Kaiserslautern, Technische Universität

Special networks link the engineering and natural sciences with the social and economic sciences and distinguish the University of Kaiserslautern as the only university in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate with a strong orientation on technology. It consists of 10 departments and offers 95 courses of study to 12,200 students. The university attracts students from around the world with international enrollments accounting for 15% of the student population and representing more than 90 countries. The university has a modern, mid-size campus located at the edge of a world-famous UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the beautiful Palatinate Forest. Situated in Southwestern Germany (one-hour drive from Frankfurt International Airport), Kaiserslautern is also an important economic center for the science and research sectors.

The University of Kaiserslautern is renowned for its excellence in research and higher education. In the federal government’s “Excellence in Higher Education” competition, the Kaiserslautern University of Technology was recognized in October 2009 as one of the six Top-Universities in Germany. This award is solid proof of the high educational standards at the university. In January 2010, the university became a double winner as it was selected, together with team partners IESE, ITWM, DFKI, and ITA, as one of five world-class research clusters by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The University of Kaiserslautern has built a reputation for excellence in some disciplines which has also attracted international attention. For example, there are four major institutes working in the area of applied mathematics and computer sciences. These include: two Fraunhofer Institutes (the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE), the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems. Other satellite institutes include: the Institute for Surface and Film Analysis (IFOS) in the field of physics, laser physics, and materials research; the Institute of Biotechnology and Drug Research (IBWF) for biology, biotechnology and active substance research; and, the Institute for Composites (IVW), which conducts research in the areas of mechanical engineering, composite materials and process engineering. Kaiserslautern is recognized as one of the largest IT clusters in all of Europe.

The University of Kaiserslautern is also home to two State Research Centers (Center for Mathematical and Computational Modeling (CM²) and Center for Optics and Material Sciences (OPTIMAS)). Their objective is to set up large, collaborative research projects, e.g., special research areas, and successfully compete for national and international projects within the framework of funding for the Excellence Initiative.

As a member of the “Science Alliance Kaiserslautern”, the University of Kaiserslautern is the nucleus of a consortium of nine high-profile research institutes that combine to form an integrated research environment on and off campus. This organization promotes intensive interaction between scientists and students within this rich institutional framework.

The university offers a number of English language master programs. Doctoral research and thesis programs can be conducted in English in all departments of the university.