We are a classical German university with 45,000 students, among them 3,500 from abroad, in 15 faculties. The WWU combines over 200 years of tradition with modern innovation to provide a unique interdisciplinary education at a top ranked institution. Besides courses in 120 subjects from the humanities, social sciences, medicine & sciences, our students enjoy extracurricular activities & support.
- #185 Ranking
- 11 Masters
- 1,119 Academic Staff
- 28,539 Students
- 1,998 Students (int'l)
- Public Institution Type
Master's Programmes
Computer Science & IT (3)
- Institute for Geoinformatics
- M.Sc. Geospatial TechnologiesInstitute for Geoinformatics
- M.Sc. Information SystemsDepartment of Information Systems
Social Sciences (3)
- M.Sc. Geospatial TechnologiesInstitute for Geoinformatics
Business & Management (2)
Humanities (2)
Natural Sciences & Mathematics (2)
- M.Sc. Mathematics Münster
- M.Sc. Physics
Hospitality, Leisure & Sports (1)
About
History
The establishment of a Jesuit College in 1588 - which offered philosophical and theological lectures - laid the foundations for the University of Münster. While a first attempt to found an official university failed despite papal and imperial privileges due to the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War and financial reasons, the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster was officially founded in 1780.
Education
We combine research and teaching to get our students as close to the action as possible, whether it be through research or practical experience. At the WWU, you’ll benefit from our wide range of programmes, including nationally and internationally top ranked degree courses in Mathematics, Chemistry, Geo Sciences, Communication Sciences (we are among the top 100 universities worldwide in these fields / Shanghai Ranking 2019), Law, and Medicine - to name just a few. Not sure of your German skills? Come and join or study-preparatory German language courses! Or just choose one of our Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes conducted in English.
Research
The WWU performs internationally recognized cutting-edge research in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and life sciences. The participating researchers combine excellent basic research with application-oriented approaches. In addition to three clusters of excellence, the WWU is the spokesperson for eight DFG Collaborative Research Centers. Ten Leibniz Prize winners are currently working on WWU. Around 20 grants from the European Research Council (ERC - Starting, Consolidator and Advanced) and six Max Planck Research Awards underline the high level of science.
Career
For your entry into the job market, our Careers Service assists you with workshops, seminars, and advising before and during the job search process. Our WWU degree provides a foot in the door of top employers worldwide as our graduates regulary confirm.
Global Student Satisfaction Awards 2021
GSSA 2021
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2021. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 8 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
University Ranking
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2023
185 16
2022
201 -6
2021
195
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2022
201 -50
2021
151
2020
151
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2023
219 8
2022
227 9
2021
236
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2023
384 27
2022
411 -55
2021
356
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Services
Student services
Our International Office team advises prospective and current students, scientists and staff who are planning to join our university or who wish to spend time at one of our worldwide partner universities or at any other scientific institution abroad. Our International Centre offers extensive support and organises a variety of cultural events for our international and German students. Our Welcome Centre for international researchers and our Graduate Centre offer diverse services, support for young researchers in their qualification and in career planning as well as cultural and networking events. These are just some of many institutions and centres at the WWU that help making your stay with us a great!
Housing services
As in many German student cities, the main student halls in Münster are run by the Studierendenwerk, a state-run institution. Many students also share flats in Münster - there is a broad offer for a room in "student" flats! But keep in mind that Münster is a very popular city - especially among students - making accommodation not always easy to find. Our International Centre helps prospective international students with finding a suitable place!
Rents in Münster are lower than in many other popular German university cities and the cost of living in Germany is comparatively low.
Library services
Our Central University Library as well as our departmental libraries provide all members of the university, including students and researchers, with literature and information. University members have access to a large number of online research and education resources. The central university library also offers courses on information literacy, i.e. how to use and manage literature and information
ICT services
Whether teaching materials on the Internet or electronic exams, in addition to traditional teaching and study, the WWU offers a wide range of digital services for students and teachers.
Medical services
In Germany, everyone has to have health insurance by law. Students can get affordable health insurance with one of the statutory health insurance companies. Our International Office advices you on how to get a health insurance - or how to get an exemption from the legal obligation in case you do have sufficient health insurance coverage in your home country.
Student Life
Campus life
The University of Münster is not a campus university! As we have grown continuously over the last centuries, our departments are spread all over the city - well, Münster somehow is our campus! Münster is a beautiful, green and lively city of about 320.000 inhabitants in west Germany, and the northern part of its federal state, North-Rhine Westfalia. Münster has a vibrant cultural scene - partly due to its over 70.000 students of one of the 8 institutions of higher education. Münster also hosts one of the most important art exhibitions worldwide - the sculpture project - every 10 year! What else? Well, Münster has won numerous awards for its high quality of live - and a bicycle is the best way to zoom around!
Sports facilities
The university sports offer a versatile sports programme: The spectrum includes not only over 150 different sports, but also attractive sports travel and of course competitions of any kind.
Student clubs
There is a large variety of university groups at the University of Münster where students and employees of the WWU can get involved.
Accreditation
The accreditation of degree programmes has long been the standard procedure for ensuring the quality of individual degree programmes at almost every university in Germany.
Student Reviews
Best time ever!
Anonymous rated 5 out of 5 stars
The university is exceptionally well organised, in particular during Covid. The campus is all over the city centre which is great. The city is not too big and not too small, and the students go everywhere by bike. The uni offers a varity of sports courses so you can try out all sorts of stuff.
Great psychology Master in Münster
Provided by U-Multirank rated 5 out of 5 stars
I´m absolutey content with my studies as they are really hands-on and interesting.
Okay, but not really creating excitement for the subject.
Provided by U-Multirank rated 4 out of 5 stars
Psychology in Münster is alright. Most lecturers try their best (e.g. statistics is alright and General Psychology 2 is really good due to the professor!) to make it interesting and to help you understand the content. However, Münster only has the rather normal focuses like educational, clinical and organisational psychology. If you're interested in business, health,...
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