Students have the option to either have the School in Germany reserve a dorm room for them or to arrange for their own housing at their site. Please note that while the School in Germany reserves dorm rooms, the Studierendenwerk at each site assigns the rooms, so we cannot influence where students will be placed.

Typical dorm accommodations are single rooms with communal cooking facilities much like suites in American colleges. This arrangement provides additional contact with German university life. Students may also choose their own housing in apartments with students or young professionals. In order to maximize both linguistic and cultural immersion, no one is permitted to share accommodation with another English speaker.

Housing in Mainz

Most students will live on or near the campus of the Johannes Gutenberg–Universität. Inter I and Inter II are located next to each other and equally close to the Mensa dining hall and the Philosophikum classrooms. Other dormitories are within walking distance, or a 10 to 15-min bus-ride away. To get a sense of the location of dormitories on and off campus, view this map.

Housing in Berlin

While there are no dorms in Dahlem, they are located throughout the city of Berlin. View the map to see where the dorms are located. 

Housing in Potsdam

Students who choose to live in one of the very popular and well-kept Potsdam dorms with native speakers of German should register for rooms via the School in Germany. Housing options located in between Berlin and Potsdam are likewise attractive because they put both Berlin and Potsdam at a travel-distance of 10 minutes in each direction by local train.

Other Housing Options

Students wanting to arrange their own housing should be aware that rents might be far higher than what they’d be paying in a dorm. While dorms vary between 350 - 480 Euros a month with all utilities included, there’s no upper limit for rents charged by private landlords. 

Check our handbook for advice and website-listings.

Whatever you choose, remember that housing with English-speaking students is not permitted.

Please feel free to ask for our assistance, if you’d like one of our staff to accompany you on your first visit of that room or apartment.