Student numbers in universities in Germany 2023/24, by type of university

In the winter semester of 2023/24, the obvious majority of students in Germany were enrolled in universities, followed by universities of applied sciences. Smaller numbers were distributed in higher education establishments with a specific subject focus. Class in sessionIn general, for higher education the German academic year is split into the winter and summer semester. Actual class starting and ending dates may differ depending on the type of university or college attended, as well as the type of course. In most cases, the German winter semester starts in October and ends in March, while the summer semester begins in April and ends in September. The time during the semester when no classes take place is called the non-lecture period (vorlesungsfreie Zeit), otherwise known among students as semester vacation (Semesterferien). On average, German university graduates who completed their first degree studied for eight semesters. It is not uncommon to consider a second degree, after getting a Bachelors, for example a Masters . Tuition-freeFirst-year student numbers have dropped between 2019 and 2022, most probably due to universities being closed and only operating online, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, numbers have been increasing again since 2023. Optimistically so, the number of students taking out a loan to finance their studies has been generally decreasing, as all 16 German states have abolished tuition fees for first degrees, although there has been an increase again after a low during the corona pandemic.

在2023/24学年冬季学期，德国大学中的学生人数占据绝大多数，其后为应用科学大学。相对较少的学生分布在专注于特定学科的高等教育机构中。就高等教育而言，德国学年度通常分为冬季学期和夏季学期。实际的开课和结课日期可能因所就读的大学或学院的类型以及课程的类型而有所不同。在大多数情况下，德国的冬季学期始于十月，结束于三月，而夏季学期则从四月开始，至九月结束。学期期间无课的时间段被称为非授课期（vorlesungsfreie Zeit），在学生中通常被称为学期假期（Semesterferien）。平均而言，完成首次学位的德国大学毕业生通常需学习八个学期。在获得学士学位后考虑第二个学位，例如硕士学位，也并不罕见。免费教育：2019年至2022年间，大一新生的数量有所下降，这很可能是因为由于COVID-19大流行，大学关闭并仅在线运营。然而，自2023年起，人数又开始回升。乐观地看，为资助学业而贷款的学生人数总体上呈下降趋势，因为德国所有16个州都已废除学士学位的学费，尽管在新冠疫情期间这一数字有所回升。