Navigation:

Before you arrive

Visa
Arriving by plane
Arriving by train/bus
Living in Münster
Personal finances and student grants

Visa
Depending on your home country, a visa will be necessary to enter Germany. International students need a visa for studying – a tourist visa is not enough. When you apply for a visa it is imperative that you provide evidence of sufficient financial resources. German Embassies can provide more information on matters relating to visas.
German Embassies and Consulates

Arriving by plane
The Münster/Osnabrück airport is only 30 km away from the centre of Münster. A shuttle bus connects the airport with the city’s main railway station. The Münster/Osnabrück airport can be reached from numerous international airports.
The Münster/Osnabrück airport
Shuttle buses from the airport to the city centre 

Arriving by train / bus
If you come by train you’ll find bus-stops right in front of the main railway station. From there buses go to all parts of the city. Bus timetables can be obtained from Münster Public Services (Stadtwerke Münster).
German Railways (Deutsche Bahn): timetables and fares
Münster Public Services: bus timetable

Living in Münster
You can apply online for a place in a hall of residence run by the Students Support Services. The Students Support Services website provides further information on the interior details, locations and costs of rooms in individual halls. Accomodation is also available in the private sector.
Students Support Services
Accommodation

Personal finances and student grants
A basic principle is that all students are themselves responsible for financing their studies.

However, it is also possible to get financial assistance. International students from Switzerland and EU countries can also receive financial support – a student grant – on the basis of the so-called BAföG Act (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz). Stateless applicants, members of certain groups of refugees, people entitled to asylum and spouses of German nationals are also eligible for such grants. Advice is provided in Münster by the Students Association’s Grants Office.
Students Support Services
Further information

In Münster

Bank account
Health insurance
Registering your domicile
Residence permit
Liability insurance
Exemption from TV/radio licence fee
Discounts
Bicycles
Sport and culture
Student jobs

Bank account
Anyone who studies in Germany must open a bank account in Germany. This is the only way that regular payments such as rent, students fees etc. can be remitted on time. The requirement for opening a bank account is a permanent address in Germany. Also, a passport or identity card must be presented, along with your notification of admission from the university.  

Health insurance
You must provide evidence of adequate health insurance before you can enrol at Münster University. Students who are nationals of EU countries or of countries belonging to the European Economic Area must bring their European health insurance card with them when they enrol in order for their health insurance to be recognized in Germany. Students from countries outside Europe must take out additional health insurance in Germany, which costs around €350 per semester (six months) for students.

Registering your domicile
Everyone who lives in Germany must register their domicile at the relevant Citizens Office (Bürgerbüro) – i. e. the one at the place of residence. This is a legal requirement in Germany. You should register within a week of moving into your new address, bringing the following documents with you:

• Identity card or passport
• Registration form (can be downloaded from the Citizens Office website)
• Verification of your new address e.g. your rental agreement

The Münster University International Office can help you if you have any questions.
Münster Citizens Office
Münster University International Office

Residence permit
Your visa is only an initial permit for entering Germany and is valid for 30 days as a rule. International students must therefore apply for a residence permit as soon as possible at the Münster Citizens Office.
The following documents are necessary:

• Application for a residence permit
• Passport
• Evidence of health insurance
• A passport photo
• Certificate of enrolment at Münster University
• Evidence of ability to support yourself financially
• 50 euros

Liability insurance
It can happen so easily: a moment’s carelessness and the book or the camera you borrowed is damaged. If you have no liability insurance, you have to pay for the damage you caused – and that can be expensive. It’s best to protect yourself by taking out liability insurance, which covers all damage done to other people or their property through carelessness. Each insurance company will give you a different quotation, so it’s worth comparing. When you take out insurance, make sure that the cover provided does not run for longer than your stay in Germany is due to last.

Discounts
Your students ID card often enables you to get discounts. This can apply to subscriptions to newspapers and magazines, theatre, cinema and concert tickets and exhibitions, tours and other cultural and sporting activities. So if you’re not sure, always ask – it’ll probably be worth it!

Bicycles
You can’t get by without a bicycle in Münster – it’s the number 1 in means of transport in the city. And … many bike shops sell good-quality used bicycles which are, naturally, cheaper than new ones. Reasonably priced bicycles are also offered for sale in the small ads in the weekly journal “nadann”.
"nadann" website

Sport and culture
The Münster University Sport offers courses in over 100 different types of sport every semester – from volleyball, badminton, swimming and yoga to exotic sports such as capoeira and underwater rugby.
Münster University Sport (HSP)

The university also has a lot to offer on the cultural side. There are numerous choirs, orchestras and ensembles, theatre groups, cultural associations and a campus radio. Exhibitions, concerts and readings also take place regularly. Information on student life and the various clubs and associations at the university can be found at.
Living in Münster

Student jobs
There are special regulations covering international students who want to work. You can only work a limited number of hours parallel to your studies, depending on which country you come from. In the semester vacations there is no limit to the number of hours that can be worked. Your semester certificate and your residence permit together represent a “work permit”. You also need a tax card (Lohnsteuerkarte) – which can be ordered from the Münster Citizens Office free of charge – as well as a social insurance identity card (Sozialversicherungsausweis), which you can get from your health insurance fund. The International Office at Münster University can also answer any questions you may have about getting a job.
Münster Citizens Office
International Office

