Germany selects five new Excellence universities and consortia for 2027 funding

Announcement of new excellence universities in Bonn

Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär (CSU) and Lower Saxony Science Minister Falko Mohrs (SPD) presented the results of Germany's latest university excellence competition at a joint press conference in Bonn on 2 October 2026. Mohrs participated in the announcement in his capacity as deputy chair of the Joint Science Conference (GWK). The decision concludes a three-year selection procedure designed to designate five new Excellence locations across the country. Three single universities secured the Excellence University title: the University of Freiburg, the University of Jena, and the University of Cologne. Two multi-institution consortia also earned the status: the Rhine-Main Universities alliance consisting of Darmstadt, Mainz, and Frankfurt am Main, and the Ruhr Innovation Lab alliance formed jointly by TU Dortmund and Ruhr University Bochum.

Financial allocations and funding mechanics

The Excellence University designation delivers funding to each recipient institution over a dedicated seven-year term. Single universities receive up to 15 million euros each year, while multi-university alliances obtain up to 28 million euros annually. The upcoming funding period begins on 1 January 2027 and continues for seven years. Across the entire Excellence Strategy, the federal government and state administrations provide a collective total of 687 million euros annually. The funding burden is divided between levels of government, with 75 percent supplied by the federal government and 25 percent funded by the respective state in which each institution resides. To maintain this support, designated universities must undergo a formal evaluation of their eligibility conditions every seven years.

Prerequisite cluster evaluations and existing recipients

Eligibility to compete for the Excellence University status requires prior selection in the research cluster track of the national Excellence Strategy. These excellence clusters support specialized research projects conducted at individual universities or through multi-campus partnerships. In 2025, cluster projects across 43 universities in 13 federal states secured funding, creating the qualifying pool for institutional bids. The five newly appointed locations will join ten existing recipients whose status was extended in spring 2026 for another seven years. That incumbent group comprises nine single universities located in Aachen, Bonn, Dresden, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, and Tübingen, alongside two universities in Munich (LMU Munich and TU Munich) and a Berlin consortium uniting Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität, and TU Berlin.

Competition field and unsuccessful bids

A total of eight individual universities and four institutional consortia submitted bids for the five open spots in this selection round. These applicants represent a targeted fraction of Germany's broader tertiary education sector, which encompasses 421 higher education institutions according to the Federal Statistical Office. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, situated in the northernmost federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, was among the unsuccessful single applicants. The rejection represents Kiel's fourth unsuccessful bid for Excellence University status since the inception of the program in 2005. The excellence competitions were originally launched to strengthen cutting-edge research and enhance the international standing and reputation of German institutions. The new cohort begins receiving funding on 1 January 2027.