A Technische Hochschule (, plural: Technische Hochschulen, abbreviated TH) is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (), and Finland (, ). In the 1970s (in Germany) and the 1980s (in the Netherlands), the Technische Hochschule emerged into the (German) or (Dutch). Since 2009, several German universities of applied sciences were renamed as .

Terminology

In German-language countries, the term Hochschule is more general than Universität (plural: Universitäten) and also encompasses universities which do not have the right to confer doctorates and habilitations, in contrast to Universitäten. Today, Universitäten as well as other Hochschulen call themselves Technische Hochschule for historical reasons. However, a Technische Hochschule with the status of a Universität is regarded as a Technische Universität despite the name.

History

Since the Middle Ages, higher education institutions in Europe were called a university only if a certain classical canon of subjects encompassing philosophy, medicine, law and theology was taught. When engineering sciences became more important in academica due to the Industrial Revolution, institutions of tertiary education devoted to these were denied the prestigious denomination "university", and had to use the more general term Hochschule instead.

It was a major breakthrough, then, when in the first half of the 20th century, some Technische Hochschulen in Germany and Technische Hogescholen in the Netherlands were given the right to award the doctoral degrees, and again later when they were allowed to call themselves universities. This change of status was accompanied by a broader spectrum of academic disciplines and more fundamental research.

While most former Technische Hochschulen opted to change their name to Technische Universität to reflect their new status, some of them preferred to maintain their traditional and established names, most notably the RWTH Aachen University in Germany as well as ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne in Switzerland.

Starting in 2009, several German universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) with a technical focus have changed their names to Technische Hochschule.

In Austria

List of Austrian Technische Universitäten by location:

Institution Established City State Staff Students Technische Universität Graz 1811 Graz Styria 2,256 12,692 Technische Universität Wien 1815 Vienna Vienna 4,078 26,218

In Finland

The concept of a TH exists also in Finland as teknillinen korkeakoulu, which is equivalent to a TH. Examples include Teknillinen korkeakoulu in Espoo, Tampereen teknillinen korkeakoulu and Lappeenrannan teknillinen korkeakoulu. Similarly to German-speaking countries, most of them later changed their name to teknillinen yliopisto, which is equivalent to a TU. However, Teknillinen korkeakoulu retained its old name until it merged with two other universities to form the current Aalto University.

In Germany

List of German Technische Universitäten by location:

Institution Established City State Staff Students RWTH Aachen University 1870 Aachen North Rhine-Westphalia 8,047 40,025 Technische Universität Berlin 1770 Berlin Berlin 8,302 31,427 Brandenburg University of Technology 1745 Braunschweig Lower Saxony 5,550 15,500 Chemnitz University of Technology 1836 Chemnitz Saxony 1,185 10,850 Clausthal University of Technology 1775 Clausthal-Zellerfeld Lower Saxony 1,000 4,080 Brandenburg University of Technology 2013 Cottbus Brandenburg 1,218 10,310 Technical University of Darmstadt 1877 Darmstadt Hesse 4,122 24,305 Technical University of Dortmund 1968 Dortmund North Rhine-Westphalia 3,867 29,672 Dresden University of Technology 1828 Dresden Saxony 7,094 36,534 Freiberg University of Mining and Technology 1765 Freiberg Saxony 1,540 5,455 Hamburg University of Technology 1978 Hamburg Hamburg 1,150 6,678 HafenCity University Hamburg 2006 Hamburg Hamburg 504 2,304 Leibniz University Hannover 1831 Hannover Lower Saxony 4,290 22,236 Technische Universität Ilmenau 1894 Ilmenau Thuringia 2,021 6,909 Technical University of Kaiserslautern 1970 Kaiserslautern Rhineland-Palatinate 1,124 14,184 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 1825 Karlsruhe Baden-Württemberg 9,251 22,146 Technical University of Munich 1868 Munich Bavaria 8,351 52,000 University of Stuttgart 1829 Stuttgart Baden-Württemberg 4,946 27,686University of Technology Nuremberg2021Nuremberg Bavaria 20106 List of Technische Hochschulen (institutions with the status of Technische Universität not included) by location: InstitutionEstablishedrenamed Technische HochschuleCityStateStaffStudentsOstbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden19942013Amberg, WeidenBavaria3253,500Technische Hochschule Aschaffenburg19952019AschaffenburgBavaria?3.374 Technische Hochschule Bingen19712016Bingen am RheinRhineland-Palatinate2122,628Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola18162016BochumNorth Rhine-Westphalia2522,279Technische Hochschule Brandenburg19922016Brandenburg an der HavelBrandenburg2402,616Technische Hochschule Deggendorf19942013DeggendorfBavaria5525,700Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt19942013IngolstadtBavaria4505,200Technische Hochschule Köln19712015CologneNorth Rhine-Westphalia1,62024,818Technische Hochschule Lübeck19692018LübeckSchleswig-Holstein4414,689Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen19712010Giessen, Friedberg, WetzlarHesse1,00016,044Technische Hochschule Nürnberg19712013NurembergBavaria1,85512,234Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe19712019Lemgo, Detmold, HöxterNorth Rhine-Westphalia7156,544Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg19712013RegensburgBavaria69011,000Technische Hochschule Rosenheim19712018RosenheimBavaria5005,901Technische Hochschule Ulm19602019UlmBaden-Württemberg120 professors4,125Technische Hochschule Wildau19912009WildauBrandenburg3354,152Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt19712023Würzburg, SchweinfurtBayern7959,322

In Switzerland

List of Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology by location:

Institution Established City Staff Students École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 1853 Lausanne 4,000 9,000 Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich 1855 Zürich 10,242 17,781

In the Netherlands

List of Universities of Technology (Technische Universiteiten) in the Netherlands:

Institution Established City Staff Students Delft University of Technology 1842 Delft 7,265 26,424 Eindhoven University of Technology 1956 Eindhoven 3,200 12,926

4TU is the federation of the four Dutch universities of technology with the following institutions as members: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), University of Twente (UT), and Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR).

See also TU9 German Institutes of Technology e. V. List of universities in Germany

References