What Are Excellence Universities and TU9? Germany's Elite Institutions

When researching universities in Germany, you'll frequently come across terms like 'Excellence University' (Exzellenzuniversität) and 'TU9'. Both signal strong quality, but they mean different things.

'Excellence University' status is awarded under Germany's joint federal-state 'Excellence Strategy' to universities with the strongest research performance. It comes with extra research funding and international prestige — LMU Munich, TU Munich, Heidelberg University and RWTH Aachen are among the institutions holding this status.

'TU9', on the other hand, is an alliance founded in 2006 by Germany's nine most established and strongest technical universities: RWTH Aachen, TU Berlin, TU Braunschweig, TU Darmstadt, TU Dresden, Leibniz Universität Hannover, KIT (Karlsruhe), TU Munich and Universität Stuttgart. TU9 membership signals a strong research infrastructure and close industry cooperation, especially in engineering and the natural sciences.

Holding either title doesn't automatically make a university the 'best choice' for you — city, program content, language, cost of living and your personal goals matter just as much. But knowing these two labels helps you read Germany's academic landscape faster.

At Studiva, we weigh both Excellence Universities and TU9 members alongside lesser-known but strong institutions, based on your academic profile.