Excellence in research, studying and teaching

Our research and teaching profile combines excellent basic research with application-oriented science and – depending on the degree programme in question – science- and career-oriented training.

Our internationally competitive research is conducted in the six Faculties as well as in various interdisciplinary core profile areas and centers. The university is one of the most successful German institutions in terms of acquiring research funding. The University of Cologne is also successful when it comes to the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments, with currently five Clusters of Excellence.

The Cologne Clusters of Excellence are embedded in the university research structure of the Key Profile Areas (KPAs for short). Research in the KPAs combines various scientific and academic disciplines and is integrated within networks in order to generate synergies. In many cases, other universities across the Rhineland and non-university institutions such as the Max Planck Institutes and the Centers of the Helmholtz Association form part of these research alliances.

As one of the largest comprehensive universities in Germany, the University of Cologne is characterized above all by its broad range of subjects: from business administration and teacher training courses to Scandinavian/Finnish studies, prospective students will find a variety of study options on offer.

The university has developed its own quality management system to ensure that high qualification targets are reached and to assure the quality standards of our degree programmes. It guarantees that all degree programmes are regularly evaluated and continue to be further developed.

Our Teaching and Learning Mission Statement emphasizes the alliance of excellent research and teaching from the outset. It is important to us to involve students in research at an early stage and to promote an academic habitus. Anyone who has completed a degree programme with us will approach the world with critical curiosity.

Teacher training

With around 11,000 students in this field, the University of Cologne is one of the largest educational institutions for teachers in Europe. The training programme covers all school types and subjects. We offer teacher training that is based on first-class research and combined with extensive expertise in teaching methods, educational science and intersectional or socially relevant topics.