Diversity

Diversity stands for appreciating and for treating the variety and richness of people in a pluralistic society in a conscious way. As a public-law institution, we take a firm stand against any type of discrimination. To stand up against discrimination and exclusion – whether it is racist or on the grounds of ethnic and/or social origin, due to gender, religion or belief, due to physical, mental or psychological disabilities, due to age or sexual identity – for us, implies both strength and responsibility.

The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern stands up for promoting equal opportunities and fighting any type of discrimination. It has been and will remain our duty to support our students with their individual situations to successfully complete their studies.

More than 500 people are employed at the Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern (STWM), 80 of which have an impairment. Our staff comes from 37 different nations. We are responsible for 16 universities and thus for 140,000 students in Upper Bavaria, amongst whom are 38,834 students who have a nationality other than German. In our halls of residence, which are located close to the campuses, 97 accommodation units can be given to people who have special needs.  In 2022, 6,266 places were rented out to international students. The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern served roughly 4 million meals in its canteens in 2023 and supported approx. 10,000 students with BAföG (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz). We also run 17 childcare centres.

Already in 2014, the Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern signed the “Diversity Charter” in order to encourage diversity at the universities as well as among its own personnel. Everyone who signs the charter commits themselves to create a work environment which is free from prejudice and exclusion. The goal is to shape a culture of equal opportunities, respect for one another but also to treat each other respectfully.

According to the 21st Social Survey, approx. 11% of students live with a physical, psychological or mental disability.
Health impairments can make studying more difficult. Structural, constructional and communicative barriers need to be overcome in addition to the actual impairment in students’ everyday life. The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern offers special support and services to people who have individual needs or chronic illnesses in order to enable everyone to go about their studies and live their student life with equal opportunities as well as independently.

Advisory services for students with a disability

• General and Social Advisory Service
• Advice on financing your studies
• Accommodation for students with a disability or chronic illness
• Services provided by the department University Gastronomy

Studying with a child is not an easy task and often entails, apart from studying itself, lots of organisational and financial challenges for studying parents. The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern can help you to overcome these challenges. We provide assistance and support, whether you already have a child or children or are expecting a child. We offer a range of services to make studying with a child or children easier for you.

With our wide range of advisory services on issues related to your studies and also other areas of your life, we support students to successfully deal with challenging situations. We are always there for our students should a problem arise and offer information and advice regarding various different issues, individually but also in groups, for instance in the case of financial difficulties, psychological stress or challenges regarding your studies. Our advisory team in Munich, Freising and Rosenheim is available for all students.

Our Advice and Counselling Network offers the following services:

• General Advice and Social Counselling
• Psychotherapeutic and Psychosocial Counselling Service
• Advisory Service “Sexual Abuse, Discrimination and Violence”
• General BAföG Advisory Services
• Student Loan Advisory Service
• Studying with a Disability
• Studying with a Child
• Legal Advisory Service
• Student Coaching
• Scholarship Advisory Service

Our students and universities are turning more and more international and are thus shaped by an ever greater cultural diversity. The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern offers international students support concerning social, financial and cultural issues. In order to encourage intercultural communication, we for instance offer an intercultural project seminar, in which German and international students participate. Further intercultural activities and events can also be found in our diverse Cultural Programme.

The Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern aims to achieve that as many people as possible can equally take part in cultural life. Our Cultural Programme offers numerous possibilities to get to know and come into contact with other students who have similar interests, to further your knowledge or to simply have fun. The cultural activities and events organized by the Studierendenwerk München Oberbayern are extremely varied and take the interests, needs and possibilities of our diverse students into consideration.