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The Bremen town hall on the market square, with its carved brick and stone front, an arcade at street level and the spire of a church behind it, and people crossing the cobbles

Studying in Bremen (city-state), Germany

Bremen

A Hanseatic port city on the Weser with a research university, a dense space and marine science scene, and cheap student rooms.

19

19 English-taught programmes open for applications in Bremen

Next deadline: 28 Feb 2027. Every entry links to its official source.

See the programmes ↓

Bremen is a city of about 588,000 people on the river Weser, and together with Bremerhaven it forms the German state of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. It has been a trading town since the Middle Ages: the town hall, the Roland statue and the Town Musicians all stand within a few minutes of each other on and beside the market square. For a student the more interesting part is the work done here today. The University of Bremen is known for marine science, its Cluster of Excellence on the ocean floor and space-related research, the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology has its institute in the same university district, and Airbus runs its second-largest German site in the city. Student rooms through the Studierendenwerk start under 300 euros a month, and the Weser, the Bürgerpark and, about 110 km away, Hamburg are all close.

Population
about 588,000 (end of 2025)
State
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a city-state made up of Bremen and Bremerhaven and completely surrounded by Lower Saxony
Hamburg
about 110 km to the north-east
River and sea
On the Weser, about 60 km upstream from its mouth at Bremerhaven
Students
about 18,000 at the University of Bremen, about 2,000 at Constructor University
Student rooms
2,139 Studierendenwerk units in Bremen; rents from 278 to 733 euros a month depending on the house
Local transport
The semester ticket is a nationwide local-transport ticket; HSB lists it at 226.80 euros per semester from winter 2026/27
Climate
Oceanic (Köppen Cfb)

Part 1

Living in Bremen

A trading city that stayed independent

Bremen became the seat of a bishop in 787 and joined the Hanseatic League in the 13th century. It was captured in 1806, annexed by France in 1810 and regained its independence in 1815. That independence still shows: Bremen is one of Germany's 16 states in its own right, with Bremerhaven at the mouth of the Weser as its second city. Almost two-thirds of the city's buildings were destroyed in the Second World War, and Bremen then became one of the founding states of West Germany.

The city has five boroughs and 19 districts. The Studierendenwerk's student houses are spread over several of them: around the university campus, in the Neustadt south of the river and in Horn-Lehe.

The Weser at dusk seen from a bridge, with moored boats and a tall-masted ship along the embankment and a green church spire on the right bank
The Weser in the centre of Bremen in the evening.

What to see in your first weeks

All of this is in the old centre and can be done in an afternoon on foot.

  • Market square, town hall and Roland ↗

    The town hall and the Roland statue stand on the market square next to the cathedral. The Town Musicians, Gerhard Marcks' 1953 bronze of the donkey, dog, cat and rooster from the Grimm fairy tale, are beside the town hall.

  • Schnoor ↗

    A small quarter of narrow lanes and houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, now full of cafés, small shops and galleries.

  • Böttcherstraße ↗

    A short brick street that the coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius had rebuilt between 1923 and 1931. The Nazis labelled it degenerate art. Today it has museums, among them the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum.

  • Schlachte ↗

    The medieval harbour, now a boulevard along the Weser lined with pubs and bars. In summer it is where Bremen sits outside in the evening, and old sailing ships are moored along it.

  • The Viertel ↗

    The area east of the centre with 19th-century Bremer Häuser, small museums and the Theater Bremen on its cultural mile. It is the usual answer when a student is asked where to go out.

Old Bremen

Close view from below of the bronze Town Musicians of Bremen, the donkey's head in front and the dog, cat and rooster behind, against a red brick wall with tall windows
The Town Musicians against the brick wall of the town hall.
A narrow cobbled lane in the Schnoor quarter with small brick and half-timbered houses, hanging shop signs and a few café tables
A lane in the Schnoor, the old quarter of narrow houses near the Weser.
The narrow red brick Böttcherstraße in the rain, with arches on the left, a brick bridge between the buildings and people with red umbrellas walking away
Böttcherstraße, rebuilt in brick between 1923 and 1931.
A black and white sailing ship moored on the Weser at the Schlachte embankment, with plane trees and red brick buildings behind it
A moored sailing ship on the Weser at the Schlachte.

