ulm) ↗
About 10,000 students in four faculties: engineering, computer science and psychology; mathematics and economics; medicine; and natural sciences. It offers more than 60 programmes taught in German and English. Ulm is 48 km south of Aalen, so most students would move there rather than commute.
International office ↗Ulm University of Applied Sciences (THU) ↗
Two campuses in Ulm, at Prittwitzstraße 10 and Albert-Einstein-Allee 53/55. English-language options include Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Information Technology.
International office ↗Student unions, services and groups
Verfasste Studierendenschaft Aalen (AStA and StuRa) ↗
The student union of Aalen University. The AStA represents students towards the university and organises events, and the StuRa elects and checks it. It runs the Hochschulsport, a bicycle workshop and a rehearsal room for the choir and big band. Office: Room 208, Beethovenstraße 1. Fachschaften exist for chemistry, mechanical engineering, business, electrical engineering and computer science, and optics and mechatronics.
Sport offers for all levels: ball sports, swimming, climbing and bouldering, taekwondo, yoga, dance, calisthenics, a running group and chess. It also runs a university sports festival and a beach volleyball tournament. Partners include a gym in the Ulmer Straße and reduced entry at the Stadtwerke Aalen facilities. Contact: Sport-VS@hs-aalen.de.
International Society Aalen (ISA) ↗
A non-profit association of students, staff and professors at the university that helps international students settle in. It runs the university's Buddy Programme.
An independent student organisation, "by students for students". It runs the Aalener Industriemesse, a campus cinema, blood-donation drives, excursions for international students around Europe, the N8 of Students party series and a party for new students. Email info@usta-aalen.de.
The student services body for Aalen, Ulm, Schwäbisch Gmünd and other sites. It runs the Aalen Mensa and cafeterias, BAföG advice, free legal advice, and psychosocial counselling in German or English (pbs@studierendenwerk-ulm.de), and it posts private rooms for free.
A student-run consultancy since 2021 that works on idea generation, validation and business models for companies and start-ups in the Ostalbkreis. It is based at Anton-Huber-Straße 1 and takes applications from students who want consulting experience.
Freie technische Verbindung Hohenstaufen zu Aalen ↗
A non-duelling student fraternity founded in 1963, in the Hohenstaufenhaus at Mozartstraße 31, just behind the canteen. It brings together current students and alumni who already work.
Welcome Center Ostwürttemberg ↗
A free advice service for international students and skilled workers on study, funding, entry and residence rules. It holds consultation hours in Aalen, in person at the university, and online. Advisers speak English, plus French and Spanish.
Volunteer "Senior Consultants" who help international students in Ulm with excursions, cooking evenings, a Christmas party and German conversation practice. Useful if you plan to study in Ulm or want to join trips from Aalen.
Campus life and study culture
Aalen University describes its campus as three sites: Beethovenstraße, where it began, Campus Burren, set among trees, and the newest part, the Waldcampus. Groups are small, labs are close to industry and students tend to know each other by the second semester. Outside lectures, the student body offers a bicycle workshop, a university choir, bands and a rehearsal room, and UStA's campus cinema runs through the semester.
There is a Protestant and a Catholic university ministry at the university.
Even if your degree is in English, your daily life (bank, landlord, the foreigners' office) will be in German, so take the university's German courses at the Language Center from the start.
Where you live and what it costs
- Dewangen (shared flats)
- from 210 EUR a monthsource
- Carl Schneider, Rombacher Straße 91
- 310 EURsource
- Steinertgasse
- from 325 EURsource
- Campus Burren
- from 330 EURsource
- Wellandstraße 8
- from 370 EURsource
- Studentendorf Wellandstraße
- from 425 EURsource
- Waldcampus, Rombacherstraße 122 (apartments of 25 to 47 m2)
- from 535 EURsource
- Semester fee (winter 2026/27)
- 180 EURsource
- Tuition, non-EU students
- 1,500 EUR per semester (second degree 650 EUR)source
Rooms are run by the non-profit Jugendwerk Aalen: 7 dormitories with 531 rooms. Rent includes internet, electricity, water, waste and heating. Apply online 1 to 2 months before the semester; the lease must be signed and returned within 3 working days of the offer.
