Saarland University
Logo and location
- country: Germany
- language: German
- currency: EUR
- WWW: www.uni-saarland.de
- contact: transform4europe@uni-saarland.de
Hallo!
Saarland University was founded in 1948 as a bilingual university under the auspices of the French government. The university has earned an international reputation for its research in computer science and informatics and for work in the life sciences and nanosciences. The university is distinguished by its close ties to France and its strong European focus. With its pronounced international focus and its strong ties to universities in Europe and around the world, Saarland University is more international than almost any other medium-sized German university. A distinctive feature of Saarland University is the broad range of cross-border academic programmes that lead to a double-degree qualification or even to a triple-degree qualification if a third foreign partner institution is involved.
International students at Saarland University enjoy the benefits of small learning groups, spacious lab facilities, excellent supervision, and personal contact to academic staff. The departments, institutes, laboratories, and libraries are all on campus and close at hand. As Saarland University has quality assurance accreditation, the high quality of its academic programmes and the excellent environment for teaching and studying are guaranteed. All degree programmes at Saarland University are internationally recognized.
University in a nutshell
Location
Saarland University is located in the city of Saarbrücken, the capital of the state of Saarland in southwestern Germany. Der Staden – a park that runs along the banks of the River Saar – is a great place to relax, especially in the summer. The weekend sees lots of visitors from the neighbouring Lorraine region of France and from Luxembourg. Saarbrücken’s close proximity to France is very noticeable at Sankt Johanner Markt with its cafés and colourful market stalls. And it’s sunny, too! Saarland is one of the warmest regions in Germany with some of the mildest temperatures throughout the year.
Transportation
- Arriving at the Airport Frankfurt/Main
Getting to Saarbrücken by train
Frankfurt Main is one of the biggest German airports and has many good connections. To get to Saarbrücken, it is recommended to take a train, which you can catch directly in the airport.
From your terminal (usually Terminal 1), you can proceed to the train station for regional trains (“Regionalbahnhof”). Should you arrive in Terminal 2, there is a free Sky Train and also a free shuttle bus that will take you to the Terminal 1, where you will find the regional train station.
There is a direct connection with a regional train which runs to Saarbrücken every hour. The travel time is about 2hrs 35min. Instead of a direct train, you can also book a train with a change of trains, usually in Mannheim or Mainz.
The train schedule can be seen online: www.bahn.de
Tickets can also be bought online, at a ticket machine or the ticket office right at the platform.
Getting to Saarbrücken by bus
- A second option are the long-distance buses, which have become a good alternative to travelling by train. There is a direct bus between Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 2 and Saarbrücken: https://www.flixbus.de/
The travel time is about 2hrs 50min and the tickets are only about 10€. The bus can be found at Terminal two, at the bus station (“Busbahnhof”). Simply look for the sign of the bus company. Tickets have to bought online.
Getting to Saarbrücken by car
Finally, Frankfurt Main Airport also has a variety of rental car services, which are often opened 24 hours per day. You can take the car from this airport and then give it back in Saarbrücken at the train station. If you are travelling with several people, this might be a way to save some money, but please be aware of the traffic rules in Germany and check if your driver’s license is valid in Germany.
Hotels
If you are stuck at the airport, for example if your plane arrives very late and there are no connections, you can of course spend a night in a hotel at the airport. On the website of the airport you can find all the information on the various hotels.
- Arriving at the airport Frankfurt/Hahn
You can usually get cheap tickets to fly to Frankfurt Hahn airport, but the airport is unfortunately not well connected to transport system to Saarbrücken. The official website of the airport is this: www.hahn-airport.de
There is a shuttle bus that connects the airport with some cities in the area:
1) Take the shuttle bus from Frankfurt Hahn to Saarlouis, which stops in Saarbrücken. You can find the timetable of this bus here: http://www.roadrunner24.net/hahn/saarlouis.html
This bus does not provide regular traveling times (in general only 1-2 times per day), so you will have to check out the exact times before your departure.
2) Take the shuttle bus from Frankfurt Hahn to Frankfurt Main train station or Frankfurt Main airport: https://www.flibco.com
This bus runs several times a day and you can then catch a train from Frankfurt main train station or the main airport to Saarbrücken (approx. 2hr 35min). There is a direct train and also connections with one change: www.bahn.de
3) Take the shuttle bus from Frankfurt Hahn to Mainz: https://www.flibco.com
This bus runs several times a day and you can then catch a train from Mainz to Saarbrücken (2hr 15min). There is a direct train which runs several times per day: www.bahn.de
It is recommended to buy tickets for the bus upfront online, though sometimes they can also be bought directly on the bus.
If you get stuck at the airport, for example if your plane arrives very late and there are no more busses, you can spend one night at the only airport hotel and then transfer to Saarbrücken the next day: B&B Hotel Frankfurt Hahn Airport
Otherwise you can also look for a cheaper hotel in the area of Frankfurt train station, if you can transfer there and then spend the night in Frankfurt city.
