Policy

Berlin is international – and so are higher education and research. International students, doctoral candidates, scholars and scientists in the early stages of their careers, and professors all find excellent teaching and research here in Berlin. More information

Berlin is a very diverse city in which people of different worldviews, cultural backgrounds, origins, and religions live together and study together. Information for refugees who might want to enroll in a college or university is available here. More information

Higher education and research are part of Berlin’s history as well as its future. Our “Brain City Berlin” guidelines describe not only the basics of our plan to take higher education and research to the next level. Rather, the “Berlin Brain City Agenda” also cites specific ideas and projects. More information

Since 1997, basic funding for Berlin’s institutions of higher education has been regulated in medium-term contracts entered into by the federal state of Berlin and the institutions. Non-university research institutes are generally funded jointly by the federal government and the state government. More information

Higher education in Berlin is diverse, excellent, international, and innovative. A total of eleven public institutions of higher education cover the entire disciplinary spectrum, and Berlin has taken a systematic approach to promoting their success for many years now. More information

Equal opportunity is integral to the laws on higher education and the contracts with colleges and universities. The Senate has actively created incentives for the universities to anchor gender equality in the higher education system. More information

Digital technologies offer Berlin, as an innovative and smart capital city, enormous opportunities. The federal state of Berlin recognizes the possibilities and is using specific policies to enhance them. More information

Berlin has a unique concentration of higher education and research institutions, with great diversity in its strong colleges and universities and its broad spectrum of outstanding research institutes. More information

Berlin was a standout in the Excellence Initiative sponsored by Germany’s federal government and its federal states, outperforming the other German states in this competition. Information on the follow-up program, the Excellence Strategy, is available here. More information