Beginning your studies

Map and A-Z of institutions and facilities
Student fees and social service contributions
Semester travel ticket
Re-registration
Introductory events
Libraries
Lecture list
Examinations
Internet and e-mail
Photocopies and scans
Refectories
Semester and vacation dates
“The academic quarter“
Personal finances and student grants

Map and A-Z of institutions and facilities
Münster is not a campus university. The university’s institutions are spread all over the city. The online map of the university will help you to find your way around. The A-Z showing all the university’s institutions and facilities also provides useful contact data.
Uni A-Z
Map of Münster University

Student fees and social service contributions
Every student currently pays a service charge of around €210 per semester. This includes, amongst other things, the cost of the so-called semester travel ticket, which entitles students to free travel on local public transport within North Rhine-Westphalia for that semester.            
Social service contribution: how much?

Semester travel ticket
Students at Münster University receive a semester travel ticket which can be used not only for the city’s buses, but also for regional trains and buses within North-Rhine Westphalia. Major cities in the region such as Osnabrück, Dortmund, Bielefeld and Enschede (Netherlands) are within easy reach of Münster. The travel ticket is only valid in conjunction with an official form of identification such as an identity card or a passport
Information on where the semester travel ticket is valid

Re-registration
At the beginning of every further semester that you want to study at Münster University, you have to re-register. This means that the service charge and student fee have to be paid within a certain period, the so-called re-registration period. You will be automatically notified, by e-mail or in writing, of the beginning of the re-registration period.
Information on re-registration

Introductory events
The student representative bodies (Fachschaften) for each subject at the university organize introductory events at the beginning of each semester – mostly in the week before lectures begin. During these events a lot of questions on the organization and content of subjects are answered – and they are also a good opportunity to meet other students. The dates of these introductory events are published shortly beforehand on the websites of the Student Advisory and Counselling Centre (ZSB).
Student Advisory and Counselling Centre (ZSB)

Libraries
After you have enrolled at Münster University, you have access to a large number of libraries. The University Library website gives a list of all Institute and Department libraries  
List of all Institute and Department libraries
University Library website

Lecture list
The web-based lecture list includes a complete list of the classes offered for that semester.
Lecture list

Examinations
Registration for examinations in most of the new Bachelor and Master degree courses is done online via Münster University's so-called QISPOS portal.
Please note the individual deadlines in each case.
QISPOS portal
Information on examinations

Internet and e-mail
After enrolment each student receives a personal e-mail address and access to the University’s intranet from the IT Centre (ZIV) at Münster University. The IT Centre also offers all students a virus scanner and a firewall which can be downloaded free of charge.
Information for new students

Photocopies and scans
There are photocopiers and scanners at many places within the university, in particular in the libraries. Each photocopy costs 3.8 cents and is paid for via the chip card which is also used for paying in the refectories and bistros (see “Refectories”). This refectory card (Mensa Card) costs ten euros and is directly credited with five euros.

Refectories
There are refectories, bistros and cafés all over the city, run by the Student Support Services. Meals are reasonably priced; payment is by the Mensa Card, which can be bought at the check-out of the refectories e.g at Lake Aa and am Ring. The Mensa Cards can be topped up again and again at special terminals. The Mensa Card costs ten euros and is directly credited with five euros.
Students Association refectories and bistros

Semester and vacation dates
The academic year in Germany is divided into two semesters. The winter semester begins officially on October 1, and examinations in the winter semester take place in the first two weeks of February. The summer semester starts officially on April 1, and examinations in the summer semester take place at the end of July.
Semester and vacation dates

"The academic quarter"
At Münster University teaching (seminars, lectures etc.) begins a quarter of an hour later than indicated in the lecture list. This is called "cum tempore" (c.t.). If a lecture or seminar is marked "sine tempore" (s.t.), this means that it starts on time.

Personal finances and student grants
A basic principle is that all students are themselves responsible for financing their studies. However, it is also possible to get financial assistance. International students from Switzerland and EU countries can also receive financial support – a student grant – on the basis of the so-called BAföG Act (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz). Stateless applicants, members of certain groups of refugees, people entitled to asylum and spouses of German nationals are also eligible for such grants. Advice is provided in Münster by the Student Support Services Grants Office.
Student Support Services Grants Office
Further information

In well-founded circumstances the Students Union Executive Committee (AStA) grants financial subsidies to international students who find themselves in acute financial distress. Applications for support can be made to the Foreign Students Representative Body (ASV) or at the AStA Social Advice Centre. After a discussion with the applicant, the application is forwarded to the awards committee of the student parliament for its decision. During examination periods the AStA also grants interest-free loans to students who have no other way of financing their studies. As a rule the loan is granted in the final six months before completion of studies. The maximum amount granted is 3,480 euros, in six instalments of 580 euros each.
The AStA at Münster University