11 Mar 2026
As part of the nationwide Excellence Strategy launched by the federal and state governments, LMU has once again distinguished itself and solidified its status as one of Europe’s leading research universities.
LMU has received continuous funding since the Excellence Initiative began in 2006. Now it is once again solidifying its role as Germany’s leading comprehensive university. “This is a major achievement for LMU and Munich as a center of science!” says University President Prof. Dr. Matthias H. Tschöp. “I would like to extend my special thanks to the researchers and staff, as they laid the groundwork for this renewed recognition long ago.” The foundation for this outstanding performance is the long-term strategic program LMUexcellent – A New Perspective.
Bavaria’s Minister of Science Markus Blume offers his congratulations: “An outstanding distinction for Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich: The fact that our largest Bavarian university has held the title of ‘University of Excellence’ without interruption since the program’s inception is no coincidence, but rather a testament to its exceptional academic strength. LMU sets standards both nationally and in Europe. As a true comprehensive university, it combines an impressive breadth of subjects with excellent depth of research. It truly comes into its own at the intersections of disciplines. From medicine to the natural and life sciences to the humanities—this is where ideas are born that transcend boundaries, spur bold innovations, and provide answers to the big questions of our time. LMU shines with Nobel laureates as well as with outstanding newcomers. Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to the researchers and the university leadership for their outstanding work and this consistently exceptional performance. LMU is an absolute flagship for Bavaria—for home and high-tech.”
“We will now significantly strengthen our international profile as a leading comprehensive university in the EU, even amid rapidly changing conditions. To this end, we will expand our interdisciplinary strengths and our strong collaborations with the Technical University of Munich and international partners, while simultaneously striving to attract the world’s most outstanding minds to LMU,” emphasizes Tschöp, explaining: “We want to translate our scientific discoveries even more effectively into solutions for key challenges—including societal ones. Our status as a Center of Excellence gives us further momentum in all of this.”
The university’s status as a Center of Excellence is also underpinned by the seven Clusters of Excellence successfully secured by LMU in 2025, one of which is in the humanities—a unique selling point for LMU. “For years, our humanities have ranked among the world’s best in international rankings and are the highest-ranked subject group at LMU—something of which we are exceptionally proud. The new Cross-Cultural Philology cluster highlights this strength and serves as a starting point for further strengthening the humanities on this foundation and linking them even more closely with the full range of disciplines at LMU in the future, so that together we can address the complex challenges facing our society,” says Tschöp.
In terms of academic focus, LMU is sharpening its profile across six future-oriented fields: Digits and Data, Earth and Environment, Languages and Cultures, Life and Health, Physics, and Systems and Communities. Strategic investments in data science and artificial intelligence are providing particular impetus in this regard. Early research-oriented training for an international student body, the expansion of global partnerships, and targeted campus development ensure LMU’s long-term competitiveness. Together with Munich’s second University of Excellence, TUM, further potential for synergy in cooperation and close exchange is now to be systematically exploited as part of the “One Munich Strategy.”
With this positive decision, the international panel of experts and the Joint Science Conference recognize the university’s outstanding research achievements, sustainable strategic development, and excellent support for early-career researchers. “This renewed recognition confirms our consistent focus on world-class international research and scientific innovation,” says Tschöp.
Statement by Matthias H. Tschöp, President of LMU
2 min | 12 Mar 2026
Under the ‘Universities of Excellence’ funding scheme run by the federal and state governments, ten universities and one university consortium were funded as centres of excellence between 2019 and 2026. The aim of this funding is to support them in building on their leading international position in research, building on the success of existing clusters of excellence. The Excellence Commission decides on the funding of applications. It consists of the Committee of Experts and the federal and state ministers responsible for science. As the only comprehensive university and one of only two universities in Germany, LMU has been continuously funded as a University of Excellence since the start of the German Excellence Competitions in 2006. Most recently, it was successful in the Excellence Strategy with a total of seven clusters of excellence. These are: