Long-term study fees

The standard duration of study is determined according to the relevant examination regulations or regulations for registration of the current study programme.

• The total standard duration of study is the determining factor on consecutive study programmes leading to a bachelor’s degree, Baccalaureate degree, master’s degree or Magister degree.
• If a student enrols for two or more study programmes at the same time (parallel studies) then the study programme with the longest standard duration of study is taken into account.

In the case of a further undergraduate study programme after a completed degree, the standard duration of study for the first undergraduate study programme and the second must be combined if:

• completing both study programmes is necessary to comply with professional regulations to acquire the intended vocational qualification.
• a final grade of the first undergraduate study programme that is far above the average of the graduation year is proven.

If a student enrols for two or more study programmes simultaneously, the fee must only be paid for one of them, namely for the one with the longer standard duration of study.

The final grade must be among the top 20% of all final grades of the relevant graduation year.
A graduation year comprises all students of the relevant study programme who graduated between 1 October and 30 September of the following year (i.e. academic year/year of study).

Provided that examination regulations stipulate a standard duration of study without examination periods, you should apply another term for standard duration of study which is stricter than the one defined in the ThürHG. The decisive factor is therefore not what examination regulations set out as the standard duration of study, but what corresponds to the legal definition instead, i.e. the standard duration of study frequently includes examination periods.

When defining the fee-free study period, all study periods at German institutions of higher education within the scope and application of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG) are taken into consideration. However, there some exceptions: neither a change of study programme until the completion of the second semester is taken into account nor a leave of absence. Due to the corona pandemic, the 2020 summer semester will also not count towards the fee-free period if you were enrolled at a university in the 2020 summer semester and there was no leave of absence.

There are: study periods at public administration colleges, foreign institutions of higher education, and institutions of higher education in the former German Democratic Republic. In the case of private/non-public institutions of higher education and professional academies, demanding issues of definition must be clarified first.

• Generally, study periods spent abroad before the beginning of one’s studies in Germany are not taken into account.
• Students who complete one or more semesters at foreign institutions of higher education as part of their studies at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena must apply for a leave of absence. Otherwise, those semesters are added up to the other semesters as full semesters when calculating the fee-free period of study.

Students must not pay the fee for the periods in which they are on leave of absence, and for the semesters in which they receive the benefits in accordance with the Federal Act on Support for Education and Training (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz, BAföG).

The obligation to pay may be postponed, upon formal request, for the times:

• of taking care and bringing up children, however, up to a max. of reaching a double standard length of study programme,
• of taking care for close relatives if you provide valid reasons, however, up to a max. of reaching a double standard length of study programme, and
• active involvement in university committees to a max. of two semesters if these are not added to the standard length of study programme in line with the examination regulations.

You may request a leave of absence for childcare for your own children, foster children, and stepchildren or grandchildren living in your household. The regulations are based on the BAföG.

Generally, the extension is available to both parents provided that they live with the child in the same household.

These are the university bodies defined in the Thuringian Higher Education Act, e.g. Senate, faculty councils, and the student representative bodies (student council, student representatives). If you are member of a committee for least one year, one semester may be recognized; if your membership lasts at least two years, you are granted two semesters. Your proof should be provided in a suitable manner, for example as a certificate issued by the committee management.

In cases of undue hardship, the fee can be partially or fully waived. These are the examples of undue hardship:

• consequences of an impairment, of a chronic illness or severe illness that affect the duration of a study period
• consequences of being a victim of a crime
• a serious financial crisis during the final period of your studies, i.e. the final examination

To start with, the disability etc. must be primarily causal. This means that other reasons (e.g. changing courses, re-sitting examinations) must not have led to the extension of studies. Delaying studies must therefore exist for a prolonged period. Medical reports must confirm the exact duration of the disability. Furthermore, they should present the reasons and the degree to which the ability to study was affected or not possible clearly. What is important is that a doctor—or a therapist if necessary, identify a specific restriction in the capacity to study. Sweeping statements mean it is not possible to determine a personal extension of the course from a disability etc.

As the fee-free period is calculated based on the standard duration of study in which all examination periods are contained, an examination semester, which takes place after the fee-free period has elapsed, is generally subject to payment of fees.

A sweeping statement is not possible due to the varied, different examination procedures in Diplom, Magister, and state examination study programmes. In individual cases, the specific examination process should be checked based on the relevant examination regulations to see which part of the examination can be defined as the “final” one. If this part is in a semester for which an application was submitted to waive the fee, it can be considered as suitably close. In the case of bachelor’s programmes and master's programmes, the time aspect of the financial hardship rule is only applicable for the semester in which the final thesis is both written and submitted.

For single students living in their own household (independent of parents) and are liable for contributions in the public health and long-term care insurance system, the highest support cap as per BAföG can be seen as the upper limit. If resources are available that do not exceed this limit, then financial hardship—provided that no other assets are available—can be assumed. For single students who still live with their parents and/or are not liable for contributions in the public health and long-term care insurance system, the correspondingly reduced rates as per BAföG are applied. In the case of needs-based communities (students with children and/or spouses), no fixed income limits have been applied up to the present. Financial hardship should be determined in accordance with specific circumstances in individual cases.

The government has decided to waive the long-term study fees for the summer semester 2020, winter semester 2020/21 and the summer semester 2021. A refund form was sent to the affected students.

On February 18, 2022, a fee waiver for the winter semester 2021/22 was decided.