Excellent
research

The nine state universities form the centrepiece of Baden-Württemberg’s higher education landscape. The universities are characterised by theory-oriented teaching and the coupling of research and training at a high level. The universities regularly achieve top positions in different national rankings.

With the promotion of the next generation of academics through technology transfers, postgraduate training opportunities and intensive communication with businesses, the universities in Baden-Württemberg ensure an internationally competitive centre of learning. In addition to the three traditional universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Tübingen, the younger universities of Hohenheim, Constance, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Ulm offer their own subject focal areas and range of courses. This also applies to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), formed in 2009, which is both a state university and a large national research institution in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.

Baden-Württemberg remains the most successful state in the Excellence Initiative of the German federal government and states. The universities of Heidelberg, Constance and Tübingen represent three of the eleven Universities of Excellence in Germany. 22 of the 99 successful applications in the second round of the Excellence Initiative were allocated to universities in Baden-Württemberg, namely 12 of the 45 graduate schools in Germany, seven of the 43 Clusters of Excellence and three of the eleven Universities of Excellence (future concepts). This strong weight placed on research ensures the future viability of the state.