Profile

• Strength in Research
• Focus on Teaching Excellence
• Open for New Ideas
• Science and Research in the interest of society

With 290 professors and 19,000 students, the University of Bremen is a mid-sized university offering a large spectrum of subjects; 100 different study programs organized in 30 academic disciplines. The University was quick to introduce the new structure of Bachelor and Master studies and was awarded the title “Bologna University” by the Standing Conference of the Länder Ministers of Education.

The University of Bremen was founded in 1971. In the course of its relatively short history it has developed into the science center of North West Germany. When it was founded it broke new ground in many ways, earning the label “Bremen Model”. Some of these breakthroughs have now become standard features of modern universities. For instance: interdisciplinarity, research-based learning in projects, and social commitment.

For many years now, the University of Bremen has been among the top league of German universities in the area of research. Since June 2012, the University of Bremen is entitled ‘University of Excellence’. The Excellence Initiative was passed for the first time in 2005 by the German federal and state governments. And the latest Förderatlas [funding atlas] published by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) puts Bremen right at the top among German universities in several categories.

Research conducted at the University of Bremen is interdisciplinary. In other words: Bremen research transcends the borders of traditional disciplines and is embedded within six research concentrations, also known as high-profile areas:

• Ocean and Climate Research
• Materials Science
• Information-Cognition-Communication
• Social Sciences
• Health Science
• Logistics

The University of Bremen numbers among the most successful universities in Germany with regard to acquiring external funding for research projects. In 2010 the University’s scholars and scientists acquired some 91 million euros of research funding ― almost one third of the University’s entire budget. 
More on our research pages

Ever since it was founded, the University of Bremen has purposefully pursued a policy of creating close links between its teaching and research activities. A good example is its approach to studying in projects (“Bremen Model“), which fosters elements of independent research-based learning oriented to societal issues. Today, this is underscored in a number of study elements, the strong orientation to interdisciplinary studies, and the University’s guiding principles. Various surveys, measures, and discussion processes illustrate and confirm that both teaching staff as well as students share a high level of willingness to participate in research-based learning: implementation is facilitated by this culture of internal consensus. Especially characteristic for its teaching profile is the University’s focus on research-based learning at an early stage of studies, the anchoring of a comprehensive program of General Studies in the curriculum, and the supportive integration of e-learning components.

More under Studies and Teaching in Profile.

The young University of Bremen is always open to new developments. For example, within the context of support for young researchers, in 2001 it was the very first university in Germany to introduce a so-called tenure track for "junior professors" (assistant professors), which became known as the “Bremen Perspective”. Junior professors are sure in the knowledge that after six years they will be shortlisted with other external candidates for a full professorship.

Research and finding solutions to pressing social issues has a long tradition at the University of Bremen. This encompasses both fundamental as well as applied research. The University meets its commitment to education and research in the interest of society by entering into close cooperation with public institutions and enterprise, as well as by offering a broad spectrum of services to the community. These open offers range from asthma training for children, through genetic advice, up to public access to its socio-political archives.