Located in Bavaria, Friedrich-Alexander University or popularly known as FAU, is one of the leading German universities in the field of research and international links. The university was founded in 1742, in Bayreuth by Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. The University was moved to Erlangen in 1743. The university has its campuses in Erlangen and Nuremberg. In 1972, the School of Education of Nuremberg became part of this university as well, resulting in the name of Erlangen–Nürnberg University.

The University of Erlangen-Nuremberg is one of the top 10 comprehensive research universities in Germany and an attractive institute for many foreigners who wish to study in Germany. Currently, FAU has 12% of its total intake as international students. It is the second largest public university in the state of Bavaria, Germany. Renowned for interdisciplinary approaches, the university is home to approximately 40,000 students.

FAU Rankings

Erlangen–Nürnberg University is ranked

  • 216th globally and 17th among all the German universities according to CWUR
  • 317th among all the world universities according to QS4
  • second among German universities in Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences group for the year 2014 as per ARWU

Highlights

Established 1743
Type Public
Campus setting Urban
Total enrollment 38,494
Total number of degree programs 261
Total number of professors 579
Application fee Free
Budget 543.1 million EUR
For general inquiry +49 9131 85-0
Admission helpdesk ibz.fau.de
Contact International Student Counsellor +49 9131 85-65144 | peter.forna@fau.de

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Campus

  • The university comprises five faculties across academic disciplines ranging from engineering to social sciences and Business Administration.
  • The university has one of its campuses in Busan, South Korea and is the first university in Germany to do so.
  • The university is split across three cities, Erlangen and Nuremberg and Furth.
  • Among all other premises, the state-of-the-art library of the University is a great source of attraction with a huge collection of 5,00,000 volumes of books. It is the biggest library in Bavaria.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Residence

  • The FAU can’t provide housing but it works closely with the student union to help out students with finding a place to accommodate.
  • However, international students can always find accommodation while studying in Germany through other sources.
  • There are a large number of options available for the students for short term or long term stays in and around the University.
  • The German Student Union offers a lot of information and tips for finding an apartment by which it becomes easier for students to search for a place to stay during their study.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Programs

  • FAU is a supreme destination for education in Germany with its five faculties.
  • These five faculties are 
    • Faculty of Philosophy and Theology
    • Faculty of Science
    • Faculty of Law and Economics
    • Technical Faculty
    • Medical School
  • Around 250 degree programs are available at FAU, including 78 undergraduate programs, 88 masters, and 90 state-examination programs.
  • It offers Admission-restricted as well as Admission-free courses for the students.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Admission Process

Like all other German Universities, the students have to get their previous educational degrees recognized according to the German status. After this, students have to choose a program to apply for. As most of the courses are taught in German therefore students have to have a good knowledge of German language. The application process for getting admission at FAU is given below in a brief manner.

Application deadline: Application deadlines vary program to program. Students are advised to go through the websites of each program very carefully.

Application portal: Online portal

Application fee: None

Admission requirements:

The general requirements of documents needed to be sent via post along with the application form are mentioned below:

  • Required diploma/degree as per the program
  • German language test verification certificate
  • School leaving certificate (certified copy)
  • Official translation of the School Leaving Certificate (certified copy)
  • University Degree Certificate and Diploma Supplement - if already available (certified copy)
  • Official translation of the University Degree Certificate and Diploma Supplement (certified copy
  • Complete Academic Report/Transcript of Records (certified copy)
  • Official translation of the Complete Academic Report/Transcript of Records (certified copy
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Language certificate (simple copy)
  • Supporting documents (varies from program to program. Can be found in the websites of individual programs)

For some master’s degree courses, it is mandatory to upload the documents only via online mode.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Cost of Attendance

  • Students don’t have to pay any tuition fees.
  • A semester fee is needed to be paid by the students to access the privilege of free public transportation in the VGN network. 
  • This semester fee for the winter semester of 2023/24 is priced up at 127 EUR for those who want only the basic semester ticket and 207 EUR for those who would like to get the additional voluntary ticket.
  • Students should maintain a budget of around 900 EUR per month for a sustainable life in the city.
  • This is needed for health insurance, rents, buy essentials, etc. 
  • The breakdown of this cost is shown in the below table.
Expenses Cost in EUR
Rent including utilities 325
Food 168
Clothing 42
Learning materials 20
Transportation 94
Health insurance/medicine 80
Telephone/internet 31
Leisure/cultural/sport 61

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Financial Aid

  • There are many options to fund studying in Germany. These include both institutional and sponsored options.
  • FAY has a wide range of funding opportunities for the students of FAU. 
  • Not only about merit, some scholarships are targeted at students related to certain cultural, political, religious, and social activities as well.
  • Every year, an annual scholarship of 3600 EUR is awarded to the students whose academic background is excellent. Students whose grades are no less than 2.0 can apply to these schemes on the online portal of the scholarship.
  • Students enrolled in master’s and state examination programs can receive the graduation grants offered by the Bavarian state to the international students.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Placements

  • In the job portal of the University, companies and private sectors can get in touch with the students.
  • At the ‘Exclusive Company Event’, companies have the opportunity to present themselves and get to know up to 20 students personally.

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Alumni

Notable alumni of FAU include:

  • Emil Fischer, Nobel prize in chemistry 
  • Dr. Siegfried Balleis, former mayor of the city of Erlangen
  • Dr. Günther Beckstein retired Bavarian Prime Minister
  • Heide and Horst Feldmeier, founders of Dr. Jutta Feldmeier Foundation.