Technical University of Munich - #1 University in Germany
The Technical University of Munich (TUM) was founded in 1868 and is one of the most research-intensive and innovative universities in Europe. As one of the most innovative institutions of higher education in Germany, TUM is dedicated to generating and communicating highly specialised research and to providing excellent academic education. TUM has various campus locations: Munich, Garching, Weihenstephan, Straubing, Heilbronn and a campus of its own in Singapore – TUM Asia.
At a Glance
#1
University in Germany
#26
in the World
in Germany for 6 academic subjects
#1
University in EU
19
#13 in Global Employability Survey
181
10,590+
53,000
600+
7
92,500+
TUM Asia – The Only Overseas Campus of TUM in Singapore
With over 3,000 graduates from 45 countries, TUM Asia alumni are making waves in industries worldwide.
TUM Asia also offers lifelong learning courses in areas such as sustainable food, rail and urban transport, and logistics engineering. These courses are available in the form of stackable certificates, allowing learners to progress at their own pace, earn professional certifications, and eventually stack their achievements toward a graduate diploma or even a master’s degree.
A spirit of innovation and discovery – from 1868 to the present day
Ever since its foundation in 1868, Technische Universität München (TUM) has been at the forefront of innovation. TUM scientists today have the same goal as their 19th century counterparts: Finding solutions to the major challenges facing society as we move forward. TUM was founded to provide the state of Bavaria with a center of learning dedicated to the natural sciences. It has played a vital role in Europe’s technological advancement and has the prestige of producing a number of Nobel Prize winners.
1. MILESTONES
In 1868, King Ludwig II founded the “Königlich Bayerische Polytechnische Schule zu München”. It was granted the right to award doctorates in 1901, and four years later admitted its first official female student. With the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine in 1967, the long-standing “Klinikum rechts der Isar” became a university clinic. The university was renamed “Technische Universität München” in 1970.
2. REFORM DRIVER
The Excellence Initiative was a catalyst for numerous reforms at TUM. Even prior to this initiative, however, TUM was a pioneering modernizer of higher education in Germany. The establishment of a Supervisory Board, interdisciplinary research centers and new approaches to teacher training at the TUM School of Education are just some of the reforms introduced at TUM.
3. OUR NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
18 TUM scientists and alumni have been awarded the Nobel Prize since 1927, most notably Rudolf Mößbauer (Physics) and Ernst Otto Fischer (Chemistry).
4. INVENTORS AND DISCOVERIES
The men who invented the refrigerator, the diesel engine, the jet plane turbine and air liquefaction all studied at TUM. Today, TUM researchers do pioneering work in biotechnology and neutron physics. Another claim to fame is a well-known item of laboratory equipment that was named after one of our founding professors: the Erlenmeyer flask.
All information taken from TUM.
“We invest in talents. Recognition is our return.”
1. Support and enable an innovative society
Reflecting its fundamental mission to serve society, Technische Universität München (TUM), is committed to progress and innovation in the fields of science that promise sustainable improvement in how people and society live. Out of our sense of responsibility for future generations, we have established interdisciplinary research areas in: Health & Nutrition • Energy & Natural Resources • Environment & Climate • Information & Communications • Mobility & Infrastructure.
2. Aim for the highest international standards
At TUM, we measure our scientific, structural and organizational performance according to the best international standards. Therefore we build international networks and draw on international alliances with leading teaching and research institutions to define our benchmarks. And our “Emerging Field Policy” has opened up new fields of development between science and industry.
3. Foster an open, culturally diverse mindset
At TUM, we view internationality as a mindset connecting our home with the world. We welcome talent from all over the globe. Based on a liberal set of values grounded in an enlightened society, our open-minded network promotes respect for the cultural identity of people in other regions and cultures of the world. With our international presence in science and technology, we want to foster better understanding between nations.
4. Encourage ethical awareness in young talent
Our focus is on our young talents. They are shaping the future. We support them in achieving their own potential and promoting their individual talents by integrating them in an environment populated by experienced and accomplished senior scientists. Our educational goals include professional expertise, good judgment and a sense of responsibility. Intellectual and emotional creativity, cultural sensitivity and social skills are as important to us as professional confidence and entrepreneurial courage. We offer targeted support for the most gifted young scientists through the TUM: Junge Akademie, the TUM Graduate School, and the TUM Institute for Advanced Study.
5. Think and act like an entrepreneur
TUM is committed to the concept of a competitive, entrepreneurial university. We proactively bring results from fundamental research into market-oriented innovation processes and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in all aspects of university life. We encourage TUM members to found growth-oriented startups and support them with non-bureaucratic services until they achieve a strong foothold in their market. Our entrepreneurial activities are clearly geared towards taking a leadership role in Europe through the foundation of research-based technology startups.
