Masters Study in Luxembourg – A Guide for 2025

Tucked away in the heart of Europe, Luxembourg boasts a young but rapidly developing higher education sector. Despite being one of the smallest sovereign nations in the world, it is packed with educational and cultural opportunities for postgraduate students.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about studying a Masters in Luxembourg, including universities, course structure, fees, funding and visa requirements.

Luxembourg is a small, welcoming country. It is amongst the world’s wealthiest nations, and benefits from famously low crime rates and a high standard of living.

Here are a few reasons to consider a Masters in Luxembourg:

• International outlook: Studying in Luxembourg is a distinctly multicultural (and multilingual) experience. Over half of students at the University of Luxembourg come from overseas, with more than 110 nationalities represented. Luxembourg has three official languages – French, German and Luxembourgish – and the average citizen will be fluent in at least two!
• Affordable tuition: Luxembourg boasts some of the cheapest Masters courses in Europe, with the average programme costing just €400 per semester.
• Travel further afield: Luxembourg’s small size and landlocked location make it an excellent choice for students looking to explore Europe. Neighbouring countries France, Germany and Belgium can all be reached in just a short car ride – in fact a significant proportion of those working in Luxembourg cross a border as part of their daily commute!

The University of Luxembourg is the country’s only public university. As Luxembourg’s sole state-funded provider of higher education, it has a variety of options on offer for Masters students! You can choose from over 40 postgraduate courses across the university’s four faculties and three separate campuses.

There are also four private universities in Luxembourg. These are largely specialist institutions delivering courses designed for international students. Of these, two (the Luxembourg School of Business and Lunex University) offer degrees which are accredited by the Luxembourg government. The remaining institutions award foreign degrees.

Luxembourg university rankings

Luxembourg is a member of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and follows the Bologna Process, meaning that its universities follow a three-cycle framework. A Masters degree is a ‘second cycle’ qualification, which typically follows a Bachelors degree (first cycle) and may precede a PhD (third cycle). This guarantees that your course will meet the quality assurance guidelines set out by the Bologna agreement, and that you’ll graduate with an internationally recognised qualification.

Most commonly, Masters programmes in Luxembourg are worth 120 ECTs credits and last two years. There are two semesters per year.

Individual faculties at the University of Luxembourg (as well as the country’s private institutions) have a large degree of freedom to determine their own course content, duration and assessment criteria, meaning delivery can vary considerably between programmes. Generally, though, you’ll study 30 credits worth of material per semester. The final semester is usually dedicated to writing your Masters thesis (and occasionally defending it via an oral presentation).

At the Luxembourg School of Business, full-time Masters students have the option of replacing the final dissertation with a paid internship.

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, and, where applicable, practical work and lab-based learning.

A defining feature of higher education in Luxembourg is its multilingual approach to teaching. As the country’s sole public institution, the University of Luxembourg is required by law to teach a certain proportion of its courses in at least two languages. French, English and German are the three teaching languages at the University, and programmes are delivered in one, two or even all three of them. A minority of courses are taught purely in English.

Courses at Luxembourg’s private universities are generally designed with international students in mind, and so are almost always delivered in English.

Assesments are grading

Masters students in Luxembourg are assessed in a variety of ways, including written or oral exams, class participation, presentations and coursework. For some courses, students are exclusively assessed during a set examination period at the end of the year. Others use a more continuous method of assessment.

Work is graded on a 20-point scale, where 20 is the highest achievable mark and 10 is the minimum grade needed to pass.

Masters courses at the University of Luxembourg are relatively inexpensive – most programmes cost €400 per year. A small minority of courses charge higher fees, usually between €1,000 and €12,000 per year. International students pay the same fees as national students.

Fees at private institutions range between €9,000 and €29,250 per year.

You will also be required to pay a €100 application fee.

