Facts and Figures

© Stefan Hense

How many students has RWTH Aachen had over so many years? How many employees at the university make sure that everything goes smoothly from enrollment to research proposals? The university summarizes current statistics, trends, and developments.  

RWTH Key Data

Academics in Winter Semester 2021/22

• 47,269 Students in the winter semester of 2021/22
• 6,145 Students in the first core semester for a Bachelor's degree, Bachelor's Teacher Training Programs or Medicine/Dentistry Staatsexamen
• 2,814 Students in the first core semester for a Master's degree or Master's Teacher Training
• 170 Courses of study – of which 16 are private courses of study
• 13,354 International students from 138 countries
• 7,344 Graduates in the 2021 academic year, that is winter semester 2020/21 and summer semester 2021

Staff 2021

• 553 Professors as of December 31, 2021
• 6,240 Other academic staff (including externally funded staff)
• 2,961 Non-faculty staff (including externally funded staff)
• 496 Trainees

Institutions 2021

• 9 Faculties
• 260 Institutes
• 22 Collaborative Research Centers and Transregios
• 39 Research Training Programs (including 15 DFG Research Training Groups)

“Excellence Strategy" Competition of the German Federal and State Governments

• 3 Clusters of Excellence:
  • The Fuel Science Center – FSC
  • Internet of Production – IoP
  • Matter and Light for Quantum Computing – ML4Q. A joint project between the University of Cologne (coordinating university), RWTH, the University of Bonn, and Forschungszentrum Jülich.
• Excellence University RWTH: "The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology – Knowledge. Impact. Networks."

Annual Budget 2021

• 1,108 Million Euros in total annual budget, including
• 422 Million Euros in external funding

Table of Figures

The Table of Figures presents the University with key data from the previous academic and financial year. It serves the generation of the necessary transparency of the University both within internally and externally, while forming the basis for the differentiated controlling instruments of the University, which are important "building blocks" of the modern university management.

Quality Assurance and Increase of Excellence

The information compiled in the report are intended to support the Rectorate, the faculties and the University committees in decision-making issues. Information from the Table of Figures is increasingly needed for external university matters, such as accreditation or the establishment of rankings. The Table of Figures therefore makes a valuable contribution to quality assurance and enhancement of excellence of RWTH Aachen University.

Ranking Report

University comparisons through rankings have long been established and accepted in the English-speaking world. In Germany, the first university rankings appeared at the end of the 1980s and have since been published by various journals, magazines, and public opinion research institutes in increasing numbers and spending more time and effort. University rankings are also gaining acceptance in Germany, and prospective students increasingly use them to decide where to study.

The Rankingreport, a German-language document, provides an overview of RWTH Aachen University's performance in the university rankings in recent years. It shows the ranking results according to the ranking organization.