Tuition increase. Again??

23 August 2026

402 euros to study at the University of Hamburg in the upcoming 2026/27 winter semester. 402 euros!

This creeping trend over the past few years is alarming: While the semester fee broke the 300-euro mark in the 2019/20 winter semester, just six years later it has already surpassed the 400-euro threshold. As a university committed to “research, teaching, and education,” we must be deeply concerned that access to this very education increasingly depends on one’s financial means and is becoming more difficult.

Already, 36% of students are living in poverty. Among students who live alone or in shared apartments, the figure is as high as 80%. Public transportation is becoming more expensive, which we students are also feeling through our semester tickets. Since the price of the student ticket is automatically linked to that of the Deutschland-Ticket (60% of the original price), our costs inevitably rise as well. In the face of price hikes that seem to have no end, we therefore demand that this link be broken! It is unacceptable that students should bear the financial burden of gaps that should actually be covered by state funding or subsidies from the City of Hamburg.

While rent prices are skyrocketing, BAföG rates are being cut, and while we finance the Studentenwerk, we are forced to watch as study conditions continue to deteriorate. Cuts and underfunding of the university are taking a toll on the quality of education and student campus life, and there is a growing sense of discontent about paying more while receiving less in return. The City of Hamburg must finally wake up and ensure full funding for our university. At the same time, we demand a proportional increase in BAföG rates!

For many, the biannual semester fee has become a major financial burden, forcing students to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets. We, as your AStA, do not support the decision to raise the fee and strongly object to it. We will continue to advocate for the student body until an affordable—and thus equitable—education is possible for everyone.

Don’t let yourselves be intimidated—stand up against these constant increases!

Join us at our rally on August 28, 2026, and take to the streets with us again on November 26, 2026, to speak out against underfunding!
We experience reduced library hours, cuts to student positions, and overcrowded seminars in our daily student life, while the City of Hamburg is increasingly shifting the financial burden onto students. The systematic dismantling of teaching and education is a political decision that we do not accept and against which we will fight resolutely.
For a fully funded university and better working and studying conditions!

Are you under financial pressure? We won’t leave you alone.
Take advantage of our various counseling services or find out about the possibility of an AStA loan.