RWTH Aachen University

RWTH Aachen University

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Motto	Zukunft denken
Motto in English	Thinking the Future
Type	Public
Established	10 October 1870(1870-10-10)
Budget	€ 1.108 billion
Rector	Ulrich Rüdiger
Academic staff	6,264
Administrative staff	2,979
Students	47,078
Location	Aachen , North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany 50°46′40″N6°04′41″E
Affiliations	Domestic: DFG German Excellence Initiative TU9 International: ALMA CESAER IDEA Leaguepm SEFI TIME UNITECH PEGASUS EUA
Website	rwth-aachen.de

SuperC,landmark of RWTH Aachen and the central service building for students

RWTH Aachen University(German:[ˌɛʁveːteːˌhaːˈʔaːxn̩]), in GermanRheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen,is a German publicresearch universitylocated inAachen,North Rhine-Westphalia,Germany.With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study programs, it is the largest technical university in Germany.

RWTH Aachen in 2019 emerged from the final of the third federal and state excellence strategy. The university will be funded as a university of excellence for the next seven years. RWTH Aachen was already part of the federal and state excellence initiative in 2007 and 2012.

Since 2007, RWTH Aachen has been continuously funded by theDFGand theGerman Council of Science and Humanitiesas one of eleven (previously nine) GermanUniversities of Excellencefor its future conceptRWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challengesand the follow-up conceptThe Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology: Knowledge, Impact, Networks,also receiving grants for associated graduate schools andclusters of excellence.The university regularly accounts for the highest amount of third-party funds among all German universities, placing first per faculty member and second overall in the most recent survey from 2018.

RWTH Aachen is a founding member of theCESAERassociation of universities of science and technology in Europe, andIDEA League,a strategic alliance of five leading universities of technology in Europe,as well as its German counterpartTU9.It is also a member of DFG and theTop Industrial Managers for Europenetwork.

History

On 25 January 1858, princeFrederick William of Prussia(laterGerman emperor), was given a donation of 5,000talersfrom theAachener und Münchener Feuer-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft,the precursor of theAachenMünchenerinsurance company,for charity. In March, the prince chose to use the donation to found the firstPrussianinstitute of technologysomewhere in theRhine province.The seat of the institution remained undecided over years; while the prince initially favoredKoblenz,the cities ofAachen,Bonn,CologneandDüsseldorfalso applied, with Aachen and Cologne being the main competitors. Aachen finally won with a financing concept backed by the insurance company and by local banks.Groundbreakingfor the newPolytechnikumtook place on 15 May 1865 and lectures started during theFranco-Prussian Waron 10 October 1870 with 223 students and 32 teachers. The new institution had as its primary purpose the education of engineers, especially for the mining industry in theRuhr area;there were schools ofchemistry,electricaland mechanical engineering as well as an introductorygeneral schoolthat taught mathematics andnatural sciencesand somesocial sciences.

Main Building of the RWTH Aachen. It was built in 1870.

The unclear position of the new Prussianpolytechnika(which officially were not universities) affected the first years. Polytechnics lacked prestige in society and the number of students decreased. This began to change in 1880 when the early RWTH, amongst others, was reorganized as aRoyal Technical University,gained a seat in thePrussian House of Lordsand finally won the right to bestowDr.-Ing.(1899) degrees andDipl.-Ing.titles (introduced in 1902). In the same year, over 800 male students enrolled. In 1909 the first women were admitted and the artistAugust von Brandissucceeded Alexander Frenz at the Faculty of Architecture as a "professor of figure and landscape painting", Brandis became dean in 1929.

World War I,however, proved a serious setback for the university. Many students voluntarily joined up and died in the war, and parts of the university were shortly occupied or confiscated.

While the (then no more royal)TH Aachen(Technische Hochschule Aachen) flourished in the 1920s with the introduction of more independentfaculties,of several new institutes and of thegeneral students' committee,the first signs ofnationalistradicalization also became visible within the university.Nazi Germany'sGleichschaltungof the TH in 1933 met with relatively low resistance from both students and faculty. Beginning in September 1933, Jewish and (alleged)Communistprofessors (and from 1937 on also students) were systematicallypersecutedand excluded from the university. VacantChairswere increasingly given toNSDAPparty-members or sympathizers.The freedom of research and teaching became severely limited, and institutes important for the regime's plans were systematically established, and existing chairs promoted. Briefly closed in 1939, the TH continued courses in 1940, although with a low number of students. On 21 October 1944, when Aachencapitulated,more than 70% of all buildings of the university were destroyed or heavily damaged.

