Funding since 2019 and individual evaluations

• Decisions in the Excellence Universities funding line
• Documents and links
• Funding requirements and evaluation procedures
• FAQ

Source: WR / Nierhoff

Decisions in the Excellence Universities funding line

From among 17 applicant universities and two applicant university consortia, the Excellence Commission responsible for the decision-making selected 11 proposals for long-term funding.

The following ten Universities of Excellence and one University Consortium of Excellence will receive funding (in alphabetical order):

• RWTH Aachen University (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen)
• Berlin University Alliance
• University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
• TU Dresden (Technische Universität Dresden)
• University of Hamburg (Universität Hamburg, UHH)
• Heidelberg University (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie)
• University of Konstanz (Universität Konstanz)
• LMU Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
• Technical University of Munich (Technische Universität München)
• University of Tübingen (Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen)

Documents and links

PDF list of funded universities and the university consortium in the Universities of Excellence funding line

Interactive map of the funded universities and the university consortium in the Universities of Excellence and Clusters of Excellence funding lines

Joint press release by the WR and the DFG

An overview of the 19 applicant universities and university consortia in the first round of calls for proposals can be found here (German version only).

Funding requirements and evaluation procedures

In accordance with the Administrative Agreement, the funded institutions will be evaluated externally every seven years. Specifically, an assessment will be carried out as to whether the eligibility requirements for joint funding continue to be met. The evaluation will be organised by the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) and assessed by the Committee of Experts. The evaluation results will be submitted to the Excellence Commission.

If the eligibility requirements are met, the funding will be continued. In order for this to happen, at least two or, in the case of the University Consortium of Excellence, three Clusters of Excellence as well as a positive evaluation of the University of Excellence or the University Consortium of Excellence are required.

The evaluation procedure is based on the

Guidelines for the individual evaluation of Universities of Excellence and

Guidelines for the individual evaluation of University Consortia of Excellence

adopted by the Committee of Experts. These guidelines are addressed both to the Universities of Excellence and the University Consortium of Excellence to be reviewed as well as to the reviewers of the respective individual evaluations. The guidelines provide information regarding procedural steps and principles as well as the evaluation categories. They also contain comprehensive information on the preparation of the self-assessment reports that are to be submitted by the Universities of Excellence and the University Consortium of Excellence as part of the evaluation procedure.

If the evaluation result is negative, the federal government and the host state of the university will decide on the modalities for the withdrawal from the joint funding. In the event of a withdrawal, the university or university consortium receives completion funding on a diminishing basis from the federal government and the host state, limited to a maximum of three years.

If funded institutions withdraw or if funds become available elsewhere within the scope of the Universities of Excellence funding line, the Excellence Commission decides on a call for new proposals. For the second funding round with funding beginning in 2026, a call for four new proposals is issued. If, after the initial evaluation carried out in accordance with Article 6 (1) and (2) of the Administrative Agreement, fewer than four funding cases are withdrawn from long-term joint funding, additional funds will be made available for funding the new cases. The call for new proposals is organised by the WR.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions will be added over time on the funding of the Universities of Excellence and the University Consortium of Excellence, on the evaluation and on submitting new proposals for the second round of calls for proposals in the Universities of Excellence funding line (FAQ, as of December 2021 / German version only).

Data protection information can be found here (German version only).