- Arriving at the Airport Karlsruhe / Baden-Airport
The airport in Karlsruhe/Baden is not directly connected to Saarbrücken, but you can get there by combining bus and train. The website of the airport is: www.baden-airpark.de
To get to Saaarbrücken, we recommend that you take the bus line 285 to get to the final stop “Baden Baden Train station”. Bus connections: www.baden-airpark.de/anreise-bus-und-bahn.html
Tickets can be bought directly on the bus.
From there you can take a train to Saarbrücken, but you have to change once in Mannheim (in total 2:30 hr). Train connections can be planned online: www.bahn.de
If you get stuck at the airport, for example if your plane arrives very late and there are no more busses, you can spend one night at the only airport hotel and then transfer to Saarbrücken the next day: B&B HOTEL Baden-Airpark
- Arriving at the Airport Luxemburg
The website of the Airport is this: www.lux-airport.lu
Getting to Saarbrücken by bus:
There is a frequent bus shuttle that commutes between Saarbrücken main train station and the train station in Luxembourg (“Luxembourg Gare”). Please take the bus line 29 from the airport to the train station in Luxembourg. The bus runs several times each hour and as public transport within Luxembourg is free, you do not need to buy a ticket for this bus: Timetable Bus Line 29
Once you have arrived at the train station in Luxembourg (“Luxembourg Gare”), you can take the shuttle bus to Saarbrücken train station: https://www.emile-weber.lu/de/cfl-saarbruecken-express.html
The cost for the ticket is 5€ and the transfer takes about 1hr 30. Tickets can be bought at Luxembourg train station or online upfront. If you have already received your student card upfront by post, you can use it to take this bus for free (starting from the first day of the semester).
- Arriving from Saarbrücken airport
The Airport of Saarbrücken is one of the smallest official German airports. The website of the Airport is: www.flughafen-saarbruecken.de
The bus stop from Saarbrücken Airport is called “Flughafen, Saarbrücken Ensheim (SCN)”. From there, you can proceed to the city center of Saarbrücken using the bus line R10. This bus runs once per hour to Saarbrücken central station (“Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof”). The traveling time is around 30 minutes.
Tickets can be bought directly on the bus (2,70€). The website of the Saarbrücken bus system is this: www.saarfahrplan.de
If you get stuck at the airport, for example if your plane arrives very late and there are no more connections, you can call a taxi (telephone number: 0049 681 55000, price: around 35€) which can bring you to a hotel of your choice in the city center of Saarbrücken.
The website of the Saarbrücken bus system is: www.saarfahrplan.de
Tickets can be bought directly on the bus (2,70€ single ticket or 5,20€ for a day pass).
1) If you arrive at Saarbrücken main train station (Saarbrücken Hbf). The bus stop of the train station is called “Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof”. From here you can take a bus or the tram (called “Saarbahn”) to almost everywhere in the city.
To get to the university, you will have to go to the bus stop “Universität Campus”. You can therefore simply type the two bus stops onto the website and it will give you all available connections including the bus numbers and, if necessary, the changes that you have to make.
The direct bus lines from the train station to university are the busses 102, 112 and 124, which run every 10 minutes during the week.
2) If you arrive at the bus station in Dudweilerstraße 111.
The bus station is located very close to the city center and is well connected by buses. The closest bus stop for the bus station is called “Brauerstraße” and is only a 5 minute walk away at the main street “Dudweilerstraße”. From there you can take the bus 101, 112, 124 and 150 to get to the university (“Universität Campus”).
3) If you arrive at the long-distance bus station “Goldene Bremm”.
Most international busses will stop at the bus station “Goldene Bremm”, which is located outside of Saarbrücken. You can take a bus from the bus stop “Goldene Bremm” or “Am Hauptfriedhof“ to university. The direct bus line is the 109, which runs about once per hour. Alternatively, you can take a bus to the train station (Bus 30, 123 and 126) and then proceed from there.
4) If you have to first get to your hotel or your private accommodation.
You can use the same website to find out how to get to your hotel or your accommodation in Saarbrücken. You only have to find out the name of the bus stop (hotels usually have it on the website) and then you can type it into the website to find the connection.
Learn German
Saarland University offers semester courses– for international students and doctoral candidates, as well as short intensive language courses for exchange students. There are also special so-called beginner’s coursesand courses tailored for doctoral researchers seeking to improve their German proficiency. University staff can also participate in courses tailored to their language level, including virtual practice opportunities.
Another opportunity to learn or enhance your German skills is through our Tandem programme. In a language tandem, two people with different mother tongues help each other learn the language of the tandem partner. By meeting up regularly, the tandem partners learn their language of preference in an authentic way. In the process, the tandem partners make many new cultural experiences and new contacts.
You can find additional information and detailed insights into our German language courses at https://www.uni-saarland.de/en/global/german-courses.html
Accomodation app
Each country offers different options for you to stay during your time at the host university. At Transform4Europe, we have created an application to provide you with all the information about the options available to you.
Get to know the app: https://proyectoue.ogpi.ua.es/accommodation/
Why the saarland University
Discover what students and professors in the alliance think about the Saarland University.
