Aalen University

Aalen University of Applied Sciences - not just at the top of the alphabet

Founded in 1963 as a state engineering school and transformed into a university of applied sciences in 1971, Aalen University of Applied Sciences – Aalen UAS – is nowadays the most important academic institution in the region East Württemberg, not far from the southern metropolises like Stuttgart and Munich.

Aalen is a city with long Roman history. The Romans built their frontier, the Limes, not far from Aalen and erected the largest cavalry fort north of the Alps. The site is included in the UNESCO world heritage sites. Later, Aalen’s region was a centre of industrialization in Germany. Aalen is home to one of the oldest industrial companies in Germany; “Schwäbische Hüttenwerke” was founded in 1365 due to the iron mining in the region. Even today, this pioneering spirit, creativity and inventiveness are shaping the professional life of the area of East Württemberg. Here, the amount of hidden champions is twice as high as in the rest of Germany. Moreover, East Württemberg is one of the leaders in terms of registered patents and innovations within Germany.

Aalen UAS currently hosts nearly 6,000 students studying in the university's five faculties, which are Chemistry, Electronics & Computing Science, Management & Business Sciences, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Technologies and Optics & Mechatronics. The main characteristic of universities of applied sciences ("Hochschulen") like Aalen UAS is that they relate theoretical knowledge to practical experience outside of the academic environment. Professors at universities of applied sciences have a strong professional background and are thus in a position to provide students with excellent links to companies. Over 50 Bachelor and Master Programmes guarantee a scientifically sound and practice-oriented education.

All laboratory research projects emphasize the application of theoretical knowledge to concrete problems. The curriculum is highly structured and students - who work in small groups - have to take regularly scheduled examinations throughout the semesters. A study course at Aalen UAS for the Bachelor degree requires seven semesters. Three to four semesters are required for a Master degree.

For many years, Aalen UAS has been one of the most research-extensive universities of applied sciences in Germany. Researcher teams contribute to areas such as IT security and biomedicine for cancer research, study super magnets to extend the service life of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, work on resource-oriented energy concepts and forward autonomous driving and industry 4.0.

Aalen UAS is constantly strengthening its top position in teaching as well. It ranks first in economics and third in mechanical engineering in Germany (out of 102 universities of applied sciences).

Ten percent of the overall student population at Aalen UAS consists of international students coming from more than 60 different countries. Aalen UAS is a modern university where academic excellence in both teaching and research is a standard not to be compromised. This fact is confirmed by the numerous technology transfer centres of the institution, the library, which is very well stocked in the engineering sciences, for instance, and the scientific facilities, which are equipped with the very latest technology. A successful Innovation Centre is strongly linked to Aalen UAS and located on the Campus; the number of Start Ups is increasing constantly.