While the classic university is dedicated to pure science and scholarship and covers the entire spectrum from ancient studies through to economics, the technical universities (TU) focus on engineering and the natural sciences. The TUs have a sterling reputation as the forges of German engineering know-how and are especially popular among foreign students.

Since the late 1960s, another special institution has evolved in the German education system: the university of the applied sciences (FH). Almost a third of all students in Germany attend a FH, or a so-called vocational academy as it is known in some German states – these collaborate closely with corporations. Students are attracted to the universities of the applied sciences above all by the fact that the track to a job is shorter – an FH degree course lasts three years as a rule – and the curriculum is more practically oriented. Stringently organized courses and regular examinations ensure that the average time spent obtaining a degree is less. This does not mean that there is any shortfall in scholarship – the approx. 200 universities of the applied sciences also conduct research, albeit with a strong focus on potential applications and industry’s needs.