This article presents an empirical analysis of the public funding system for higher education in Germany and a comparison with five other European countries. The large number of separate student support items in Germany makes it an exception and makes the system obscure. The allocations of public expenditure to German institutions are below average, providing an indication of underfunding of teaching at higher education institutions. As far as the composition of support to households is concerned, Germany provides the largest share of support for students' parents and the lowest share of cash support for students. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)