Universities in Europe: Profiles, Rankings & How to Apply

Zürich · Est. 1855

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. Bachelor's programs taught in German, but most master's programs are in English. Alumni include Einstein. Strong in engineering, computer science, and architecture.

Lausanne · Est. 1853

Sister institution to ETH Zürich, located on Lake Geneva. Bachelor's programs taught in French; master's programs in English. Particularly strong in computer science, life sciences, and robotics.

Munich · Est. 1868

Germany's top technical university and a member of TU9. Bachelor's programs mostly in German; master's programs increasingly in English. Tuition is low (around €150/semester for state fees plus Munich semester ticket).

Delft · Est. 1842

The largest and oldest Dutch public technical university. Most master's programs in English; bachelor's in Dutch except Computer Science & Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nanobiology, and Applied Earth Sciences which are in English.

Munich · Est. 1472

A leading German research university, particularly strong in physics, philosophy, medicine, and life sciences. Most bachelor's programs in German; a growing number of master's programs in English.

Amsterdam · Est. 1632

The largest university in the Netherlands with around 30,000 students. Many bachelor's programs offered fully in English (Politics, Psychology, Communication, Economics & Business). Strong global outlook.

Leuven · Est. 1425

Belgium's top research university and one of the oldest in Europe. Located in a charming Flemish college town. Strong in engineering (imec), biomedical sciences, and humanities. Wide selection of English-taught master's programs.

Paris · Est. 2018

Formed in 2018 from the merger of Pierre and Marie Curie University and Paris-Sorbonne. Three faculties: Arts & Humanities, Science & Engineering, Medicine. Strong in mathematics, physics, and the humanities.

Stockholm · Est. 1827

Sweden's largest technical university. All master's programs taught in English. Free tuition for EU/EEA students; non-EU students pay around SEK 150,000-310,000 per year. Generous scholarship programs.

Heidelberg · Est. 1386

Germany's oldest university. Strong reputation in medicine, life sciences, and the humanities. Located in a picturesque Neckar valley town with a romantic old castle and lively student culture.

Milan · Est. 1902

Italy's top private business and economics university. Most bachelor's and master's programs in English. Strong placements in European finance, consulting, and tech. The MBA at SDA Bocconi is highly ranked globally.

Helsinki · Est. 1640

The University of Helsinki is a public research university in Helsinki, founded in 1640. The university states that it has 11 faculties on four campuses in Helsinki, and that it offers master’s programmes taught in English and bachelor’s programmes taught in English. QS World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 123rd. Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 118th. Its tuition page states that fees for master’s programmes in English are 13,000, 15,000 or 18,000 EUR per academic year, depending on the programme, and that the fee for English-language bachelor’s programmes is 13,000 EUR per academic year. Joint programmes may differ. Doctoral students and exchange students are not charged that fee. The same page states a first-year tuition payment deadline of 31 August 2026. The Master’s Programme in English Studies page states a fee of 13,000 EUR per year for non-EU/EEA citizens and an application period of 5 to 19 January 2027 for studies starting in autumn 2027. Other programmes set their own dates. A university news item on the autumn 2026 international master’s round stated 3,739 applicants and that 44% were offered a place. That rate is for that round only.

Oslo · Est. 1811

The University of Oslo is a public research university in Oslo, founded in 1811. Its facts page lists eight faculties, and it publishes master’s programmes taught entirely in English. QS World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 131st. Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 118th. Its tuition table, last modified 16 September 2026, gives a separate yearly price for each programme for 2026/2027 and 2027/2028. Those prices apply to applicants with citizenship outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, and the admission offer states the precise fee. For a single 10-credit course in 2026/2027 the same table lists 24,670–30,330 NOK at bachelor’s level and 34,000–49,170 NOK at master’s level. The master’s admissions page states that applicants outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland apply once a year: the portal opens on 15 October and the deadline is 1 December, for studies that start in August. The university’s 2025 master’s admission news reported 10,755 applicants and 5,363 offers. That count is not an admission chance for a later applicant.

Vienna · Est. 1365

The University of Vienna is a public research university in Vienna, founded in 1365. Its about page lists 20 faculties and centres. It publishes master’s programmes taught entirely in English, and many other programmes are taught in German. QS World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 140th. Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it 95th. Its tuition-amount page states a Students’ Union fee of 26.20 EUR per semester. For EU/EEA and Swiss degree students the tuition on that page is 363.36 EUR per semester, 389.56 EUR with the union fee, and it is remitted during the stipulated programme length plus two tolerance semesters. For other non-EU/EEA degree students the tuition on that page is 726.72 EUR per semester, 752.92 EUR with the union fee, from the first semester, with exceptions that page lists. The master’s deadlines page gives different dates by citizenship and by whether the programme has a selection procedure. For winter semester 2026/27, programmes without a selection procedure list an application period of 22 June to 5 September 2026 for EU/EEA and Swiss citizens and 22 June to 3 August 2026 for other non-EU/EEA citizens, and an admission period of 13 July to 31 October 2026. The entrance-exam statistics page lists places and registrations by programme for 2025/26. It does not publish one admission chance for the university.

Aarhus · Est. 1928

Denmark's second-largest university with strong research output in life sciences, engineering, business, and humanities. Free tuition for EU/EEA students; non-EU students pay around €8,000-15,000 per year.

Stockholm · Est. 1810

One of the world's leading medical universities, responsible for selecting the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine. Most master's programs are in English; the MD program (Läkarprogrammet) is in Swedish.

