• Enrolled students can apply for financial support through the regular emergency funds provided by studierendenWERK BERLIN. Prospective and enrolled students can also contact studierendenWERK BERLIN’s Social Counseling Center to find out more about other financial support opportunities.

• If you were in Ukraine when the war broke out and fled the country, your status as a war refugee entitles you to social benefits in Germany. That covers education costs as well. You can also register as “seeking employment” and apply for scholarships. You can find more information about regular funding opportunities for students at Freie Universität here. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has put together an overview of financial support resources for students on its website.

It is not possible to conduct a study abroad program in Ukraine at this time.

If you are a student from Ukraine and would like to study abroad at Freie Universität for a semester, please contact the appropriate staff member from the Student Mobility Unit or the contact person at your home university.

Students enrolled in a dual master’s degree program should contact the person in charge of academic affairs in their department/institute. Currently, it is not possible to do an exchange program with Russia.

Students with Russian citizenship may continue their studies at Freie Universität as usual.

You can find information on student advising and psychological counseling on this website. Additional information on psychological support services can be found on the studierendenWERK BERLIN website. This overview also provides further options where you can receive psychological counseling.

There are also other counseling resources available to you outside the university context, for example, on the following sites:

• You can chat online with a professional any time of the day or night at Krisenchat.
•  Nightline Berlin is a telephone hotline run by students for students who are facing a crisis or hardship.
• In acute cases, the Berlin Crisis Service can be reached at +49 30 390 63 00.

Current information about applying and registering to study can be found here.

• If you are registered as a student at Freie Universität (or as an auditor), you may take courses at our Language Center. They offer German language courses at a variety of levels. https://www.sprachenzentrum.fu-berlin.de/en 

Yes, in certain degree programs that is possible. You can find a list of degree programs taught in English on this website.

Depending on your secondary school exam results, you will have to have completed either one or two years of studies in Ukraine before you can apply to study at a German university. You can find more information here.

If this is not the case then you will first have to complete preparatory courses at the Studienkolleg.

If you were attending a Ukrainian secondary school last school year but were not able to graduate in 2022, you can still apply to study at Freie Universität Berlin. This opportunity is open to people who have been granted residency in Germany for temporary protection according to Section 24 of the Residence Act. Instead of submitting your secondary school leaving qualification, you can provide copies of your semester grades from eleventh grade and any other paperwork that documents your secondary school performance.

Please note that if you finished your secondary education upon completion of the eleventh grade, you cannot begin your studies directly. In this case you will need to attend the Studienkolleg preparatory course. In order to enroll in the preparatory course, your knowledge of German must be at the B2-level or higher.

Unfortunately, the university does not have any housing facilities of its own to offer refugees. However, you can apply for student housing through the studierendenWERK BERLIN.

Yes, anyone forced to leave Ukraine can contact the offices and support services mentioned here.

Please send an email to info-service@fu-berlin.de, and our staff there can help confirm that you spent time as a student at Freie Universität Berlin. If you completed your studies here, please contact the appropriate examination office in order to get a new copy of your certificate of completion.

We will continue to welcome applications for degree programs at Freie Universität from Russian students. We are well aware that the current situation is very difficult for you, and we are glad that you have decided to submit an application to Freie Universität.

As the social security agreement between the European Union and Ukraine does not include health insurance, Ukrainian health insurance coverage does not apply in Germany. More information is available on the Flüchtlingsrat Berlin website. 

• Enrolled students can apply for financial support through the regular emergency funds provided by studierendenWERK BERLIN. Prospective and enrolled students can also contact studierendenWERK BERLIN’s Social Counseling Center to find out more about other financial support opportunities.
• If you were in Ukraine when the war broke out and fled the country, your status as a war refugee entitles you to social benefits in Germany. That also covers education costs. You can also register as “seeking employment” and apply for scholarships. You can find more information about regular funding opportunities for students at Freie Universität here. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has put together an overview of financial support resources for students on its website. 

• Freie Universität offers support with funding applications and the possibility to work with institutes with short-term scholarships. All information can be found here.

Researchers and scholars who want to stay in Germany and establish professional contacts here can apply to the “Academics in Solidarity” program. The program connects you with mentors in your field, provides training opportunities and workshops, as well as small grants for research activities.

Here is a selection of funding programs for researchers who are refugees:

• The German Research Foundation’s Walter Benjamin Program is offering additional grants for researchers from Ukraine.
• The Humboldt Foundation’s Philipp Schwartz Initiative has extended its application deadline for researchers from Ukraine.
• The Volkswagen Foundation has established its own program for Ukrainian researchers who are refugees.

For a more extensive overview of different programs and support for researchers from Ukraine, please visit the German Academic Exchange Service’s (DAAD) website and the German-Ukrainian Academic Association’s website.

As the social security agreement between the European Union and Ukraine does not include health insurance, Ukrainian health insurance coverage does not apply in Germany. More information is available on the Flüchtlingsrat Berlin website.

Unfortunately, the university does not have any housing facilities of its own to offer refugees. The Accommodation Service at Freie Universität Berlin is currently trying to find private hosts for refugees who are being financially supported by Freie Universität Berlin.

Researchers from Russia are most certainly allowed to apply to positions at Freie Universität Berlin. We are well aware that the current situation is very difficult for you, and we are glad that you have decided to submit an application to Freie Universität.

Freie Universität has set up an emergency fund for Ukraine using part of its annual budget set aside for ad hoc support measures.

• Maybe you’d like to serve as an academic mentor, help people find opportunities for financial support, or perhaps you even have a position to fill. If you would like to help researchers who are refugees at Freie Universität, please contact international-office@fu-berlin.de or ais@fu-berlin.de and let them know you are interested. 
• The mentoring network, “Academics in Solidarity” is based at Freie Universität and helps at-risk researchers and researchers who are refugees connect with mentors in their fields from all around Germany. If you would like to contribute to the network or know of someone who would be a good mentor, please send an email to ais@fu-berlin.de