Housing, food and money
Apply to the Jugendwerk as early as you can. Rooms are given out one to two months before term and the application needs a complete set of documents. If you miss out, the Studierendenwerk Ulm lists private rooms for free, and Aalen students may also apply for its student residences in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The Jugendwerk office is at Südlicher Stadtgraben 13 (phone +49 7361 9575-0).
The Mensa is on Beethovenstraße and there are two cafeterias, in the main building and at Am Burren. You pay with a student chip card, and coffee is fair-trade. For money problems, the Studierendenwerk offers BAföG advice (note that BAföG is for a limited group of foreign students), a social fund for students in need and free legal advice. If you are struggling with stress or homesickness, counselling is available in English.
On campus
Your first weeks
- 1
Before you fly
Apply through uni-assist for the preliminary check (VPD); applicants from India, China and Vietnam need an APS certificate first. Open a blocked account for 11,904 EUR a year and arrange health insurance. English-taught bachelor's applications close on 30 November.
- 2
Week 1
Collect the keys from the Jugendwerk, then register your address at the Bürgerbüro of the City of Aalen. Bring your passport and the landlord's confirmation, and check the city's website for appointments and the registration deadline.
- 3
Week 1 to 2
Enrol at the Studentische Abteilung, activate your student card for the Mensa, and get in touch with the ISA Buddy Programme. Ask the Welcome Center in Aalen about any rule you do not understand.
- 4
Within the validity of your visa
Apply for your residence permit at the foreigners' office of the City of Aalen. Bring your enrolment certificate, funding proof, health insurance and a passport photo, and ask about the fee.
- 5
Week 2 to 4
Open a German bank account, join a Hochschulsport course and go to a UStA or ISA event. Join the Fachschaft of your programme.
Part-time work
On a student residence permit you may work up to 140 full days or 280 half days a year. A day of up to four hours counts as half a day. Student jobs at the university are not counted against the limit. Keep your own record, because going over can put your permit at risk. During lecture periods the law also allows counting up to 20 hours a week as 2.5 days.
Where you come from matters here
Pick your home country: food, faith, community groups and the consulate that serves you, checked 21 October 2026.
🇮🇳 Living in Aalen as an Indian student
Stuttgart has the nearest organised Indian community in Baden-Württemberg, about 70 km west of Aalen by train. Aalen has no group we can link.
Consulate General of India, Frankfurt ↗
The official consulate site. It has a Studying in Germany section with an education brief, and office hours of 9:00 to 17:30 on weekdays.
Indian Business Center Stuttgart ↗
Founded in 2005 at Oskar-Lapp-Straße 2 in Stuttgart, it works with the Honorary Consul of India for Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is business-focused, but it is the visible point of contact for India in the region.
A free English-language get-together for Indians in the Stuttgart region, run by the Welcome Center Stuttgart with the Indian Honorary Consulate. The 2021 edition covered first steps for study, residence permits and networking.
🇳🇬 Living in Aalen as a Nigerian student
There is no Nigerian association in Aalen that we can link. Passport and consular matters go through the embassy in Berlin, and the Welcome Center is the nearest local support.
Neue Jakobstraße 4, 10179 Berlin. Passport appointments are booked through the Nigeria Immigration website and are free. It lists no consulate in Frankfurt or Munich.
Welcome Center Ostwürttemberg ↗
Free advice in English on residence and funding, with consultation hours in Aalen for international students.
🇻🇳 Living in Aalen as a Vietnamese student
There is no Vietnamese association in Aalen that we can link. The embassy and consulate cover Baden-Württemberg.
Elsenstraße 3, 12435 Berlin; the official embassy site.