AfterWorld War IIended in 1945 the university recovered and expanded quickly. In the 1950s, many professors who had been removed because of their alleged affiliation with theNazi partywere allowed to return and a multitude of new institutes were founded. By the late 1960s, the TH had 10,000 students, making it the foremost of all German technical universities. With the foundation of philosophical and medical faculties in 1965 and 1966, respectively, the university became more "universal". The newly founded faculties in particular began attracting new students, and the number of students almost doubled twice from 1970 (10,000) to 1980 (more than 25,000) and from 1980 to 1990 (more than 37,000).Now, the average number of students is around 42,000, with about one third of all students being women. By relative terms, the most popular study-programs are engineering (57%),natural science(23%), economics andhumanities(13%) and medicine (7%).

Recent developments

"Red lecture hall" at the central campus

In December 2006, RWTH Aachen and theSultanateofOmansigned an agreement to establish a privateGerman University of TechnologyinMuscat.Professors from Aachen aided in developing thecurriculafor the currently five study-programs and scientific staff took over some of the first courses.

In 2007, RWTH Aachen was chosen as one of nine GermanUniversities of Excellencefor its future conceptRWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges,earning it theconnotationof being a "University of Excellence". However, although the list of universities honored for their future concepts mostly consists of large and already respected institutions, theFederal Ministry of Education and Researchclaimed that the initiative aimed at promoting universities with a dedicated future concept so they could continue researching on an international level.Having won funds in all three lines of funding, the process brought RWTH Aachen University an additional total funding of €180millionfrom 2007 to 2011. The other two lines of funding weregraduate schools,where theAachen Institute for Advanced Study inComputational Engineering Sciencereceived funding and so-called "clusters of excellence", where RWTH Aachen managed to win funding for the three clusters:Ultra High-Speed Mobile Information and Communication (UMIC),Integrative Production Technology for High-wage CountriesandTailor-Made Fuels from Biomass (TMFB).

RWTH was selected to receive funding from the German federal and state governments for the third Universities of Excellence funding line starting 2019. RWTH's proposal was called "The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology – Knowledge. Impact. Networks." and has secured funding for a seven-year period.

2019 Clusters of Excellence

• The Fuel Science Center (FSC) Adaptive Conversion Systems for Renewable Energy and Carbon Sources
• Internet of Production
• ML4Q – Matter and Light for Quantum Computing

RWTH was already awarded funding in the first and second Universities of Excellence funding lines, in 2007 and 2012 respectively.

View towards the city ofAachenfromSuperC,a central building for students next to the main building at the midtown campus

The RWTH itself has a University agreement with theHarbin Institute of Technologysince 2019. In June 2024 a research byCorrectivjournalists showed Chinese military involvement in several RWTH projects. From 100 RTWH professors inMechanical-andElectrical engineering19 had coorperated with researchers fromNUDTand theSeven Sons of National Defenceinitiative and 45 had benefited from Chinese government funding. The money, in some cases channelled throughcompaniesprivately held by RWTH professors, went, among other things, to projects with military applications, including radar technology fordrones.

Campus

The newly built CARL in 2017, RWTH Aachen

RWTH Aachen University's 620 acres (250 ha) campus is located in the north-western part of the city Aachen. There are two core areas – midtown and Melaten district. The Main Building, SuperC student's center and theKármánHall are 500 m away from the city centre with theAachen Cathedral,the Audimax (biggest lecture hall) and the main refectory are 200 m farther. Other points of interest include the university'sbotanical garden(Botanischer Garten Aachen).

A new building, the so-calledCentral Auditorium for Research and Learning(CARL) was opened in 2017. It offers space for 4000 students and replaces Audimax as the largest lecture hall building. The name of the new central auditorium, which is going to contain different lecture halls, is a reference toCharlemagne,who reigned his empire from Aachen in the middle-ages.

The RWTH has external facilities inJülichandEssenand owns, together with theUniversity of Stuttgart,a house inKleinwalsertalin the AustrianAlps.

The university is currently expanding in the city center and Melaten district. The SuperC, the new central service building for students, was opened in 2008. The groundbreaking for the newCampus-Melatenwas in 2009.

Internationality

Double degrees and student mobility are promoted with other technology universities through the TIME (Top Industrial Managers for Europe) network. Furthermore, the RWTH is member of theIDEA League,which is a strategic partnership among four of Europe's leading research universities, includingTU Delft,Chalmers University of Technology,andETH Zürich,and was the first German university starting anUndergraduate Research Opportunities Programin 2008.

Compared to other German universities the RWTH Aachen received the highest amount of funds granted by third-party donors in the last years.

More than 7,000 international students are currently enrolled within the undergraduate, graduate or PhD programme. Compared to other German universities the portion of international students at the RWTH Aachen is higher-than-average.The proximity of Aachen to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg combined with the subsequent exposure to a variety of cultural heritages has placed RWTH Aachen University in a unique position with regards to the reflection and promotion of international aspects and intensive interaction with other universities.

