International students flock to affordable German university

Global Business

Germany has seen a 20 percent rise in American students in last three years, and its universities want more of them.

The Technical University of Munich

The Technical University of Munich has been attracting more international students every year.

CCTV’s Guy Henderson reports from Munich.

The Technical University of Munich is in the process of making most of its masters courses English-language only. It’s opened an office in San Francisco to get the message out that top-class education is available at a fraction of the price.

Andrew Giebriend, a 27-year-old engineering student from the U.S., isn’t even German – but that doesn’t matter. Giebfriend’s fees each year are on a par with his transatlantic flight tickets.

His peers in the United States, on the other hand, have accumulated a trillion dollars in student debts.

“I could get a masters, and the tuition was about 500 Euros per semester. In the U.S., that’s a very good deal!” Giebrand said.

Every year, more students from all over the world would agree.

There are concerns that subsidizing foreign students may not always be cost effective or sustainable. Wolfgang Hermann, president of the Technical University of Munich, worries this approach may eventually sacrifice the quality of education.

“You can afford the existing system with twice the number of students on half the level. But that’s not our intention really, we want to become higher level,” Hermann said.