Consulate General of Vietnam, Frankfurt ↗
Covers Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Bavaria and other states; consular department at Rubensstraße 30, 60569 Frankfurt. The Foreign Office lists its address and phone.
🇧🇩 Living in Aalen as a Bangladeshi student
There is no Bangladeshi association in Aalen that we can link. The embassy is in Berlin, and Aalen has a mosque.
Embassy and consulate listing for Bangladesh ↗
The Foreign Office page lists the Bangladeshi representations in Germany with addresses.
On Ulmer Straße; invites residents to open events such as iftar during Ramadan.
🇳🇵 Living in Aalen as a Nepali student
There is no Nepali association in Aalen that we can link. Consular services are in Berlin.
Guerickestraße 27, 10587 Berlin. It handles attestation of documents, passports, visas and the NRN ID; the consular desk promises a reply within two working days.
Welcome Center Ostwürttemberg ↗
Free advice in English on entry and residence rules, with consultation hours in Aalen.
🇵🇰 Living in Aalen as a Pakistani student
Aalen has a mosque, run by a Turkish-rooted community, that is open to its neighbours.
On Ulmer Straße, an IGMG community that invites townspeople to its grounds several times a year, including iftar dinners in Ramadan.
Welcome Center Ostwürttemberg ↗
Free advice in English on residence, funding and settling in, with consultation hours in Aalen.
🇬🇭 Living in Aalen as a Ghanaian student
Stuttgart has Ghanaian congregations that meet in Protestant churches; Aalen has none that we can link.
Ghanaian Presbyterian congregation, Stuttgart ↗
A Ghanaian community hosted by the Waldkirche am Kräherwald and Rosenbergkirche. It holds weekly services in its own language and joint services on major feasts.
Welcome Center Ostwürttemberg ↗
Free advice in English on residence and funding, with consultation hours in Aalen.
🇨🇲 Living in Aalen as a Cameroonian student
Cameroonian Christians worship in Stuttgart, about 70 km from Aalen. We can link nothing in Aalen itself.
Cameroonian Presbyterian congregation, Stuttgart ↗
A Cameroonian community linked to the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, hosted by the Protestant Waldkirche am Kräherwald and Rosenbergkirche in Stuttgart. It holds weekly services in its own language and joint services at Easter and Whit Monday.
The official embassy site, in English, French and German; the embassy also serves several other countries.
🇨🇳 Living in Aalen as a Chinese student
Aalen has no Chinese student association that we can link. The Chinese consulate in Munich is the closest consulate, and the embassy in Berlin has a Study in Germany section.
Consulate General of China, Munich ↗
The official site, with consular services for passports, documents and notarisation, and a contact page with office hours.
Märkisches Ufer 54, Berlin. The site has a Study in Germany menu and a consular and visa hall at Brückenstraße 10.
English-taught programmes in Aalen
Soonest open deadline first. Every entry links to its official source.
- Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical EngineeringAalen University · Aalenbachelor30 Nov 2026Closing soon
- Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics EngineeringAalen University · Aalenbachelor30 Nov 2026Closing soon
- Bachelor of Engineering in Sales EngineeringAalen University · Aalenbachelor30 Nov 2026Closing soon
- Master of Science in Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (Research Master's)Aalen University · Aalenmaster15 Dec 2026Closing soon
- Master of Engineering in Electrical EngineeringAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Dec 2026Closing soon
- Master of Science in Machine Learning and Data AnalyticsAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Dec 2026Closing soon
- Master of Science in Advanced Systems DesignAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Dec 2026Closing soon
- Master of Science in Applied PhotonicsAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Dec 2026Closing soon
- Master of Science in Health Technology ManagementAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Mar 2027Open
- Master of Science in Computer ScienceAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Jun 2027Open
- Master of Arts in Marketing and Artificial IntelligenceAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Sept 2026Deadline passed
- Master of Science in Polymer TechnologyAalen University · Aalenmaster15 Sept 2026Deadline passed
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