Europe
What Germany stands for
Germany’s popularity with international students is high and rising – reflecting the power of welcoming policies and clear values
By Claudia Civinini
"Having well-educated international students is a clear benefit, and I have never heard a word that there are too many international students.”
The low cost of programmes and the reputation for high-quality education, especially in STEM subjects, are all important attractive factors."
"Germany’s 18-month post-study work visa is a competitive advantage."
"The Say Ja to Germany initiative, he explains, was a positioning effort delivering a coherent message about what Germany stands for as an academic destination."
In brief
- Germany has set sights on international students as other countries are closing their doors.
- The country is now the second most popular destination for MBAs, ahead of the US, and third for international students overall, ahead of Australia.
- Clear value-based messaging and generous post-study work policies are key to attracting and retaining international talent
“You don’t have to convince anybody in Germany that we need more internationalisation,” says Joachim Lutz, Dean and President of the Mannheim Business School in Germany.
An institution has two customers, he explains: on one side, the students, and on the other, industry and business. And internationalisation is good for both.
“Our companies say to the business schools, ‘We want to have more international students’. Having well-educated international students is a clear benefit, and I have never heard a word that there are too many international students,” he explains.
“On the contrary. We would like to increase the number of international students. It’s beneficial for German students, and it’s beneficial for the industrial structure we have in the Greater Mannheim Area.”
Last year, Mannheim Business School, together with WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and ESMT Berlin, launched a joint communication campaign called Say Ja to Germany. Lutz says this press statement was a way to invite students and professors to Germany – an invitation, in his words, framed by values.
“If you look at what is going on in the world, there is so much disruption… in politics, academic freedom, peace, anything we think is valuable.
“We wanted to send a signal from Germany that simply says, ‘Come to Germany. We have academic freedom protected by Article 5 of our Constitution. We are a stable and safe country. We offer researchers and faculty good opportunities and cooperation at the top level’,” Lutz says.
The country has a reputation for quality education and a generous post-study work policy, but these factors are not the whole story: Germany’s conscious positioning on the international education stage seems to be built around values.
For example, academic freedom was also highlighted, alongside research innovation and quality, in a major government funding programme aimed at supporting international researchers to find a career in Germany, the 1000-Köpfe-plus/Global Minds programme.
As traditional study destinations grapple with significant policy shifts, a country’s ability to articulate its values seems essential and can be part of the appeal.
And leaving the usual magnet metaphor aside, Germany has been enjoying solid popularity among international students and researchers, with statistics pointing to growth.
Is Germany having a moment?
Last year, CarringtonCrisp’s Business of Branding study found that Germany had overtaken the US to become the second most popular destination for international students looking for a business degree.
And according to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) snapshot survey, in the 2025/26 winter semester, there were around 420,000 international students and PhD candidates enrolled at German universities.
While headline-making trends are striking, Germany’s popularity has been increasing over time, and rests on well-established pull factors.
The DAAD provides information to prospective international students and researchers and has a worldwide network of bureaus. The organisation also manages the Study in Germany – Land of Ideas campaign and the MyGUIDE portal, providing information and support for international students interested in studying in Germany.
According to its data, Germany’s attractiveness has grown over the past 10 to 15 years, with the number of international students, PhD candidates and researchers increasing steadily.
“Germany is now ranked third or fourth worldwide for international students and PhD candidates, behind the USA and the UK and ahead of Australia. Germany is also ranked second worldwide for international scientists, only behind the USA,” Michael Flacke, a DAAD spokesperson, explained.
“The largest groups of international students and PhD candidates at German universities currently come from India (58,800) and China (36,800). With around 420,000 international students in the country, Germany is diverse in terms of student origin and, unlike some other countries, is not heavily dependent on students from a single country.”
The low cost of programmes and the reputation for high-quality education, especially in STEM subjects, are all important attractive factors, together with the country’s post-study work policy.
“We know from various surveys that the opportunity to work in Germany after studying is an important factor,” Flacke says.
A postgraduate destination
Germany’s 18-month post-study work visa is a competitive advantage, Cara Skikne, Head of Communication and Thought Leadership at Studyportals, tells QS Insights.
“This positions Germany as a graduate-friendly destination at a time when other destinations are pulling back or creating uncertainty about post-study work rights,” she says.
“This comes in the context of a broader global shift away from the traditional Big Four study destinations. As students increasingly look beyond the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, Germany has emerged as a key beneficiary, particularly among postgraduate students.”
Germany’s popularity among master’s students is evident from Studyportals’ data: the country is the number one destination by volume of searches on Studyportals for prospective international students looking for English-taught master’s programmes.
Between 2021 and 2026, the number of English-taught bachelor’s programmes offered in Germany grew by 16 percent, reaching a total of 435, while the number of English-taught master’s programmes reached 1904 in 2026, growing by 23 percent.
The number of English-taught programmes available, Skikne explains, is a key indicator of how actively a country is recruiting international students.
“The ratio (roughly five English-taught master’s programmes for every bachelor's) reflects Germany's strong positioning as a destination for advanced study,” Skikne says.
While Germany’s appeal is particularly pronounced at master’s level, at bachelor’s level it faces growing competition from other destinations such as Italy.
