University of Mainz - Today

Today

Today the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz has approximately 36,000 students (as of 2010) and consists of over 150 institutions and clinics.

The range of studies is comprehensive; the university lacks some technical studies, veterinary medicine and nutrition science. One can nonetheless study History of books, athletics, music, visual arts, theatre, and film.

The University of Mainz does not currently levy fees or tuition (Studiengebühren) for a regular course of study. Senior citizen students, auditing students, and certain postgraduate students may be subject to fees. The Ministry for Science and Advanced Education introduced "study accounts" (Studienkonten) that were developed jointly with Prof. Zoellner. During the transition period, overdrafts on the account would incur a flat-rate charge of 650 Euro for every overdrawn semester. The Study Accounts allow for a free-of-charge initial course of study as long as it does not exceed 1.75 times the standard period of study. In a second step the accounts will soon be charged according to time actually used. It is still contested as to whether the enormous administrative burden will lead to an actual improvement of academic conditions. **Measurable success is similar by the introduction of long-term tuition in other federal states and its effect on the decline of nominally enrolled students.