In Asia, RWTH Aachen collaborates withTsinghua Universityto offer Tsinghua-Aachen (Germany) Joint Master Program.

Rankings and reputation

University rankings
Overall – Global & National
QSWorld2024 106 5 THEWorld2024 90 5 ARWUWorld2023 201–300 10–19 QSEurope QSEmployability THEEmployability

Overall

RWTH Aachen was ranked #106 globally (#5 nationally) in theQS World University Rankings2024,#90 globally (#5 nationally) in theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings2024,and #201–300 globally (#10–19 nationally) in theARWU World Rankings2023.

Subject

In the 2023 QS Subject Ranking, RWTH Aachen ranks first in Germany in mechanical engineering and materials sciences.In the 2023 THE Subject Ranking, RWTH Aachen ranks second in Germany in engineering and computer science.In the 2022 ARWU Subject Ranking, RWTH Aachen ranks first in Germany in chemical engineering.

QS Subject Ranking 2023

Subject	Global	National
Arts & Humanities	N/A	N/A
Architecture and Built Environment	51–100	3–5
Engineering and Technology	55	4
Engineering – Chemical	38	2
Engineering – Civil and Structural	51–100	2–3
Computer Science and Information Systems	90	3
Engineering – Electrical and Electronic	45	3
Engineering – Mechanical	19	1
Engineering – Mineral and Mining	15	2
Life Sciences & Medicine	N/A	N/A
Biological Sciences	151–200	12–15
Medicine	201–250	14–15
Natural Sciences	85	6
Chemistry	66	5
Earth and Marine Sciences	151–200	14–15
Environmental Sciences	101–150	4–5
Geology	151–200	14–15
Geophysics	151–200	14–15
Materials Sciences	27	1
Mathematics	136	8
Physics and Astronomy	60	5
Social Sciences & Management	401–450	13–15
Business and Management Studies	201–250	5–8
Economics and Econometrics	301–350	12–15
Education and Training	251–300	11–14
Statistics and Operational Research	101–150	5–6

THE Subject Ranking 2023

Subject	Global	National
Computer science	50	2
Engineering	32	2
Clinical & health	201–250	12–16
Physical sciences	=91	8

ARWU Subject Ranking 2022

Subject	Global	National
Natural Sciences
Mathematics	301–400	19–29
Physics	76–100	6–7
Chemistry	76–100	2–5
Earth Sciences	301–400	24–30
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering	51–75	1–2
Electrical & Electronic Engineering	151–200	5–6
Telecommunication Engineering	201–300	5–6
Instruments Science & Technology	201–300	3–6
Biomedical Engineering	101–150	6–10
Computer Science & Engineering	201–300	3–10
Chemical Engineering	76–100	1
Materials Science & Engineering	101–150	3–5
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology	101–150	3–5
Energy Science & Engineering	101–150	5–6
Environmental Science & Engineering	151–200	5–6
Biotechnology	101–150	5–7
Mining & Mineral Engineering	51–75	2
Metallurgical Engineering	36	3
Life Sciences
Human Biological Sciences	201–300	27–30
Agricultural Sciences	201–300	19–23
Medical Sciences
Dentistry & Oral Sciences	101–150	8–13
Medical Technology	51–75	9–12
Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences	101–150	10–14
Social Sciences
Economics	301–400	16–23
Psychology	201–300	18–23
Business Administration	201–300	5–10
Management	201–300	4–8

In 2009, two prominent German newspapers,HandelsblattandWirtschaftswoche,ranked RWTH Aachen the first place in Germany in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science.In 2012, Handelsblatt ranked The RWTH School of Business and Economics amongst top 10 within Germany.In the 2015 ranking published byDAADtogether with Centre for Higher Education Development andDie Zeit,RWTH Aachen also stands on top among other German universities in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science.

Graduates

RWTH Aachen took 3rd place in 2018 based on the number of top managers in the German economy measured by the number ofDAXboard of managementmembers.In 2019, RWTH Aachen took 2nd place.The top 3 universities in 2019 with the most top managers were theLMU Munich,the RWTH Aachen and theTechnische Universität Darmstadt.

According to theStepstone Salary Report for Graduates 2019/2020,graduates of RWTH Aachen are amongst the highest earners inScience, technology, engineering, and mathematics.From 2001 to 2013, national rankings regularly identified RWTH Aachen as one of the best universities in Germany in the fields of engineering (especially mechanical engineering,electrical engineering), as well as amongst the top three incomputer science,physics,chemistry,and medicine.

Organisation

Almost all basic lectures are held in German, but an increasing number of master programs require proficiency in English for admission.