6. Creating Value by Living Our Values
TUM esteems variety, diversity and individuality within the family. This culture of appreciation adds significantly to our creation of values. We actively promote equal opportunities for women and men. We are also determined to become Germany’s most attractive technical university for women. As a family-oriented university, we invest in balancing family life, study and a professional needs. Our focus is firmly on our young talent.
7. Engaged in dialogue with society and the general public
TUM is responsible for encouraging dialogue in society. Our aim is to equip our students with the capacity to accompany social change with a sense of responsibility. Our broad portfolio including the TUM School of Education, the TUM School of Management and the Munich Center for Technology in Society (MCTS), coupled with our role as supporting university of the Hochschule für Politik – Bavarian School of Public Policy, give us a unique framework for holistic evaluation and steering processes. We actively seek out dialogue with the general public. Society should know what we are working on in science and technology for our future, and how we are preparing young people for tomorrow’s challenges. Dialogue with society helps us align our research and teaching priorities.
8. Contract Between Generations
The TUM family profits from mutual support and networking between its members across disciplines, nationalities, and generations. It unites the enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity of students, the creative spirit of graduates and the life experience of alumni in a worldwide network. We value the expertise of our TUM Emeriti of Excellence and their active participation as helpful advisors.
All information cited from TUM.
Scientific, international, entrepreneurial.
President Emeritus Wolfgang A. Herrmann welcomes you to TUM
Welcome to TUM! Our university goes back to the founding year of 1868, and the idea it embodies has proven its worth through the years: excellent education in the scientific and technical disciplines, energized by the allure and adventure of research, cultivating both personal character and a shared culture. Among those who have studied, taught, and done research here are distinguished figures of the historical past and the present day: Nobel Prize winners, inventive engineers, entrepreneurs, leading lights who have shaped the way we live. Countless alumni who got their education with us have, through their careers, advanced the development of a knowledge-based society.
39,081 young people, 22% percent of whom come from outside Germany, are studying in our 13 academic departments. It is that entrepreneurial spirit, in its liberal and competitive expression, that brings our three major objectives to fruition: scientific scholarship, internationality, and entrepreneurship.
And what has enabled the university to step up to a respected position on the world stage is a strong sense of community that promotes talents and performance and does not recognize generational boundaries. One visible proof of the TUM family’s solidarity is our reconstruction out of the ruins of a World War that had destroyed up to 70 percent of the university. Today TUM has over four hundred buildings at its disposal on our Munich, Garching, and Freising-Weihenstephan sites.
The Technische Universität München understands itself to be the servant of a society that continually faces new challenges arising from the progress of globalization. This calls for technically competent young professionals from many disciplines who are attuned, in an interdisciplinary way, to major issues of the century: health and nutrition; energy, climate, and environment; natural resources; mobility and infrastructure; communication and information. We have adopted these “century themes” as our own, and they determine our research objectives.
The institutional strategy developed for the German Excellence Initiative in 2006 — “TUM. The Entrepreneurial University” — opened new paths toward becoming a boldly competitive university of international stature. The TUM Graduate School embodies the progressive format of a structured doctoral education. It enables young scientists and engineers to develop both their disciplinary profiles and broader, transdisciplinary horizons. In the TUM Institute for Advanced Study, excellent talents find creative research possibilities as well as room for interdisciplinary discourse. With our new career system, the TUM Faculty Tenure Track (2012), we have introduced a paradigm shift in the German university system.
Those who study at TUM today have many options. We not only offer a first-class disciplinary education, but also promote community-building activities beyond everyday student life. We introduce our students to scientific research at an early stage. We guide them into a constant striving for the new and the undiscovered. We invest time, energy, and resources in the talented young people whom we cultivate and challenge. We want to make them, as far as possible, “weatherproof” for all that they may encounter in their professional future.
Our home page aims to inform you comprehensively about the Technische Universität München, while at the same time imparting a sense of who we are as a community. TUM: that means all of us! Our doors stand open to you.
Professor Wolfgang A. Herrmann
President Emeritus
All information taken from TUM, accurate as of 1 September 2016.
Facts & Figures
TUM’s faculties welcome over 50,000 students, one third of them women. Here you will find key facts and figures about Technische Universität München.
The Technische Universität München is ranked:
- #1 university in Germany and within the top 50 universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- Top 10 university in Europe and #30 worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 20223
- 13th in the world in the Global University Employability Ranking by Times Higher Education (THE) – Emerging
- 14th in computer science, 22nd in engineering, 23th in physical sciences (comprising most natural sciences subjects) and 43th in life sciences (THE World University Rankings by Subject)
TUM AT A GLANCE
8 TUM Schools and Departments
11,505 Staff
members
623 Professors
82,903 Alumni
182 Degree
Programs
7 Corporate
Research Centers
9455 Publications in Academic Journals
