Funding Lines and Schedule of the Excellence Strategy

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• Funding lines
• Video: The Excellence Strategy explained in four minutes
• Schedule

Funding lines

The central aim of the Excellence Strategy is to promote research excellence in internationally competitive areas, to strengthen German universities institutionally and to further develop the German higher education system. Scientists and universities are free to choose their research fields and profile areas.

The Excellence Strategy comprises two funding lines:

• Clusters of Excellence for the project-based funding of internationally competitive research fields in universities or university consortia and
• Universities of Excellence for strengthening universities as individual institutions or as university consortia in the long term and for developing their leading international role based on successful Clusters of Excellence.

Selected Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence as well as university consortia are funded with a total of 533 million euros annually until the end of 2025. From 2026, the total budget will be 539 million euros per year.

The Excellence Strategy explained in four minutes

Schedule

Funding line Clusters of Excellence

The deadline for submitting new and renewal applications for Clusters of Excellence was August 2024. The decision on which Clusters of Excellence receive funding was announced on May 22, 2025. The University Alliance Ruhr has acquired three Clusters of Excellence, but does not meet the requirements to apply in the Universities of Excellence funding line as a consortium of three universities.

Funding for the Clusters of Excellence is planned to begin on January 1, 2026. The funding period will be seven years.

Funding line Universities of Excellence

Individual universities and university consortia planning to submit a proposal in the “Universities of Excellence” funding line must first submit a letter of intent by June 27, 2025 and then a proposal by November 12, 2025. The site visits will take place from April to June 2026. They are an essential part of the evaluation process. At the end of September 2026, the Excellence Commission will make a decision on four new funding cases in this program line. The Universities or Consortia of Excellence that have already received funding will be evaluated prior to that. Funding is planned to begin on January 1, 2027. The funding period is also seven years.