Port, river and the weekend

Bremen's port, together with Bremerhaven's, is the second-largest in Germany after Hamburg. The Schlachte, at the water's edge in the centre, is where the river and the city meet.

The Bürgerpark is the large city park, with ponds, bridges and boats you can hire. For longer trips, Hamburg is about 110 km away and Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the Weser, about 60 km. The nationwide semester ticket covers regional trains (RE, RB and similar) but not ICE, IC or other long-distance trains, so check the train type before you board.

Wooden rowing boats tied up at a landing stage in the Bürgerpark, with an iron-railed stone bridge over still green water and spring trees
Hire rowing boats and a bridge in the Bürgerpark.

Getting around

Bremen runs trams and buses, and the university campus has its own public-transport stop, "Universität Zentralbereich". Your semester ticket is a Deutschlandsemesterticket: since winter 2024/25 it is valid in local public transport across Germany, including trams, buses, regional trains and some ferry lines, but not on ICE, IC or FlixBus. At HSB it costs 208.80 euros in summer 2026 and 226.80 euros from winter 2026/27. At HSB it is delivered as a digital ticket in the Campus HSB app.

What things cost

Studierendenwerk house Luisental 28, 1-room flats and shared flats
283 to 347 euros a monthsource
Studierendenwerk house Neustadt, 1-room flats and 3-room shared flats
341 to 395 euros a monthsource
Studierendenwerk house Horn-Lehe, places in shared flats
294 to 328 euros a monthsource
Studierendenwerk house Campus, 1-room flat
376 to 414 euros a monthsource
Studierendenwerk house Campus, 2-room flat
586 to 733 euros a monthsource
Semester ticket at HSB, from winter 2026/27
226.80 euros per semestersource
Average monthly living cost of a student in Germany
around 1,100 euros, rent and food includedsource

Dorm rents are flat rents with no extra service charges. Rooms and flats in Studierendenwerk houses are furnished.

Jobs and employers

Bremen is an industrial city with a few large names. More than 3,100 people work at Airbus Bremen, the second-largest Airbus site in Germany, and OHB-System, a space company, has its headquarters here. Mercedes-Benz builds several car series at its Bremen plant, Beck's is brewed in the city, and coffee roasters including Melitta, Eduscho and Azul Kaffee operate here. That is why many courses at the University of Bremen and HSB touch aerospace, logistics, ships and the sea.

For international students, the residence permit for studies allows work for up to 140 days a year or a student job at the university. In the first year of a preparatory course you may not work except in the holidays. Check your own permit before you sign any contract.

Part 2

Student life in Bremen

Where you can study

Research university

University of Bremen ↗

Founded in 1971, with around 18,000 students and about 320 professors on a campus in the north-east of the city, at Bibliothekstraße 1. It was a University of Excellence from 2012 to 2019 and is known for marine sciences, with the Cluster of Excellence "Ocean Floor" and a second cluster, "The Martian Mindset", starting in 2026. It offers international Bachelor's and Master's programmes taught in English, among them Natural Sciences for Sustainability, Marine Geosciences, Marine Biology, Space Engineering, Neurosciences, Physics, Mathematics, Digital Media and Environmental Physics. Most other degree programmes need German at C1, and conditional admission without it is not possible.

International office ↗
University of applied sciences

Hochschule Bremen (Bremen University of Applied Sciences, HSB) ↗

Around 70 Bachelor's and Master's programmes in five schools: International Business; Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Social Sciences; Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and Nature and Engineering. About 1,500 students graduate each year, around 180 partner companies take part in its cooperative programmes and it has about 360 agreements with universities abroad. Its sites include Neustadtswall, Werderstraße and the Airport campus. It runs English-language international degrees, among them nautical and shipping programmes, an International MBA and a Master in Aeronautical Management. Several of the MBA and Master programmes charge tuition, so read the programme page before you apply. The winter-semester application period for international applicants runs from 1 June to 15 July.