Skikne’s colleague Damaris Clark, Senior Analytics Consultant at Studyportals, explains: "Looking at the last 12 months, Germany gathers 15 percent of the global demand at master’s level (with 2.5 percent of the supply), the highest destination by volume of interest! For bachelor's level, 7.8 percent of the interest is for Germany, but only 0.4 percent supply, so at both levels there's still a very high demand versus supply.
“Italy has a higher volume of interest at bachelor’s level (number one by volume of demand), followed by the UK and the US."
The number of English-taught degrees in Germany is expected to rise: in the DAAD snapshot survey, 46 percent of responding universities expected to expand their English-language programmes in 2026.
A new surge
But while Germany’s appeal has been building for years, recent statistics uncovered a new trend.
“We have seen rising interest from the US, whether it be US citizens or international students and researchers working in the US,” Flacke says.
“Of course, there have been for many years American students studying in Germany and American professors or post-doc researchers working in Germany, but this kind of surge in interest is a recent trend.”
A snapshot survey conducted by the DAAD in 2025 included a question on trends in academic mobility to or from the US since the start of 2025.
A clear majority of responding institutions reported growing interest from US-based students (78 percent), early-career researchers (94 percent) and professors (92 percent).
There is no data yet on US students’ and faculty’s preference for specific programmes, but anecdotal evidence suggests areas around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are particularly susceptible, as covered by QS Insights in Research attraction and Ripple effect.
“What we hear from our bureau in New York is that scientists working on climate change, or DEI, or other topics are often motivated to look, in this kind of situation, to work outside of the US,” Flacke adds.
According to Studyportals data, interest from the US has grown by 20 percent in the past 12 months compared to the previous 12 months.
Framed by values
Data from the business schools involved in the Say Ja to Germany initiative reflects the surge of interest from the US.
“We never had such a high number of US-based applicants,” Lutz says, explaining that more than 15 percent of the applicants for faculty positions were based in the US.
“I am crossing my fingers and hoping we can get them to Germany and to Mannheim.”
At ESMT Berlin, the number of US students enrolled in on-campus programmes had increased by 36 percent between the summer term 2024 and the same period in 2025. But it’s not just a short-term trend.
“Over the past ten years, the number of US students at ESMT Berlin has increased almost fivefold. This growth shows that an increasing number of people from America regard Germany as a compelling destination for their academic and professional future,” Martha Ihlbrock, Director of Corporate Communications at ESMT Berlin, explains.
It would be speculative to attribute an increase in interest from US-based candidates for these three schools to the Say Ja to Germany initiative, Professor Christian Andres, Dean of WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management, explains.
“At the same time, we would of course hope that our clear positioning as an institution committed to academic freedom and open discourse reinforces our and Germany’s attractiveness in this context,” he says.
The Say Ja to Germany initiative, he explains, was a positioning effort delivering a coherent message about what Germany stands for as an academic destination.
“Academic freedom is, naturally, a core value for the academic community … In conversations with colleagues and candidates, we sense that a clear and public affirmation of these principles is appreciated,” Professor Andres adds.
“The explicit positioning of German institutions in support of open discourse and research integrity is perceived as an important signal within the international academic community.”
While Say Ja to Germany was a symbolic initiative, the same values frame major government efforts to attract international talent to Germany. Wir bieten einen sicheren Hafen der Forschungsfreiheit – we offer a safe haven for research freedom – says the website of the 1000-köpfe-plus/Global Minds programme, among other attractive features of the German research environment, such as career prospects, innovation, and international research collaborations.
The programme, launched by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, provides funding to help international researchers establish a career in Germany through programmes run by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Research Foundation. The DAAD is also receiving funding to administer a programme for international students and PhD candidates.
According to data released by the Ministry, since the programme’s launch in July 2025, 286 scientists from 45 countries were selected — the regions with the highest numbers of grantees were Europe (106), Asia (85), and North America (56). According to the website, this is more than a quarter of the targeted 1,000 grants after just one year.
As part of the programme, the DAAD has selected 20 higher education institutions to receive funding to attract international students and PhD candidates working on areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and climate-neutral mobility. Each selected institution, according to a press release the DAAD published last year, would receive funding for up to €750,000 until 2029.
This is genius!
Articulating the sector’s values helps attract international talent, but also makes the case for the sector at home.
Asked whether the Say Ja to Germany initiative was part of an effort to position the sector as a key part of the German economy, Lutz says: “Yes, you can clearly say that.”
The message of the Say Ja to Germany initiative, he says, addressed prospective students, schools, academics, and governments – both abroad and at home.
“Politics is an important recipient of the message. If we get more students, we of course need more funding, more jobs, more professorships,” he explains.
“The university system in Germany is essentially paid for by the state, by the taxpayer, so the individual student doesn’t have to pay. So we need more visibility for the sector: showing that we are doing something good, that we attract students.”
Perhaps Germany doesn’t need to make the case for internationalisation, but Lutz’s enthusiasm for its wider cultural benefits, and not just its economic contribution, is contagious.
“If we have good students and we keep them on the job market, then we have highly educated people, so we can have more cultural events, and then we’ll have more people coming for cultural events … so it’s a cascade,” he explains.
“As we speak, I am realising that this is genius. The Say Ja to Germany initiative has so many positive consequences.”