Technische Universität Darmstadt

University Studies under Ideal Conditions
Albert Einstein in his day was happy to recommend Technische Universität Darmstadt: “In my opinion you absolutely must go to Darmstadt. There is a good polytechnic there.…” Today, more than 130 years after the founding of the University, generations of well-known scientists and the leaders of major global companies recall with pride how their time at TU Darmstadt laid the foundations for their careers.

Those who enrol at TU Darmstadt can depend on a guarantee: TU Darmstadt is the only university in Germany that has undertaken the obligation, set down in state law, to provide all its students with intensive counselling and all the necessary conditions to permit high-quality education without delays, from enrolment to graduation. One of Germany’s highest-ranked universities in both teaching and research, TU Darmstadt aims to qualify prospective students for the best possible opportunities in life.

The University’s emphasis is on technology, and its approach has always been a universal one: engineering, the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities work closely together, reaching across the boundaries between the various disciplines. Scientists and their students at TU Darmstadt work on the technologies of the future with practical applications. And the business world finds that appealing: International corporations such as Rolls Royce, Deutsche Bahn, Merck, Wella, Lufthansa and SAP, and growing regional companies like Carl Schenck AG, are just some of the selected partners whose doors are open to TU students.

The courses of study have been restructured to lead to Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees that are recognized worldwide. Transfer students’ degrees from TU Darmstadt are recognized unreservedly throughout Germany and abroad. TU Darmstadt is known for the integration of research in its teaching: students and scientists learn and research together. This philosophy has long been one of the secrets of TU Darmstadt’s success.

Since its founding in 1877, TU Darmstadt has been an internationally oriented university. International students make up almost 20 percent of its student body of about 23,000, well above the average for German universities. At the same time, the University strives to enable every student to study at one of its renowned partner universities abroad. TU Darmstadt cooperates with over 100 universities all over the world, including such respected institutions as Virginia Tech, UC Berkeley, Imperial College London, Tongji University, École Centrale de Paris and Chalmers University, Göteborg.

Advantages of Darmstadt, City of Science
The TU is at the centre of Darmstadt, the City of Science, with its population of 150,000. The University is a major contributor to the welfare and growth of the Frankfurt-Rhine-Neckar region, one of the best-developed metropolitan areas in Europe with about 7.5 million inhabitants. Excellent non-university research facilities in and around Darmstadt have collaborated closely with TU Darmstadt for years. The directors of the city’s three Fraunhofer Institutes are professors at TU Darmstadt. The University also has excellent relations with ESOC, the satellite control centre of ESA, the European Space Agency, with EUMETSAT, and with the heavy-ion research centre GSI. Art is also alive in Darmstadt: The Jugendstil artists’ colony at Mathildenhöhe attracts thousands of art lovers every year.

Life and Leisure
The University is surrounded by stimulating opportunities for students to pursue personal interests in their leisure time. For dancing and partying, there is “603qm”, a trendy club right on campus. In their free time students practice their golf swing on TU Darmstadt’s own driving range, design and build pioneering solar cars, or take to the air from the University’s own airfield with the Academic Aviators. TU Darmstadt creates space for creativity and enthusiasm even outside the required course schedule.