International office ↗
Private university

Constructor University ↗

A private, English-language university on a green campus of 340,000 square metres at Campus Ring 1, in Bremen-Grohn. About 2,000 students from more than 120 countries study here, and its scholarships include full-tuition awards. It was called Jacobs University Bremen until 2022. As a private university it sets its own tuition, so read its tuition and scholarship pages before you apply.

Arts or music university

Hochschule für Künste Bremen (University of the Arts) ↗

A small university for Art and Design and for Music, with an orchestra and ensembles. It welcomed 212 new students at the start of the latest academic year. Its website is in English, it offers a Binational Artistic PhD Program and has about 70 partner institutions abroad. Its Master in Media Design is on the list of international programmes of the University of Bremen.

International office ↗
Research institute

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology ↗

Not a university but a research institute at Celsiusstraße 1, on the university's campus road. It studies the smallest organisms of the ocean and their role in the climate. With the University of Bremen, the Alfred Wegener Institute and Constructor University it runs the International Max Planck Research School of Marine Microbiology (IMPRS MarMic), a joint MSc and PhD programme in English.

International office ↗

Student unions, services and groups

  • AStA of the University of Bremen ↗

    The student government. It runs BAföG and social counselling, IT counselling, a lost-property office and car and sound-system rental. It has its own groups, among them the Autonomous International Students Committee, the housing-shortage group, a campus life group and a climate policy group. The office is in the Glashalle, room A2030, open Monday to Friday 10:00 to 16:00. The general meeting is on Wednesdays at 14:00.

  • AStA of Hochschule Bremen ↗

    The student government at HSB, with an English information page on the semester ticket, ticket exemption and the cultural semester ticket, and a housing notice board.

  • Studierendenwerk Bremen ↗

    Housing, canteens and cafeterias, psychological and social counselling and BAföG advice for the universities of Bremen. The housing office is in the glass atrium of the University of Bremen, room A 1145.

  • Hochschulsport Uni Bremen ↗

    University sport with about 300 courses from acrobatics to Zumba, open to students and staff of the Bremen universities. A gym called UniFit is open on weekday afternoons and evenings. Registration for the winter semester opens at the beginning of October, for the summer semester in mid-March.

  • kompass, International Office ↗

    A team in the University of Bremen's International Office that brings international and German students together. Its Meet & Eat runs every Monday from 12:00 to 14:00 in the Mensa, and it also organises First Friends evenings, game nights, a multicultural evening and a study buddy programme.

  • HIST Bremen ↗

    Help for International Students: support in financial emergencies, advice on legal questions and mental health, and community events.

  • HERE AHEAD ↗

    The cooperation of the Bremen universities and the Center for Foreign Languages that prepares international applicants for study, with German courses up to C1.

  • Bremergy, Formula Student Team Bremen ↗

    The student racing team of the University of Bremen, one of the initiatives the university lists for students who want to build something outside the lecture hall.

  • ESG Bremen, Protestant student community ↗

    A student community of people from different backgrounds, with a Tuesday evening choir and regular gatherings. Some kompass game nights take place in its rooms at Parkstraße 107.

  • KHG Bremen, Catholic student community ↗

    The Catholic Hochschulgemeinde, with a semester programme of social, intercultural and topical evenings. It welcomes everyone regardless of origin, religion or worldview.

  • HSB sport and culture ↗

    HSB students join the university sport and also have their own groups, among them the Tri-Runners, a tennis arrangement on the Stadtwerder and the IntoNation university choir that meets weekly.