Madrid · Est. 1293

One of the oldest and largest universities in Spain. Most programs in Spanish but a growing number of master's programs in English. Public tuition is among the lowest in Western Europe.

Warsaw · Est. 1816

The University of Warsaw is a public university in Warsaw. A decree of 19 November 1816 founded it, and it opened on 14 May 1818. Its degree-programme page says it offers programmes in the humanities, the social sciences, and the exact and natural sciences, including programmes taught in English. QS World University Rankings 2027 places it joint 289th. Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it in the 801–1000 band. That band is not a single rank, so no THE number is shown here. The Welcome Point states that tuition differs by the terms of admission, the language of studies and the year of admission, and it links the university’s table of fees for studies in English in 2026/2027. This profile does not copy one programme’s price as the university fee. The admissions office states that deadlines differ by programme and are listed on each programme in IRK. Its schedule for the June–July 2026 round of full-time first-cycle and long-cycle programmes ran from 9 June to 9 July 2026, and it says English-taught programmes may use other dates. A news item using figures from 22 July 2026 reported 38,800 applicants and 76,900 paid applications for 2026/2027, with 17,300 people admitted to first-cycle and integrated master’s programmes and 4,300 to second-cycle programmes. Those counts are not an admission chance.

Paris · Est. 1872

A specialised social sciences school with seven campuses across France. The Bachelor's in Political Humanities and the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) attract a global student body. Most undergraduate programs available fully in English.

Prague · Est. 1348

Charles University is in Prague. Its history page states that it was founded in 1348 and became the first studium generale north of the Alps and east of Paris, and that it originally had four faculties: theology, liberal arts, law, and medicine. Its tuition page, last changed 16 February 2026, states that studies in English and in other foreign languages (German, French, or Russian) carry a fee, and that those fees range from 40 EUR to 30,620 EUR per year depending on the programme. That range is not one fee for the university. The same page states that studies in Czech are free of charge unless the student exceeds the standard length of study by more than one year. Its example is General Medicine: a standard length of 6 years, with one further year before a fee is charged.

Budapest · Est. 1635

Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) is in Budapest. Its history page dates the founding documents to 1635 in Nagyszombat (today Trnava). It states that the university moved to Buda in 1777 and from Buda to Pest in 1784, and that in 1950 it took its present name after the physicist Loránd Eötvös. The same page lists nine faculties: Economics, Education and Psychology, Humanities, Informatics, Law, Primary and Pre-School Education, Science, Social Sciences, and the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education. It states that programmes are accredited by the Hungarian Accreditation Board, that course credits are transferable in the European Union, and that 33,000 students are enrolled yearly with 1,800 academic staff. The English Studies MA page states that the language of instruction is English, that the programme is a master’s degree of 4 semesters (2 years) and 120 ECTS in the Faculty of Humanities, and that the tuition fee is 3,500 EUR per semester for both EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA students. On that page, studies start on 1 September 2027 and the application deadline is 31 May 2027. The 3,500 EUR figure is that programme’s semester fee. It is not a yearly fee, and it is not the fee for every programme. The same page asks applicants to that programme for C1 English, listing TOEFL iBT 95–120 or IELTS 7.0, and an oral entrance exam.

Lisbon · Est. 2013

The University of Lisbon (ULisboa) is in Lisbon. Its university page states that it is heir to a university tradition spanning over seven centuries, and that it acquired its current status in July 2013 after the merger of the former Universidade Técnica de Lisboa and Universidade de Lisboa. The same page names science, technology, arts and humanities among the areas it brings together. Its tuition page states that the fee is set each year by the General Council. For 2026/2027 it sets the fee for cycles leading to a bachelor’s degree, and to a master’s degree within an integrated master’s programme, at 697 EUR. The same page states that second-cycle master’s fees and doctorate fees vary by school, and that international-student fees are a separate General Council decision listed on each course page. The 697 EUR figure is not the international-student fee and it is not one fee for every programme.

Bucharest · Est. 1864

The University of Bucharest is in Bucharest. Its English history page states that on 4/16 July 1864 it was created by bringing together the Faculties of Law, Sciences and Letters. The page gives two different decree numbers for that date, so neither number is repeated here. The same page dates an earlier Academy of Saint Sava to 1694. That is not the year used here for the university. A line on the page for the year 2000 lists 19 faculties and over 30,000 students. That line is a snapshot for that year, not a current figure. The page does not state a tuition fee.

Sofia · Est. 1888

Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski is in Sofia. Its academic-history page, last modified 11 December 2012, calls 1 October 1888 the birthdate of Bulgarian university education and says the provisional statute recognised one faculty, History and Philology. The same page states that in 1904 the School was transformed into a University, and that in 1905 it received the name Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. The university’s English site lists bachelor’s degree programmes, master’s degree programmes, and PhD students. The history page does not state a current faculty list or a current student count, and it does not state a tuition fee.

Tbilisi · Est. 1918

Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University is in Tbilisi. Its about page states that the first national university in the Caucasus opened in Georgia in 1918, that the university opened its doors on 26 January 1918, and that the commemoration of that opening was later set on 8 February. The same page states that in 1989 the university was renamed after Ivane Javakhishvili. It states that about 22,000 students study in seven faculties, and it names bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes, plus higher vocational education and short- and long-term certification. It also states that it offers short-term courses in English. That is not a statement that its degrees are taught in English. The seven faculties linked on the page are Exact and Natural Sciences, Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Economics and Business, Medicine, and Law. The page does not state a tuition fee.