Technische Universität Darmstadt
The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt,[4] sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt, Germany. It was founded in 1877 and received the right to award doctorates in 1899.[5] In 1882, it was the first university in the world to set up a chair in electrical engineering. In 1883, the university founded the first faculty of electrical engineering and introduced the world's first degree course in electrical engineering.[6][7] In 2004, it became the first German university to be declared as an autonomous university.[8] TU Darmstadt has assumed a pioneering role in Germany. Computer science, electrical engineering, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, business informatics, political science and many more courses were introduced as scientific disciplines in Germany by Darmstadt faculty.[6][9][10][11][12]
Not to be confused with Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
Former names
Technische Hochschule Darmstadt
1877[1]
€454.3 million (2018)[2]
2,593[2]
1,909[2]
25,889[2]
49°52′30″N 08°39′23″E / 49.87500°N 8.65639°E (inner city)
49°51′40″N 8°40′50″E / 49.86113°N 8.68056°E (Lichtwiese)
Urban/Suburban
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Goethe University Frankfurt and the Technische Universität Darmstadt together form the Rhine-Main-Universities (RMU). TU Darmstadt is a member of TU9, a network of the most notable German Technische Universitäten (universities of technology) and of the EU-supported European University Alliance Unite! (University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering).[13]
TU Darmstadt is a location of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence[14] and seat of the Hessian Center for Articifical Intelligence.[15] TU Darmstadt is a member of the Darmstadt-based ATHENE-Center, the largest research institute for applied cybersecurity in Europe.[16] The university is located in the IT cluster Rhine-Main-Neckar, the "Silicon Valley of Germany".
Graduates of TU Darmstadt include Nobel Prize winners, entrepreneurs, managers, billionaires and politicians. As of September 2019, the university is associated with 4 Nobel laureates and 3 Wolf Prize in Physics laureates. For several years, TU Darmstadt has been one of the universities with the most top managers in the German economy. The university is currently among the top 3.[17][18] The graduates include Oliver Zipse, Peter Grünberg, Chaim Weizmann and John Tu.[19]
Academic profile[edit]
Departments[edit]
Typical for a university of technology, ten out of its 13 academic departments (Fachbereiche, FB) are in engineering, natural sciences, and mathematics, while three departments are in the social sciences and the humanities. The departments (with number of the department) are:[49]
Altes Hauptgebäude of TU Darmstadt, 2008
Kantplatz, Darmstadt, 2007
Darmstadt former Ducal Palace, now part of TU Darmstadt, with market square
Campus Square, Inner City Campus of TU Darmstadt, with University Library and sculpture "Büste" by Franz Bernhard
Main Entrance and Administrative Building, City Campus TU Darmstadt 2018
Internationality[edit]
With 18% (2017),[50] the percentage of international students at TU Darmstadt is clearly higher than the average of German universities of 13% (2017/18).[103] TU Darmstadt maintains partnership agreements with over 300 universities in 53 countries world-wide, which enable students to come to TU Darmstadt and to go abroad within their course of studies.[104][105] For example, the Technische Universität Darmstadt has partnerships with the University of California, Berkeley, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Nanyang Technological University, Tsinghua University and Seoul National University.[106] With Tongji University Shanghai, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Graz University of Technology, TU Darmstadt has developed strategic partnerships.[107]
The Technische Universität Darmstadt has been awarded the title "European University" by the European Commission. Together with 6 other European technical universities, TU Darmstadt has formed the alliance UNITE! (University Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering). The aim of the project is to create a trans-European campus, to introduce trans-European curricula, to promote scientific cooperation between the members and to strengthen knowledge transfer between the countries. The alliance includes Aalto University, the Royal Institute of Technology, the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, the Polytechnic University of Turin, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and the University of Lisbon.[108]
The university offers international (English-language) Master's programs[109] and a broad range of double degree programs.[110] The Joint Master Programme "International Cooperation in Urban Development (Mundus Urbano)" is offered together with Université Pierre Mendès-France, International University of Catalonia, and Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata as part of the Erasmus Mundus programme of the European Commission.[111]
TU Darmstadt is a member of the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research.[112][5]
Student life[edit]
Activities[edit]
TU Darmstadt offers various recreational sports courses and operates three sports halls, a sports stadium including various fields, a swimming pool, and a fitness studio. TU Darmstadt won the university competition of the German Olympic Sports Confederation for the third time in succession and has since been awarded the title of the most athletic university in Germany.[113] There are manifold accredited student groups, ranging from the Formula SAE TU Darmstadt Racing Team (DART), TU Darmstadt Space Technology (TUDSaT), Akaflieg Darmstadt, and Chaos Computer Club to a theater group, an orchestra, and the campus radio AudioMax.[114] The annual job fair konaktiva, which connects approximately 10,000 students with potential employers, is organized by volunteer students.[115]
Students' representation[edit]
Students at TU Darmstadt are represented by the students' parliament (Studierendenparlament, StuPa), which is elected annually and in turn elects the General Students' Committee (Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss, AStA). The AStA is the students' government and engages in university politics and provides social and economic counseling for students. Moreover, it runs the café 60,3qm ("60.3 square meters"), a beer garden and a club in the Ducal Palace, a store for office supplies, and a bicycle garage. In addition to the regular university curriculum, students can attend various non-credit courses held by students and coordinated by the AStA.
Complementing the General Students' Committee, which represents all students enrolled at TU Darmstadt, the students of each department (Fachschaft) are represented by an elected students' council (Fachschaftsrat). Students of the Fachschaft participate in a number of committees of their department, such as the department's council (Fachbereichsrat), which consists of professors, students, academic staff and administrative staff.
Legends[edit]
Since the 1970s, the fictitious student Fritz Filter passed numerous examinations at the Department of Architecture before graduating with a Diplom degree in 2004. His thesis featured the design of the department building. Fritz Filter turned in multiple further architecture theses since then.[116]
Housing[edit]
According to a survey determined in 2016, students in Darmstadt paid an arithmetic mean of 348 euros a month for rent, heat and utilities. With the German average being 323 euros at the time, this made Darmstadt the ninth most expensive city for students in Germany.[117] This value only includes students who live alone, are not married and are pursuing their first degree.[118] In 2016, on national average, approximately 20% lived with their parents, 12% lived in a hall of residence, 1% were lodgers, 30% were sharing a flat with others, 17% were living alone and 21% were sharing a flat with their partner.[117] There are about 2600 beds in 10 halls of residence offered by the state-run student affairs organization Studierendenwerk Darmstadt for students of TU Darmstadt and the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.[119]
(in English and German)
