Multi-stage competition with funding decisions in May 2025 / “The level of interest and potential at the universities is very high” / Significant budget increase means funding is now available for up to 70 clusters

The go-ahead has been given for the second competition phase of the Excellence Strategy. Run by the federal and state governments to further strengthen top-level research at universities in Germany, the programme consists of two funding lines. The Clusters of Excellence funding line, implemented by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), finances internationally outstanding research projects at universities or university consortia for up to two periods of seven years. Under the funding line Universities of Excellence, for which the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) is responsible, universities and university consortia receive permanent funding as entire institutions in order to build on their leading international status in research.