Student Life
Learn more about accommodation, visas, finances, and more.
Housing
Finding affordable accommodation might be difficult, especially at the beginning of a semester. Single rooms are available in student dormitories administered by the Studierendenwerk Bonn (monthly rent starting at approximately 250-380 Euros) but there are always more applicants than places. The application deadline for rooms is August 20 for the following winter semester. The coordination office will, upon request, assist in reserving a dormitory room.
Private rooms are usually more expensive and must be organized by yourself, e.g. via local real estate agencies or specialized homepages (see links below). Foreign students (non-EU students) may be required to obtain a VISA and/or a residence permit. Students are responsible for their necessary documents for studying and traveling in Germany. Please read up on all necessary documents and arrange with your and the German authorities.
More information on accommodation for students by the university can be found here.
Accommodation
The Studierendenwerk Bonn maintains some 3,700 lodgings in 29 dormitory buildings for students. Their website provides an overview of the location, facilities, and costs of a place in a dormitory.
There are several search engines or other tenders by which you can look for shared flats, apartments, and larger flats:
Zimmerfrei, Housinganywhere, apartments-b2b, WG-gesucht, Immowelt
The print editions or the websites of the General-Anzeiger Bonn newspaper, the magazine Schnüss, or the advertising journal Annonce also advertise accommodation. We also recommend that you use search engines to find accommodation in the various online listings.
For rental agreements on the private housing market - general advice and important instructions regarding contracts: "All you need to know before signing a rental agreement on the private market" - (Just Landed).
Visa
Prospective international students have to apply for a student visa at their respective German embassy before entering Germany. A list of embassies is available at the Federal Foreign Office.
All international students who wish to stay in Germany for more than three months must have a valid residence permit. This also applies to students from EU countries.
If you already have the required documentation or entry certifications for the period of your stay in your passport you do not need to contact the municipal immigration office. In that case, it is sufficient to get in touch with the Residents' Registration Office (Bürgeramt).
The municipal immigration office is where you can obtain a residence permit.
These are the documents you need:
- a valid passport
- notification of admission or the matriculation certificate
- the registration confirmation of the Bürgeramt
- evidence of financial cover of your studies
- evidence of sufficient health insurance cover
For students coming from non-EU countries, additionally:
- a visa for studying purposes
Using the Visa Navigator provided by the Federal Foreign Office you can find out whether you need a visa and, if so, which visa type
General Students' Committee
The AStA office (short for ‘Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss’ in German) can help students and applicants with problems and concerns regarding administration, finances, coursework, and immigration matters. Moreover, it provides further information about admission, scholarships, grants, language schools, the German job market, job opportunities, residence permits as well and internships for international students.
AStA der Uni Bonn
Endenicher Allee 19 (Container)
53115 Bonn
Telephone: +49 - (0)228 - 73 - 70 36
Telefax: +49 - (0)228 - 73 - 90 88
Psychological and Social Counseling
Various psychosocial counseling experts at our University can help you depending on your situation.
The Psychological Counseling at the Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service. You can confidently discuss your concerns in a one-on-one session and work out potential solutions and coping methods.
More about the Psychosocial counseling service run by the General Students’ Committee (AStA) can be found here.
Financial Matters
Tuition fees for domestic and international students of the Master's program in Neurosciences are covered by the German government. Students are required to pay a Student service contribution ("Sozialbeitrag") of about 325 € per semester to the university. This payment is compulsory for enrollment. The student service contribution includes free public transport within the whole of North Rhine Westphalia and supports other student activities.
Living costs (including accommodation in a student dormitory and health insurance) in Bonn range from about 650 to 800 Euros per month per person, depending on your personal standards. Further information on the cost of living in Germany is published on the Bonn University, DAAD, and on the "Study in Germany" website.
German health insurance is obligatory for all students who are not citizens of the European Union. Please find more details on the webpage of the International office.
The program does not award any scholarships. A scholarship database is available where you can get an overview of the various types of funding offered by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) or of the program offered by other funding organizations for a study stay in Germany.
A so-called current account or giro account ("Girokonto") with a German bank is necessary for your financial transactions since many payments can only be made as transfers, i.e. you cannot pay cash.
Rent, health insurance, telephone bills, electricity bills, and other regular payments can be handled by setting up a standing order (Dauerauftrag) or a direct debit mandate (Einzugsermächtigung), either at a branch bank or by filling in a printed form. Both are set up only once and remain valid until you change or cancel them. This saves you a lot of work. In case you disagree with a withdrawal you need to contact your bank immediately. The money can then be retransferred to your account.
You can open a giro account with a bank or a savings bank (Sparkasse) after having registered with the Residents' Registration Office (Bürgeramt). If you present your Student ID the account is free of charge.
Two 500 Euro travel grants per annum are available for students of the Bonn MSc Neurosciences program.
Applications should be submitted to the Coordination office via email (neurosciences@unibonn.de). Submit a single PDF file containing all the information and documents as mentioned below. Reimbursement will be limited to 500 Euro of total travel expenses per event.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 31 each year.
Eligibility: You have to be an active student of the MSc Neurosciences program in Bonn. The topic of the conference/training course you wish to attend should be related to your Master's thesis.
Requested documents:
- Half-page letter of motivation describing what the applicant hopes to achieve by attending the conference or training course. Explain how the event relates to your own work, and how you will benefit from attending it.
- Short letter of recommendation from the applicant’s advisor
- CV of the applicant
- After return, students are requested to submit a brief (one-page) report about the usefulness of the visit to the Coordination office.
Jobs
Students who are interested in working during their studies can find information on different web pages. The Studierendenwerk and the University of Bonn offer job boards.
The Career Service of the University of Bonn has a Job and Internship Portal.
It is also possible to apply for student assistant jobs directly at the different institutes at Bonn Medical School or Bonn University.
Some of the PIs involved in the Bonn MSc Neurosciences program offer student assistant jobs during the Master's thesis period to the candidates. Several selected students will be offered a student assistant job as a tutor for the freshmen class during the first mandatory modules. Prerequisites will be outstanding grades in the relevant modules.