Overview
- The Exzellenzkommission announced on Friday, October 2, 2026, that Freiburg, Jena and Köln plus two university alliances were selected, bringing the national total of Exzellenzuniversities and verbünde to 15.
- The program channels about €687 million a year; single universities will get roughly €10–15 million annually while alliances receive €15–28 million, and the Rhein‑Main‑Universitäten are slated to receive up to €155 million over seven years.
- Selection followed a multi‑stage review of cluster awards, international peer review and site visits, and the final decision was taken by a 39‑member Exzellenzkommission made up of international experts and the science ministers of the federation and Länder.
- Several high‑profile applicants did not win this round, including Hannover, Bremen/Oldenburg, Kiel, Gießen/Marburg and Würzburg, and winners must pass scientific evaluations every seven years to keep funding.
- The new designations alter regional research maps—Jena is Thüringen’s first Exzellenzuniversität and the RMU marks the first Hessian entry—while critics warn the concentrated funding can widen gaps across Germany’s higher‑education system.