Campus and study culture

The University of Bremen is a campus university: the library, the Mensa, the AStA and the Studierendenwerk housing office are all in the central area of the campus. It describes its teaching as research-based and project-based, with courses that cut across subjects. Student groups for each field of study, the StugAs, often take care of first-semester orientation, and the AStA organises critical orientation weeks at the start of the term.

HSB is a more compact, practice-oriented university with sites in the Neustadt, at Werderstraße and at the Airport. If you want a degree with work placements and company partners, it is the closer match; if you want research, a PhD route or marine and space science, the university and the Max Planck Institute are.

The two main campuses

A low red brick research building and a very tall white tower on the University of Bremen campus under a cloudy blue sky
Research buildings and the Fallturm at the University of Bremen.
Aerial view of the Hochschule Bremen buildings at Neustadtswall beside a tree-lined park and a tram street
The Hochschule Bremen campus at Neustadtswall, from the air.

Housing

The Studierendenwerk has 2,139 furnished units in Bremen across 11 student housing complexes, plus 66 places in a cooperation project at the Ellener Hof. Rent includes all running costs. Rents run from 278 to 394 euros a month in the Weidedamm house and 283 to 347 euros at Luisental, up to 586 to 733 euros for a two-room flat in the Campus house. There is an online housing application, and a page of free rooms in shared flats. Apply as soon as you have your admission, and ask the housing office, which sits in room A 1145 in the university's glass atrium.

Private rooms are harder. The AStA runs a working group on the housing shortage, and the universities collect room offers from Bremen residents for international students. Private providers near the campus include Galileo Residenz, Campus Viva and The Fizz. The University of Bremen warns that scammers target international students: never transfer a deposit for a room you have not seen without checking with the International Office.

Food, sport and nights out

  • Mensa at the University ↗

    The main university canteen at Universitäts-Boulevard 3, open Monday to Friday from 11:30 to 14:15. You can pay in cash, by card or with the Mensacard. The Studierendenwerk also runs Café Central, the GW2 cafeteria and a Domshof canteen.

  • HSB and HfK canteens ↗

    HSB has canteens at Neustadtswall, Werderstraße and the Airport campus. The HfK has Mensa13 and an interim canteen.

  • Hochschulsport ↗

    Courses run semester by semester. A holiday programme runs between terms.

  • Cultural semester ticket ↗

    At HSB, your student card gets you into many events and cultural institutions in Bremen for free or at greatly reduced prices.

  • Schlachte and the Viertel ↗

    Pubs and bars along the Weser at the Schlachte, and the cultural mile with the Theater Bremen in the Viertel.

Your first weeks

  1. 1

    Before you travel

    Sort out your visa and health insurance. The University of Bremen's International Office has a preparation page for both, and its counselling for international degree students runs on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday mornings in the VWG building, room 0580.

  2. 2

    Within 2 weeks of moving in

    Register your address in person at one of the BürgerServiceCenter offices in Bremen. If you moved from abroad this cannot be done online, and everyone being registered must attend. Bring a translator if your German is not good enough.

  3. 3

    After registering

    Apply for your residence permit for studies at the Migrationsamt Bremen. You can send the application and documents by e-mail or post; once it is checked you get an appointment. Your main residence must be in the city of Bremen.

  4. 4

    In the first week of term

    Go to the kompass Meet & Eat on Monday at the Mensa, pick a Hochschulsport course and visit your StugA or AStA group.

  5. 5

    Early in the term

    Apply to the Studierendenwerk for housing if you have not yet, open a bank account and look for a student job within the hours your permit allows.

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 Bremen as an Indian student

Indian citizens living in Bremen use the Consulate General of India in Hamburg, which covers the states of Hamburg, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. The Sri Varasiththivinayakar Temple at the Ellener Hof in Osterholz, inaugurated in June 2023, is described as the largest Hindu temple in northern Germany.

English-taught programmes in Bremen

Soonest open deadline first. Every entry links to its official source.

University of BremenMax Planck Institute for Marine MicrobiologyBremen University of Applied Sciences

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