Germany » Tübingen » Living in Tübingen

LIVING IN TÜBINGEN

The Location:

The town of Tübingen and its university are inextricably linked. With a population of roughly 85,000, about 24,000 are students (among them about 3,500 international students) and another 12,000 are employed by the university and the university clinic. This makes the university the biggest employer in the region.

Tübingen is best described as a mixture of an old and distinguished academic flair including liberal politics and German-style fraternities, with rural, agricultural and typical Swabian elements. The city contains many picturesque buildings from previous centuries, and lies on the river Neckar.

Founded in 1477, the University of Tübingen is among the oldest in Germany and has an international reputation for excellence in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. In addition, Tübingen also has faculties of Law, Business, Pharmacy, Modern Languages, Geosciences and more. Tübingen also offers a wide selection of German language (DaF) courses for international students. http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/

Accommodations

Waldhäuser Ost (WHO)

Students live in single rooms in university residence halls. These dormitories contain 12-14 floors with 16 rooms per floor. Each floor is split in half and each side has its own kitchen facilities as well as a bathroom with two showers and one toilet. Each room has a bed, desk, chair, shelves, large closet and wash basin. Linens are provided. Each dormitory has its own laundry facilities in the basement also.

This dormitory village is up on a hill with a great view of Tübingen and the surrounding foothills of the Schwäbische Alb. Nearby are woods with walking/running trails which lead to other smaller villages in the area.

There is a central activities building (Fichtenweg 5) containing a restaurant, the Joker, as well as a student pub, Kuckuck. Across the street is a central shopping plaza containing a bank, post office, restaurant, grocery store, as well as an aquatic center and more.

Meals

The two cheapest ways to feed yourself are to prepare your own meals in the kitchen of your dormitory floor or to eat in one of the university student cafeterias (called Mensa). Meal prices in the student restaurants range from € 2-3. Groceries are usually a bit cheaper than in the U.S. Another popular cheap option are the many Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern fast food joints that are found in every city, the so called Gyros- or Dönerbuden. In every German city, there are also many bakeries that sell sandwiches, pretzels and mini-pizzas that are delicious and always freshly baked.

On-Site Support:

The Oregon Study Center (Office of the OUS Resident Director) is located in Tübingen. The Resident Director Silvia Kunze-Ritter is responsible for the students on both the Spring Intensive Program and the Oregon/Baden-Württemberg exchange program. During your time in Tübingen, the Resident Director will assist you with academic, logistic and personal matters. She is easily reached by e-mail or mobile phone.