Founded in 1743, FAU has a rich history. It is a strong research university with an international perspective and one of the largest universities in Germany, with 40,000 students, 265 degree programmes, 4,000 academic staff (including over 579 professors), 177,6 million euros (2016) in third-party funding, and 500 partnerships with universities all over the world. Teaching at the University is closely linked to research and focuses on training students in both theory and practice to enable them to think critically and work independently. The research itself also strikes the perfect balance between a theoretical approach and practical application.
FAU’s outstanding research and teaching is reflected in top positions in both national and international rankings, as well as the high amount of DFG funding which its researchers are able to secure. The strongly interdisciplinary nature of research at FAU is reflected in the University’s involvement in many well-established partnerships with research institutions. For example, FAU is a member of four Bavarian Research Associations. In the same way, the many Collaborative Research Centres, Transregios, Research Units, Research Training Groups and Priority Programmes funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) are built on a foundation of interdisciplinary collaboration between different disciplines and institutions.
