Bio/Chem Courses taught in English in Europe with Cheap/Free Tuition?

Applying to College
1

Greetings!

2014 brought multiple changes to my life, most notably: 1) switching majors from elementary education to cell and molecular biology right before my senior year, and 2) deciding that I want travel to be a large part of my life after studying abroad in Granada for the summer and traveling afterwards with a friend around Morocco, Portugal, Italy and Greece. This is important to me.

I wish to study abroad for one semester (ideally spring 2016) and would like to take at least four science courses (I have multiple options, including biology electives for which my professors have expressed their flexibility in accepting/transferring in). I do realize that I would need to fund my costs of living, and I am able to afford around $8-10k for the semester (ideally less, of course, to allow me to travel around Europe during the following summer).

The following are countries in Europe that appear to offer free undergraduate university courses in English:
Germany
Finland
Norway

I would like to know:

  1. What is your understanding of free tuition of courses offered in English? (Will simply knowing English suffice, and are there notable additional fees that I should be aware of outside of costs of living?)
  2. Do you have a general idea of the cost of living (perhaps a range, of course it will vary by country/city)?
  3. Are you aware of any particular universities that I should look into that would offer chemistry/biology courses in English? (e.g. genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, ecology, molecular biology, physical/analytical chemistry, general biology electives)
  4. Am I allowed to pick whichever courses I’d like from the catalogue for one semester? (essentially, am I restricted by a preset program/path, or is there flexibility in courses that a foreign student can take)
  5. Is there anything that I should know about the application/transfer process that is “out of the ordinary”? (rather vague, but I hope you get the idea!)

I have been poking around various websites and have found potential candidates, but I’d like to gather a better idea of what I should be looking for or doing at this point.

I would appreciate any insight, and please let me know if you think I am missing information that would help you type a more informed answer.

Thank you for your time and advice! :slight_smile:

2

I’m not sure offhand how easy it will be to take individual courses - but are you aware that you’ll need a student visa, and of the steps you need to take to get one?

3

Yes, I am aware of the requirement for a student visa, but am unsure of the steps required to obtain one. I was going to tackle that after visiting with my study abroad office when classes start up again/when I pick a country, but again, I’d appreciate any advice. :slight_smile:

4

My understanding is that you need to be registered as a student at a specific college first before you can get a visa. I don’t know how that would work for your circumstances; I think you may need to start contacting colleges you might be interested in. Good luck.