Higher-education establishments and vocational academies

Universities

The university landscape in Lower Saxony is very diverse and includes a wide selection of educational institutions that offer outstanding courses in various disciplines. It is also characterized by its excellent research activities, close connections to industry and its international exchange programs.

In total, there are 20 universities under state responsibility in Lower Saxony, including 13 universities and equivalent universities, including two artistic universities, with scientifically oriented study programs and excellent research opportunities. The Leibniz University of Hanover, founded in 1831, and the University of Göttingen, founded in 1737, are the two largest universities in Lower Saxony, each with almost 30,000 students.

The 15 technical colleges, including seven under state responsibility, are characterized above all by practical research and teaching.

There are also academies of cooperative education (vocational academies) in Lower Saxony that provide at least three years of science-related and practice-oriented cooperative training.

An overview of Lower Saxony's universities:

Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig
Technische Universität Clausthal
Georg-August Universität Göttingen
Universitätsmedizin Göttingen
Leibniz Universität Hannover
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover
Universität Hildesheim
Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Universität Osnabrück
Universität Vechta
Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Also: Niedersächsische Technische Hochschule

Universities of Applied Sciences

Of Lower Saxony's Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen, FH), seven are state-run or endowment-based establishments and six are state-approved private institutions. Courses at a Fachhochschule are geared to a specific occupational field; they are less theoretical and more practically-based than a university degree.

An overview of Lower Saxony's state-run, endowment-based and non-state Fachhochschulen:

Fachhochschule Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel (Ostfalia)
Fachhochschule Hannover
Fachhochschule Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen (HAWK)
Fachhochschule Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth
Fachhochschule Emden/Leer
Fachhochschule Wilhelmshaven/Osnabrück/Elsfleth (Jade Hochschule)
Leibniz Fachhochschule Hannover
Leibniz Akademie
Norddeutsche Fachhochschule für Rechtspflege
Hochschule 21, Buxtehude
PFH Private Fachhochschule Göttingen
Fachhochschule für die Wirtschaft Hannover
Hochschule für Künste im Sozialen, Ottersberg
Private Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft und Technik Vechta/Diepholz
Kommunale Fachhochschule für Verwaltung in Niedersachsen
Fachhochschule für interkulturelle Theologie Hermannsburg

Vocational academies

Vocational academies (Berufsakademien) are privately funded institutions that are chiefly supported by industry. They combine academic studies with practical vocational training. Courses tend to last three years; the theoretical part is taught at the Berufsakademien, with practical training taking place in companies (dual training). Now that their courses have been successfully accredited, they are entitled to awarded Bachelor degrees with the same status as equivalent higher-education degrees.

An overview of Lower Saxony's Berufsakademien:

Students in front of the main building at the Technical University of Brunswick