29. LMU Munich (Germany)

As one of Europe’s leading research universities, LMU Munich is committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching. Building on its 500-year-tradition of scholarship, LMU covers a broad spectrum of disciplines, ranging from the humanities and cultural studies through law, economics and social studies to medicine and the sciences. The know-how and creativity of LMU’s academics form the foundation of the university’s outstanding research record. This is also reflected in LMU’s designation as a “university of excellence” in the context of the Excellence Initiative, a nationwide competition to promote top-level university research.

Some of the most famous figures in modern history spent their salad days at Munich: Richard Strauss, Marie Stopes, Erich Fromm, Konrad Adenauer, Lord Acton and others. Founded in 1472, Munich's flagship university now hosts around 44,000 students pursuing degrees in 150 subjects under the guidance of approximately 700 professors and 3,600 academic staff.

Get an idea of who we are - the university in the heart of Munich. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München is one of the leading research universities in Europe, with a more than 500-year-long tradition. The University is committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching.

LMU Munich has a classical academic profile ranging from the humanities and cultural sciences, law, economics, and social sciences to medicine and natural sciences. The University is divided into 18 faculties and enjoys one of Germany’s finest library systems. Creative thinking, problem-solving and research are central to LMU’s academic programs. With 2,300 beds, its Medical Center is, next to the Charité in Berlin, the most prestigious and largest institution of this kind in Germany.

From distinguished research grant winners to undergraduate students, all members of the LMU Munich community are engaged in generating new knowledge for the benefit of society at large. The University is particularly noted for providing excellent conditions for innovative basic research, both within individual disciplines and through inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations across various fields of knowledge.

LMU Munich has a long tradition as a top-level European research university, clearly demonstrated in its international character and its areas of academic cooperation from research to teaching and student exchange. The university was a founder member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), Venice International University (VIU), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Bavarian International Academic Centers. Within the European Union’s successful mobility and grant programs, LMU Munich takes part in ERASMUS student and lecturer exchange programs, Erasmus Mundus programs, and EU third-country projects.

LMU Munich also cooperates closely with numerous partner universities outside of EU programs. In total, LMU maintains faculty-based cooperation agreements with well over 400 partner universities worldwide which regulate areas from academic contacts and student exchanges to the design of joint degree programs. Collaborations and exchange activities at individual and chair level round off the close-knit international network. In addition, selected strategic research collaborations offer the opportunity for close contacts between institutions and for the establishment of new forms of cooperation. These are funded by the institutional strategy LMUexcellent and serve to underpin LMU Munich’s status at national and international level.

In geographic terms, LMU Munich’s strategy of internationalization observes traditional roots while pursuing current developments in the global academic world. The majority of its contacts and strategic initiatives are based in Europe, followed by North America and Asia. One outcome of this development is a new collaboration project with outstanding Chinese partner Universities, the LMU‑China Academic Network.

LMU Munich is the academic home of almost 7,000 international students from 125 countries, the largest number at any German university and the equivalent of 15 percent of LMU Munich’s student population. Three-quarters of these students come from Europe, 15 percent from Asia, and 6 percent from North and South America. Up to 1,000 students from partner universities enroll at LMU Munich as exchange students for a semester or year. In two junior year programs, around 70 students from North American partner universities spend their third year of studies in Munich, in addition to some 450 attendees of the Munich International Summer University (MISU).

Approximately 1,500 visiting fellows teach and research at LMU Munich, including 90 research fellows of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. LMU Munich’s Mobility Center and range of special services on offer plus the International Center for Science and Humanities in Munich (Internationales Begegnungszentrum der Wissenschaft München e.V., IBZ) also underline the university’s international commitment.

LMU Munich wins a significant volume of outside funding from its commitment to internationality in teaching and research. Apart from the university’s success in raising international third-party funds, many other fields offer funding opportunities which safeguard the competitive edge of its students, alumni, and academics for the future. DAAD alone contributes over four million euros per year in the form of grants to German and international students and international projects, as well as supporting grants to LMU Munich.

Munich, or München in German, is a major center for higher education, research, technology, and the media. LMU, the University in the heart of Munich, forms an integral part of the urban landscape and has campuses throughout the city. Munich is not only Germany’s primary hub for higher education and research, it also has its own inimitable appeal. Its location within easy reach of the Bavarian Alps, its urban flair, its rich palette of cultural institutions and the wide variety of leisure activities available attract visitors from all over the world.