Stay in the loop! Subscribe to our mailing list

National Student Fee and Support Systems in European Higher Education

Eurydice, National Student Fee and Support Systems in European Higher Education, European Commission, 2014. Pages: 46.

Levels of student tuition or administrative fees, grants and loans continue to highlight stark differences across Europe, according to this report published by the European Commission's Eurydice network. The report, covering 33 European countries, reveals that fee systems have remained relatively stable across the continent, despite some notable exceptions. 
The reports highlights that while a number of countries – Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Malta, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, UK (Scotland), Norway, Turkey and recently Germany– do not charge any fees for full-time students, the highest tuition fees in Europe are in the UK (England) with relatively high fees also paid by students in Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and the Netherlands. In most European countries only a minority of students receive grant support and for the large majority grants are awarded on the basis of financial need while some combine systems need-based and merit-based grants by linking to an assessment of academic performance. Publicly subsidised student loans play a significant role in student support only in around half of the countries covered. 

Read the full report: European Commission