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Excellence strategy (2019 – 2025)
Universities of Excellence and Clusters of Excellence: The first funding round of the Excellence Strategy

Scientists discussing

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The Excellence Strategy (ExStra) emerged from the Excellence Initiative. Read here which Universities of Excellence and Clusters of Excellence were funded in the first funding round (2019 to 2025).

Updated: 2025-05-20

By:
Maike Schade ,
Anke Wilde
Academic career in Germany Professor in Germany Postdoc in Germany PhD in Germany ExStra

The first funding round (2019 to 2025)

In the first round of ‘ExStra’ funding, the Clusters of Excellence will receive 385 million euros per year until December 2025 and the Universities of Excellence will receive 148 million euros.

Clusters of Excellence receive funding of between 3 and 10 million euros per year, which includes a programme allowance of 22 percent. This programme allowance (overhead) covers indirect project expenditure, such as for additional staff, premises and infrastructure. In addition, it is possible to apply for a university lump sum of up to one million euros per year to strengthen governance and strategic orientation by the university management.

Universities of excellence receive between 10 and 15 million euros per year, while alliances receive between 15 and 28 million euros. Funding is provided for the personnel, material and investment costs required to implement the overall strategy. No additional programme and university lump sums are provided for Universities of Excellence - these costs are considered to be covered by the additional funding as a University of Excellence.

What is the Excellence Strategy (ExStra)?

The Excellence Strategy aims to strengthen outstanding research projects at universities and increase their visibility in international comparison. It emerged from the Excellence Initiative funding programme, which was evaluated positively. Further information can be found in the guide ‘What is the Excellence Strategy?’

Clusters of Excellence

City University Cluster of Excellence

Berlin

Technische Universität Berlin, ܳDZ-Ծä

Science of Intelligence (SCIoI)

Cologne, Aachen, Bonn

Universität zu Köln, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Materie und Licht für Quanteninformation (ML4Q)

Berlin

Technische Universität Berlin

UniSysCat

Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin

Temporal Communities. Literatur als Praxis in globaler Perspektive

Aachen

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule

Internet of Production (IoP)

Berlin

ܳDZ-Ծä

Matters of Activity. Image Space Material

Gießen, Frankfurt

Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main

Cardio-Pulmonary Institute (CPI)

Cologne

Universität zu Köln

CECAD - Exzellent in Alternsforschung

Bochum

Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Technische Universität Dortmund

RESOLV (Ruhr Explores Solvation)

Konstanz

Universität Konstanz

Die politische Dimension von Ungleichheit: Wahrnehmungen, Partizipation und Policies

Bonn

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS)

Hamburg

Universität Hamburg

Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS)

üԲٱ

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität üԲٱ

Mathematik üԲٱ: Dynamik – Geometrie – Struktur

Berlin

Technische Universität Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin

MATH+: Berlin Mathematics Research Center

Bonn

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM)

Düsseldorf, Köln

Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universität zu Köln

CEPLAS - Exzellenzcluster für Pflanzenwissenschaften

Berlin

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Freie Universität und ܳDZ-Ծä gemeinsam)

NeuroCure

Dresden

Technische Universität Dresden

Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI)

Jena

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Balance of the Microverse

Bayreuth

Universität Bayreuth

Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies

Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin

Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)

Hamburg

Universität Hamburg

CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter

üԲٱ

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität üԲٱ

Religion und Politik. Dynamiken von Tradition und Innovation

üԲ

Eberhard Karls Universität üԲ

Maschinelles Lernen: Neue Perspektiven für die Wissenschaft

öٳپԲ

Georg-August-Universität öٳپԲ

Multiscale Bioimaging: Von molekularen Maschinen zu Netzwerken erregbarer Zellen

Dresden

Technische Universität Dresden

Physik des Lebens - Die dynamische Organisation lebender Materie (PoL)

Bonn

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

PhenoRob - Robotik und Phänotypisierung für Nachhaltige Nutzpflanzenproduktion

Stuttgart

Universität Stuttgart

Daten-integrierte Simulationswissenschaft (SimTech)

Bremen

Universität Bremen

Der Ozeanboden – unerforschte Schnittstelle der Erde

Karlsruhe, Heidelberg

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, ܱ𳦳--Ծä Heidelberg

3D Designer Materialien

Garching, Munich

Technische Universität München, ܻɾ-Ѳ澱Բ-Ծä München

e-conversion

Bochum

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Cyber-Sicherheit im Zeitalter großskaliger Angreifer (CASA)

Garching, Munich

ܻɾ-Ѳ澱Բ-Ծä München, Technische Universität München

ORIGINS: Vom Ursprung des Universums bis zu den ersten Bausteinen des Lebens

Garching, Munich

ܻɾ-Ѳ澱Բ-Ծä München, Technische Universität München

Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)

Konstanz

Universität Konstanz

Forschungskolleg Kollektives Verhalten

Mainz

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter (PRISMA+)

Stuttgart

Universität Stuttgart

Integratives computerbasiertes Planen und Bauen für die Architektur

Hamburg

Universität Hamburg

Quantum Universe

Hanover, Braunschweig

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Technische Universität Braunschweig

PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering – Innovation Across Disciplines

Hanover, Braunschweig

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Technische Universität Braunschweig

QuantumFrontiers - Licht und Materie an der Quantengrenze

üԲ

Eberhard Karls Universität üԲ

Kontrolle von Mikroorganismen zur Bekämpfung von Infektionen (CMFI)

Bonn, Köln

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Universität zu Köln

ECONtribute: Märkte & Public Policy

Munich

ܻɾ-Ѳ澱Բ-Ծä, Technische Universität München

Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)

Würzburg, Dresden

Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Technische Universität Dresden

Komplexität und Topologie in Quantenmaterialien (CT.QMAT)

Kiel

پ-𳦳ٲ-Ծä

ROOTS - Social, Environmental, and Cultural Connectivity in Past Societies

Bonn

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität

ImmunoSensation2 - the immune sensory system

Ulm, Karlsruhe

Universität Ulm

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie POLiS - Post Lithium Storage Cluster of Excellence

Hanover

Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

RESIST - Resolving Infection Susceptibility

Braunschweig

Technische Universität Braunschweig

Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation – SE²A

Kiel

پ-𳦳ٲ-Ծä

Präzisionsmedizin für Chronische Entzündungserkrankungen (PMI)

Hamburg

Universität Hamburg

Understanding Written Artefacts

Oldenburg, Hanover

Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover

Hearing4all

üԲ

Eberhard Karls Universität üԲ, Universitätsklinikum üԲ

Individualisierung von Tumortherapien durch molekulare Bildgebung und funktionelle Identifizierung therapeutischer Zielstrukturen (iFIT)

Heidelberg

ܱ𳦳--Ծä

STRUKTUREN: Emergenz in Natur, Mathematik und komplexen Daten

Aachen

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule

Das Fuel Science Center – Adaptive Umwandlungssysteme für erneuerbare Energie- und Kohlenstoffquellen

Freiburg

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

CIBSS - Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies

Freiburg

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

Lebende, adaptive und energieautonome Materialsysteme (livMatS)

Universities of Excellence

City University

Aachen

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule

Bonn

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität

Dresden

Technische Universität

Hamburg

Universität Hamburg

Heidelberg

ܱ𳦳--Ծä

Karlsruhe

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Konstanz

Universität Konstanz

Munich

ܻɾ-Ѳ澱Բ-Ծä

Munich

Technische Universität

üԲ

Eberhard Karls Universität

Allience of Excellence

City Universities

Berlin

Freie Universität, ܳDZ-Ծä, Technische Universität

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