International Office

Costs for studying at Ruhr University Bochum

How much does it actually cost to study at RUB? What monthly costs should I expect? On this page we give you an overview.

Social Contribution

The social contribution, also called semester contribution, is a payment of about 350€ per semester. This contribution is not tuition fees, but consists of contributions for the Akademisches Förderungswerk (AKAFÖ), the Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss (AstA) and for the Semesterticket, which allows you to use (almost) all public transportation (except IC, ICE) in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).

The social contribution is always due before the start of a new semester, for the winter semester approximately in August and for the summer semester approximately in February.

Cost of living

Of course, you will also incur monthly costs, such as:

  • Rent (approx. 350-700€)
  • Telephone/internet/media license fee (approx. 35€)
  • Health insurance (approx. 115€)
  • Food (approx. 200-350€)
  • ...

But also other costs for university and free time, such as:

  • Learning materials, books, pens, etc. (approx. 20-30€)
  • Clothes (approx. 40-60€)
  • Leisure activities (cinema, club, going out to eat etc.) (approx. 60-100€)
  • Subscriptions (e.g. streaming providers, music streaming, memberships etc.) (approx. 5-50€)
  • ...
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