All Colleges and Universities at a Glance

EBZ Business School offers four different study time models in six fields of research, namely digital transformation and data analysis, climate and sustainability, energy and buildings, urban and neighborhood development, financial and real estate markets, management, and human resources and company organization. Some 1,200 people study at EBZ, divided between the Bochum and Hamburg campuses as well as the digital campus.

The Fern-Universität in Hagen is the first and only state distance-learning university in Germany. With an average of 75,000 students at any given time, it is also the largest university in the country. It is headquartered at the Hagen campus and also has 12 other campus locations throughout Germany. Students can advance their academic studies in the areas of education, digital transformation, the world of work, or sustainability.

With some 15,000 students, FH Dortmund puts its focus on the application of science and the fostering of networks. Topics of particular interest include economic sustainability and smart information and communication systems.

Sustainability in mobility, energy, construction, and production are this university’s focal points. With just under 9,000 students, the university has also positioned itself as a sustainable institute of higher education with a clear strategy.

Occupational therapy, midwifery, speech therapy, physical therapy, nursing: 1,755 students have been learning the academic perspective of the health professions in Germany at this institute of higher education since 2009. HS Gesundheit (University of Health Sciences) in Bochum offers a total of 11 bachelor’s and five master’s degree programs.

From human-machine interaction to medical technologies, from the energy transition to Industry 4.0, the 5,600 students here learn and work while completing projects at HSHL, which was founded in 2009.

Germany’s largest university of applied sciences for administration trains around 12,200 students for the senior police and administrative service. The teaching staff prepares the students for their professional activities in local and state administration as well as in the state police – having done so since 1976 and at a total of ten locations today.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia founded the Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences in 2009. The roughly 6,500 students focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and examine topics such as smart mobility and artificial intelligence from an economic perspective.

Founded in 1990, ISM has 3,850 students at seven locations and puts its educational focus on the internationalization of business and on fields such as marketing, leadership, logistics, finance, and tourism.

Today, the Ruhr region’s first university has nearly 43,000 students. Since 1962, RUB has developed focus areas that include solvation science, IT security, and closed carbon cycle economics.

Founded in 1816, TH Georg Agricola is the oldest technical university in the Ruhr region. With some 2,300 students, it emphasizes resource efficiency, Industry 4.0, post-mining, and the conservation of industrial heritage.

With around 32,000 students and approximately 80 bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, TU Dortmund is one of the 20 largest universities in Germany. Founded in 1968 and spread across two campuses, TU Dortmund has a wide span of offerings, ranging from production technologies and logistics to chemical biology and process engineering through to education and inclusion.

The two universities in Duisburg and Essen, founded in 1972, merged to form this new university in 2003. Its approximately 43,000 students can study medicine and biomedicine or urban systems, learn about the transformation of contemporary societies, or train as teachers.

Founded in 1983, Witten/Herdecke University, or UW/H for short, offers degree programs in business, public policy, society, psychology, nursing, medicine, and dentistry. More than 3,000 students take advantage of its educational offerings today.

Gelsenkirchen, Bocholt, Recklinghausen: currently some 8,000 people study at the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences – each with a focus on regional infrastructure and industrial networking. Founded in 1992, the university’s areas of research include energy, health, mechatronics, cybersecurity, and bionics.