Studying with a child

Short & Sweet

If you want to bring your children or partner with you on your stay abroad, you should find out about the conditions in good time.

Counselling, help with childcare and financial support are available.

A group of student in a library. One student has her baby daughter with her.

Childcare

Many higher education institutions in Germany provide nurseries or other childcare facilities which you can use as a student. Your contact for childcare at the higher education institution is student services.

Compulsory education

Compulsory education legislation in Germany stipulates that, if your children are older than six, they must attend school here. In addition to state schools, which are free and have a high standard of education, there are also private and international schools.

Help for students with a child

Here you can find examples of childcare and support at universities in Germany.

Examples of childcare facilities and support at higher education institutions in Germany

Anna Grenzebach is a single parent in the fifth semester of the Bachelor’s degree “Education and Support in Childhood”. During the week, her two-year-old son Enno is looked after at the Kiwis day nursery run by Gießen student services. The nursery prioritises single parent students, which is why Anna was able to get a place for her son at short notice.

The 29-year-old is very happy that she can also leave her son at the nursery until 6pm if she has to attend a compulsory course at the university. The opening hours help to ease the burden on her. Drop-off and pick-up times are also tailored to fit around the needs of student parents. The nursery opens at 7.30am.

In addition to holiday childcare and a childminder network, student parents at the University of Gießen can also apply for a babysitter allowance. To supplement the nursery provision, out-of-hours childcare is also offered in parent-child rooms on campus. Rabea Pfeifer (27) and her eight-year-old daughter Lelia are lucky enough to live in student housing for families run by student services in Bonn-Poppelsdorf. This neighbourhood is normally a bit more expensive than others, but public funding makes the rents reasonable and the students also have access to a communal garden.

Rabea is taking a bit more time with her teacher training programme. She even took her daughter Lelia with her to Spain for a semester abroad. “The International Office said I was actually the first person to have done that. The International Office was able to help me apply for Erasmus funding, but I had to find a nursery and housing by myself.”

A research institute at the University of Gießen offers a unique programme that helps doctoral candidates with children combine their doctoral work with their family commitments. As well as receiving financial support, the parents also have an assistant who takes care of extra tasks, such as copying information from books.

Douaa, Can and Lilit with little Franka in a stroller walking past a university building

GUIDANCE

Student services at your higher education institution can answer any questions you may have on managing your academic studies and family life.Higher education institutions sometimes also offer special advice and information services.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Some higher education institutions or their student services provide financial or material support, e.g. basic equipment for newborns or welcome money. Find out here about the options available from the student services at your .

Visa Requirements for Families and Children

Conclusion

The Studentenwerk at your university is an important point of contact for questions regarding the compatibility of family and studies.

You are not from the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland? Then find out about the visa requirements for your family.

Special Circumstances

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