Global education costs down, U.S. students migrate abroad
Mimi Wang
With rising tuition costs and budget cuts, looking to study abroad may not be completely out of the question, especially when some foreign countries have tuition-free universities for international students.
In Norway, many undergraduate and post-graduate programs are tuition-free. However, students are required to pay 300-600 NOK ($55-110 USD) fee per semester.
Some universities in Norway are also accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, allowing students to apply for financial support from the American student loan program. Scholarships can also be applied towards travel and accommodations.
In the past, universities were banned from charging tuition fees for undergraduate studies.
Although the Constitutional Court of Germany lifted the ban in 2005, only four out of 16 federal states charge tuition fees of up to 500 euros ($661.75 USD) per semester.
All other federal states are still currently tuition-free and only require a semester fee of about 50 euros ($66 USD).
Sweden, a long time defender of high taxes and socialism for the greater good, decided in 2010 that universities will begin charging tuition and application fees for non-EU/EEA students. Instead, the universities will be supplemented by scholarship programs.
For non-EU students in Austria, public universities charge about 363.36 euros ($480.90 USD) for tuition fees plus 16.83 euros ($22.27 USD) for the Austrian Student Union and insurance fee per semester.
In an attempt to lure in international students, several Australian universities are generous when it comes to giving out tuition and living money.
Universities in areas of Western Australia and Queensland offer top educated students from all around the world different kinds of scholarships and free tuition.
The University of Western Australia has a free-waiver program that gives out around 90 scholarships for doctorate students. The University of Sydney offers 30 research scholarships every year, which waives tuition fees, and provides a yearly stipend of $20,000 for potential masters research students.