Fees

RWTH Aachen is run by thefederal stateof North Rhine-Westphalia.Since the summer semester of 2004 the state of North Rhine-Westphalia allowed universities to request a maximum of €500 per semester as tuition fees. In the past, tuition fees applied solely for long-term students and second studies. Since the summer semester of 2007, all students enrolled at the RWTH Aachen had to pay these €500, if they were not exempt for one of several reasons put forth by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Since 24 February 2011 study fees were abolished by theLandtag of North Rhine-Westphalia(Legislation for the Improvement of Equal Opportunities to University Admission) with effect from Winter Term 2011/12. Universities will receive 249 Mio Euro of national funding for measures that improve the quality of teaching (e.g., through additional teachers and tutors) as compensation. Tuition fees per semester are still being charged.

Institute for physical chemistry

Faculties

The RWTH is divided into nine (previously ten) faculties:

F 1 – Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences

F 2 – Faculty of Architecture

F 3 – Faculty of Civil Engineering

F 4 – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

F 5 – Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering

F 6 – Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

F 7 – Faculty of Arts and Humanities

F 8 – School of Business and Economics

F 10 – Faculty of Medicine

Faculty nine waspedagogical sciences,but it was abandoned in 1989.Teacher education,however, continued.

Klinikum Aachen(University hospital)

Fraunhofer-Institutes

The university cooperates with theFraunhofer-Institutessituated in the Melaten district ofAachen.The institutes offer workshops, courses and lectures for the students of RWTH Aachen.

Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology

• Applied Information Technology (FIT) Sankt Augustin and Aachen
• Fraunhofer-Institute for Laser Technology ILT
• Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Technology IPT
• Fraunhofer-Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology

Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)

TheJülich-Aachen Research Alliance(JARA) was founded by the RWTH Aachen andForschungszentrum Jülichin 2007.Five sections are coordinated by the research facilities:

• JARA-Brain (Diagnosis and therapy of neurologic sickness)
• JARA-Fit (Fundamentals of future information technology)
• JARA-HPC (High Performance Computing)
• JARA-Energy (Energy research)
• JARA-FAME (Forces and matter experiments)

Graduate schools

Aachen Institute for advanced study in Computational Engineering Science

The Aachen Institute for advanced study in Computational Engineering Science (AICES) is a graduate school established in 2006 under theGerman Universities Excellence Initiativeat the RWTH Aachen University. Research at AICES is broadly in the area ofComputational engineering,solvinginverse problemsthat find applications in mathematics,computer science and engineering,mechanical engineering andnatural sciences.AICES is a collaborative effort of 47principal investigatorsfrom 8 academic divisions of RWTH Aachen University, as well asMax Planck Institute for Iron ResearchandForschungszentrum Jülich.

Associations

• RWTH Aachen – North American Alumni Association: Prof. Dr. Burkhard Rauhut, former president of the RWTH, and Prof. Dr. Laszlo Baksay, President of the newly founded "Association of Alumni, Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen University in North-America" signed the founding statement for a new branch of the RWTH Alumni Community in Melbourne (Florida) in May 2006.
• AStA (Students' Union)
• AISA (Assoc. of Indian Students in Aachen)
• GATS (Association of Thai Students in Aachen)
• ISA e.V (Iranian Students Association)
• Pakistan Student Association
• MexAS – Mexikanische Aachener Studierende (Mexican Students' Association)
• ADDI (Aachen Drone Development Initiative)
• Flugwissenschaftliche Vereinigung Aachen(abbreviation:FVA, English: Flight Research Association Aachen).The FVA academic flying group is closely affiliated with RWTH Aachen and overseen byIDAFLIEG(Interessengemeinschaft deutscher akademischer Fliegergruppen e.V.).
• Team Sonnenwagen AachenStudent team founded in late 2015 with the goal to develop and build solar cars for theWorld Solar Challengein Australia. In 2017, the team participated for the first time in the challenge.
• Ecurie Aix – Student team founded in 1999 to compete in theformula student
• SKY Campus Aachen – A student initiative that aims to boost awareness for mental health in the student community, through mindfulness, breathwork and yoga.
• Space Team Aachen
• TechAachen
• Ecogenium

Notable faculty and alumni

Main article:List of RWTH Aachen University people

RWTH Aachen University has educated several notable individuals, including some Nobel laureates in physics and chemistry. The scientists and alumni of the RWTH Aachen played a major role inchemistry,medicine,electrical,and mechanical engineering. For example, Nobel laureatePeter Debyereceived a degree in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen and is known for theDebye modelandDebye relaxation.Another example,Helmut Zahnand his team of the Institute for Textile Chemistry were the first who synthesisedinsulinin 1963 and they were nominated for Nobel Prize. Another example isB.J. Habibie,the third president ofIndonesiathat contributed in many aviation advancements.Franz Josef Ochwas the chief architect ofGoogle Translate.Werner Tietzis one of the leading engineers of the Volkswagen Group and vice president of SEAT.

External links

• RWTH Aachen