Semesterticket

The Germany semester ticket enables us students to use the nationwide public transport system more cheaply thanks to the solidarity model.

General

Since April 1st, 2024, the Germany Semester Ticket is available at the BTU for eligible students. Here is an overview of the most important information.

Period of validity Each entire semester:
WiSe (01.10. - 31.03.)
SuSe (01.04 - 30.09.)
Issuance Digitally via the browser (web ticket). The ticket can then be stored in Google or Apple Wallet. The complete process is shown below
Legitimation Digital Ticket + offical photo identification from the country.
Scope / Area Same scope as the Germany ticket: valid throughout Germany on local transport
Transferability Personal ticket, non-transferable
Carrying regulations - Children under 6 years old, strollers, hand pastries
- No bringing other people with you
- No dogs can be taken along nationwide; in the VBB tariff area, 1 dog can be taken along. (Rules may vary in different associations)
- No free transport of bicycles nationwide
Price 60% of the fare of the regular Germany ticket, which is currently €29.40 per month (collected via the semester fee and for the entire semester).

As of the Wintersemester 2025/2026 the costs will increase to 34,80 € per month.

Ticket-Distribution & Exemptionrequest

You can pick up your semester ticket digitally after you are successfully enrolled or re-enrolled for the semester. Simply go to https://www.stura-btu.de/semesterticket

For students who are entitled to a semester ticket and who have the reasons for being exempted in accordance with the semester ticket regulation, they can now do so:
https://form.stura-btu.de/en

On our application platform, you can also check whether you are eligible for the semester ticket after your re-registration or whether you are eligible at all:
https://form.stura-btu.de/info/semtix

"Ticket not yet valid"

The semester ticket is only valid at the beginning of the semester. The QR code is only displayed then. This is not a mistake, but rather the way the provider has implemented it.

Semesterticket not yet valid error

Ticket & Exemptionrequest

According to the semester ticket statutes (based on the contract with the VBB)

§ 3 Obligation to purchase and permission according to the semesterticket statutes

  1. Enrolled students at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg are obliged to purchase the Deutschlandsemester ticket, unless the following exceptions in paragraph 2 apply. Further individual reasons for exemption are regulated by Section 4.
  2. The following groups of people are not entitled to obtain a Germany semester ticket through this contract:

a) Guest students and secondary students within the meaning of the relevant Higher Education Act

b) Students who are exclusively enrolled in an evening, online or distance learning programme without compulsory attendance ("distance learning students")

c) Students who are enrolled in a work-accompanying degree programme in accordance with the examination and study regulations (part-time and work-accompanying are different things)

d) students who can prove that they are taking a semester off or a semester abroad

e) Students who are not members of the student body

f) Students who are enrolled in a non-modularised study programme or in a study programme with a scope of less than 15 credit points per semester in accordance with the examination and study regulations [REMOVED as of SuSe 2025]

g) Students who are enrolled in supplementary, additional or postgraduate degree programmes or are taking part in continuing education programmes as well as doctoral students. [REMOVED as of SuSe 2025]


These study programs are therefor not eligible:

  • M.A. World Heritage Studies Online (b)
  • Künstleriche Ausbildung (c)
  • M.Sc. Bauen und Erhalten (c)
  • M.Sc. Urban Design - Revitalization of Historic City Districts PO 2019 (c)
  • M.B.L. Wirtschaftsrecht in Technologieunternehmen (c)
  • M.Sc. Forensic Sciences und Engineering (c)
  • German as a foreign language Online (b)

Further more are the following study programs not eligible in the WiSe 2024/2025, as of SuSe 2025 they are eligible and obliged:

  • PhD studyprograms and all Doctoral candidates (g)
  • Brücke zum Studium (f)
  • German as a foreign language in Person (f)
  • ESiST - Successful entry for international students (f)

Exemption Reasons

According to the semester ticket statutes (based on the contract with the VBB)

In principle, exemption is possible on application. In order to be exempt, you must have a reason for exemption in accordance with §4 Section (1) Letters (a) to (e) of the Semester ticket statutes:

a) for students who are outside the area of validity of the Deutschlandsemesterticket for at least three consecutive months of the respective semester due to their studies, an internship semester, a semester abroad or as part of their final thesis, [Can only be applied for up to 4 weeks after the start of lecturesperiod]

b) for students who are enrolled at two universities with a Deutschlandsemesterticket, reimbursement can be made at one university, [Can only be applied for up to 4 weeks after the start of lecturesperiod]

c) for students who are demonstrably enrolled more than one month after the start of the semester, are exmatriculated in the current semester, withdraw their enrolment, are granted a leave of absence with retroactive effect in the current semester or are demonstrably so seriously ill in the current semester that they would be entitled to a semester of leave,

d) students who are unable to use public transportation due to their disability. This also includes temporary disabilities if they also preclude the use of local public transport for the semester. The requirements must be verified by a medical certificate.

e) Severely disabled persons who are entitled to transportation in accordance with SGB IX and can prove that they are in possession of the supplementary sheet to the severely disabled person's ID card and the corresponding token.

