Social Counselling

Open counselling is offered by telephone without an appointment. A conversation lasts about 20 minutes and allows you to get in touch with us quickly.

• Tuesdays 9.00 to 11.00 a.m.
  • +49 1761 9659 674

For individual counselling, a personal appointment has to be booked in advance, which usually lasts around 50 minutes. Consultations can be held in English or German. You can book an appointment with our social counsellors using the online booking calendar with our social counsellors.

Our Social counsellors have different areas of specialisation. You can consider this when booking an appointment. However, all counsellors will be happy to support you with your initial enquiry, regardless of their focus.

• Ms Jenny Wehling: Studying with Children
• Mr Aike Dägling: Studying with a Disability or Chronic Diseases
• Ms Jana Kuppardt: International Students
• Ms. Franziska Hülß: International students at the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts (HGB)

Besides studying, there are other issues that occur in everyday life. There are various ways for students to finance their studies, one of the most common being taking a job. Also, when a child is born, this influences study planning or financing. Previous (financing-) plans have to be rethought. Likewise, studying can bring further challenges if a chronic illness or disability plays a role in daily life.

That is why we offer regular information events on these topics. You can find an overview of the contents and dates in the overview of our events.

If you are interested, please register using our online appointment tool.

• Hardship funds for students
  • Students suffering from an acute or temporary financial emergency through no fault of their own have, as a rule, the opportunity to apply for financial aid once during their studies. The financial support can be applied for as a interest-free loan without guarantee or as a grant.
• Mensa children’s card and children’s plate
  • Studentenwerk Leipzig support students with children by means of the Mensa children’s card. This card entitles children of students of Leipzig’s universities, starting from the 1st birthday until they reach the age of 10, to receive one free warm meal per day and per child at the student restaurants run by Studentenwerk Leipzig.
• Participation in cultural or sporting events
  • KulturLeben Leipzig & Region has been enabling people with particularly low incomes to participate in the cultural life in Leipzig and the surrounding area free of charge. The Social Counselling Service is social partner of the project and provides support for the application.
• “Freitisch” voucher
  • Students facing a financial hardship they are not responsible for can apply for a “Freitisch” voucher at the Social Counselling service. This voucher is added to the current student card or Mensa card. With the help of the voucher meals and beverages can be purchased in the Studentenwerk’s Mensas and Cafeterias.​​​​

Our residential advice service for students supports you with all questions relating to finding accommodation on the general housing market and private housing options. Whether you need help finding suitable accommodation or have questions about moving in, moving out or moving in – we are on hand to provide expert advice. Please note that our advice does not relate to places in student residences. You can take advantage of our advice both over the phone and on site.

• Contact Residential Advice

You had a consultation appointment with us? We would be pleased to receive your feedback on our counselling. Please fill out our short online questionnaire (maximum duration 2-3 minutes). Only with your feedback is it possible for us to further develop our services and, if necessary, adapt them to your needs. Thank you very much!

So many things, so this question cannot be answered here in an all-encompassing way. What you need to consider depends, for example, on your health insurance status, the contractual arrangement of the job(s) and your other student financing. Please contact us at the Social Counselling Office for advice.

If you are looking for a student job, use our Student job office.

Studentenwerk offers various options of disabled-friendly housing; we have also assistant rooms for rent. If you are interested, please visit the disabled-friendly housing page or contact Aike Dägeling, one of or Counsellors, at sozialberatung@studentenwerk-leipzig.de.

As there are many things to be taken into account we recommend an individual consultation to find answers to all of your questions. For example, BAföG is not paid during a leave of absence, child benefit is only paid in exceptional cases, and there are many other things you should know.

Many students work alongside their studies. Usually students want to earn some money with an activity that is compatible with studying. But pay attention: Interesting student jobs are often offered as activity of an independent character, e.g. honorary jobs, and there is a lot to consider here. In the information sheet you will find the most important general information on the topic without claiming it to be complete. If you have any further questions, you are welcome to make an appointment with our social counselling service for a personal consultation.

In general, you can say that psychosocial counselling deals with issues concerning the handling of stress and difficult situations in studies and everyday life, while social counselling deals with issues of financing options, studying with children, studying with chronic diseases etc.

Many issues are in general relevant to social counselling and psychosocial counselling. The question, for instance, whether a leave of absence is reasonable due to a disease or great stress, does not only involve the aspect of how to benefit from that time to feel better and be able to study again (psychosocial counselling), but often also the problem of how to finance this period (social counselling). That is why psychosocial counselling and social counselling collaborate closely in many aspects – provided the respective student gives his or her consent.

If you are not sure which of the two counselling services to contact (first), you can describe your problem and ask for our evaluation in an e-mail.

When looking for a flat, there are many different aspects to consider that can’t be answered in a generalised way. Leipzig offers a variety of different housing options that vary depending on your needs and budget. If you have any questions about looking for accommodation, moving in, moving out or moving house, the Social Counselling Service on housing is happy to help. Please note: Our advice relates to the general housing market and private housing options and not to places in student halls of residence. You can find more information and frequently asked questions about finding accommodation in our FAQs below.