Funding

There are several funding options for international Masters students in Luxembourg:

• State funding: State financial aid (AideFi) is the main source of funding for Masters students in Luxembourg. It is primarily allocated to local students, but certain international applicants, including EU, EEA or Swiss nationals who are employed in Luxembourg, may be eligible. You can view full details here.
• Fulbright awards: US students intending to study in Luxembourg can apply for funding from the Fulbright programme.
• Private scholarships: Several organisations award private scholarships to university students in Luxembourg.
• Erasmus: Luxembourg is a participating country in the Erasmus+ programme, meaning you may be able to apply for an Joint Masters Degree scholarship or Erasmus loan.
• Students at the University of Luxembourg in financial difficulty who have not been successful in applying for other funding may be eligible for the hardship fund.

Masters applications in Luxembourg are submitted directly to your chosen institution, by filling in an online form. You’ll usually need to pay an application fee of €50.

Most courses will require you to submit the following documents:

• Full academic transcripts for your Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent). Your undergraduate qualification must be worth a minimum of 180 ECTs points
• A CV
• A motivational letter (much the same as a personal statement)
• Proof of language proficiency: Due to the multilingual nature of teaching at the University of Luxembourg, many of its courses will require you to be proficient in two, or even three languages – so make sure you pay close attention to the language requirements for your chosen programme! Sufficiently high scores in the TOEFL or IELTS will usually be accepted.
• Letters of recommendation (these are optional for some programmes)

At the University of Luxembourg, you can apply for a maximum of three courses. You’ll need to provide an official translation if your documents are in a language other than English, French or German.

Applicants from non-EU countries may need to get their documents ‘legalised’. To do this, you’ll need to submit them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in your home country who will verify their legitimacy and add a stamped official certificate (known as an ‘apostille’).

Application deadlines for non-EU students are often earlier than for EU applicants, so make sure to check these carefully.

Prior to your arrival in Luxembourg, you’ll need to apply for temporary authorisation to stay.

You’ll need to provide the follow documents:

• Valid passport
• A copy of a residence permit issued in your home country (if you already reside in an EU member state within the Schengen area)
• An extract from your criminal record or an affidavit established your country of residence
• Proof that you’ve been accepted to a university in Luxembourg
• Proof of sufficient means
• A document certifying that you have purchased valid health insurance

It could take several weeks to process your application, so make sure to apply in plenty of time!

If you’re a citizen of an EU state (or of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) you won’t need a visa to study in Luxembourg.

Other international students will need to apply for a type D visa. This application must be completed prior to your departure, but after you have obtained temporary authorisation to stay. The following documents are required:

• Two recent and identical identity photos
• A valid passport (or other travel document accepted in the Schengen area). This must be valid for at least 3 months after the expiry date of the requested visa
• Proof of temporary authorisation to stay

You'll have to pay a fee of €50.

You can find out more about applying for a visa on the Luxembourg government’s website.

Residence permits

You’ll need to apply for a residence permit within 3 months of your arrival in Luxembourg. This will allow you to reside in Luxembourg for up to one year and grants you the right to seek employment.

You’ll need to renew your residence permit on a yearly basis, within two months of its expiry date.

Working during your studies

Once you’ve obtained your residence permit, you’ll be permitted to work for a maximum of 15 hours per week during term time. This limitation does not apply to work carried out during university holidays.

EU, EEA or Swiss Masters graduates won’t need to apply for a visa to stay in Luxembourg after the completion of their programme.

Other international graduates have the option of applying for a jobseeker's permit, which is valid for 9 months. This time must be used to either seek employment or start your own business.

Once you’ve successfully applied for a job or gotten your business off the ground, you’ll be eligible to switch to a permit allowing you to carry out professional activity, either as a salaried or self-employed worker. Your occupation must be directly related to your field of study.

If you’re looking to continue your studies, Luxembourg is also home to a variety of excellent PhD opportunities.

Further information

To find out more about Masters study in Lithuania, visit the official Study in Luxembourg website.

For more information about student life, including accomodation, living costs, and must-see locations, read out postgraduate guide to living in Luxembourg.