Non-use of the DST is not a reason for exemption.

If you would like to be exempted, you can submit your application using this online form: https://form.stura-btu.de/en

Issuance process

Terms used and answers to various questions can be found below the illustration.

Issuance process of the Germanysemesterticket

FAQ

The BTU ID is not the matricel number, but a BTU-specific identifier that every person at the BTU has and is only assigned once.

To find out your own BTU-ID you can go to  https://form.stura-btu.de/en .

The DST-Permission is the authorization for the DeutschlandSemesterTicket, which at the same time is ONLY available to students who are required to receive it.

Excerpt from the semester ticket regulations:

§ 3 Obligation to purchase and permission

  1. Enrolled students at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg are obliged to purchase the Deutschlandsemester ticket, unless the following exceptions in paragraph 2 apply. Further individual reasons for exemption are regulated by Section 4.
  2. The following groups of people are not entitled to obtain a Germany semester ticket through this contract:

a) Guest students and secondary students within the meaning of the relevant Higher Education Act

b) Students who are exclusively enrolled in an evening, online or distance learning programme without compulsory attendance ("distance learning students")

c) Students who are enrolled in a part-time degree programme in accordance with the examination and study regulations

d) students who can prove that they are taking a semester off or a semester abroad

e) Students who are not members of the student body

f) Students who are enrolled in a non-modularised study programme or in a study programme with a scope of less than 15 credit points per semester in accordance with the examination and study regulations

g) Students who are enrolled in supplementary, additional or postgraduate degree programmes or are taking part in continuing education programmes as well as doctoral students.

In principle, exemption is possible on application. In order to be exempt, you must have a reason for exemption in accordance with §4 Section (1) Letters (a) to (e) of the Semester ticket statutes:

a) for students who are outside the area of validity of the Deutschlandsemesterticket for at least three consecutive months of the respective semester due to their studies, an internship semester, a semester abroad or as part of their final thesis,

b) for students who are enrolled at two universities with a Deutschlandsemesterticket, reimbursement can be made at one university,

c) for students who are demonstrably enrolled more than one month after the start of the semester, are exmatriculated in the current semester, withdraw their enrolment, are granted a leave of absence with retroactive effect in the current semester or are demonstrably so seriously ill in the current semester that they would be entitled to a semester of leave,

d) students who are unable to use public transportation due to their disability. This also includes temporary disabilities if they also preclude the use of local public transport for the semester. The requirements must be verified by a medical certificate.

e) Severely disabled persons who are entitled to transportation in accordance with SGB IX and can prove that they are in possession of the supplementary sheet to the severely disabled person's ID card and the corresponding token.

Non-use of the DST is not a reason for exemption.

If you would like to be exempted, you can submit your application using this online form: https://form.stura-btu.de/en

As it was not yet clear at the time of re-registration who would ultimately be entitled to receive the DST, you may have transferred too much. If this is the case for you, the amount will be displayed as a credit in the my-BTU portal and automatically refunded in a timely manner. (The payout should have been completed by now)

You don't necessarily need a smartphone for the digital Semesterticket. You can access your ticket via any browser-enabled device. This means you can also show it at an inspection using a laptop or tablet, for example.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to print out the ticket or take a screenshot due to federal regulations.

We are in discussions with the VBB and Cottbusverkehr about issuing chip cards for the winter semester 2024/2025.

The group of eligible students is determined by the requirements of the federal government and the transport association. The same regulations apply to all universities and colleges in Berlin and Brandenburg. Please note that this is still a new offer that does not yet exist. It will certainly need to be fine-tuned in the future. We are in close contact with the other student representatives in Brandenburg for the next round of negotiations for the coming winter semester 2024/2025.

We are currently revising the social fund so that we can support you financially in the near future.

The Semesterticket is a solidarity model. This means that everyone pays regardless of whether they use the ticket in order to achieve a lower price for everyone. Non-use is not a reason for exemption. However, we would like to point out that the DST pays off for you even with just a few journeys per month.

For name changes in your BTU account, contact account@b-tu.de

You must do this even if you have already registered with the Student Services and had your name changed there.

Contact

Please send all inquiries about the semester ticket to the following e-mail address:
semesterticket@stura-btu.de