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Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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  • 1825Founded
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  • YesDistance learning

About

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is “The University in the Helmholtz Association.” As the only German university of excellence with a national large-scale research sector, we offer our students, researchers, and employees unique learning, teaching, and working conditions. The roots of the academic education institution extend all the way back to 1825. Today’s structure of KIT is the result of the merger of the Technical University of Karlsruhe and Karlsruhe Research Center in 2009.

Presently, around 10000 people are working at KIT, of which more than half are conducting research in a broad range of disciplines from natural sciences to engineering, to economics, to the humanities and social sciences. This makes KIT one of the largest science institutions in Europe. Apart from excellent academic education and cutting-edge research, innovation is our central task. We do not only create and impart knowledge for the society and the environment, we also use this knowledge to develop applications for industry. It is our goal to help manage global challenges facing humankind by pioneer research contributions in the areas of energy, mobility, and information. Doing this, we attach high importance to permanent contact and exchange with society. 

 

Acronym KIT
Motto / Slogan The Research University in the Helmholtz Association
Colour Black, Green, and Blue
Founded 1825
Location Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Address Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Vision

With passion, curiosity, creativity, and freedom – and with a clear awareness of our social responsibility – we at KIT contribute to shaping a sustainable and resilient future. The pressing challenges of our time – climate change, the energy transition, the sustainable use of natural resources, digitalization and artificial intelligence, security and technological sovereignty, and demographic change – require bold, collaborative responses from science and society

These challenges spur us all on to drive fundamental changes in our world and at KIT. We are in a unique position to shape this transformation: KIT unites the basic research of a technical university with the societal mission of the Helmholtz Association under one roof – thus enabling the transition from scientific excellence to Science for Impact .

As a university within the Helmholtz Association, we assume a leading role from the generation of knowledge to its application. The interplay between basic research and engineering holds extraordinary potential and drives scientific progress as well as societal change. This is the core of Science for Impact .
 

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Objectives

  • enhance performance and agility of top-level research
  • develop awareness of responsibility
  • increase attractiveness for excellent young scientists
  • promote cultural change

These objectives are pursued through three main thrusts: “Strengthening Excellent Research”, “Promoting Research by Interaction with Society”, and “Providing Reliable Academic Careers”, each with various measures. Since the start of funding in 2019, we have successfully implemented a wide range of measures to achieve our goals.

Main Academic Divisions (Faculties)

  1. Faculty of Architecture
  2. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Geo and Environmental Sciences
  3. Faculty of Chemistry and Biosciences
  4. Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Process Engineering
  5. Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology
  6. Faculty of Computer Science (Informatics)
  7. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
  8. Faculty of Mathematics
  9. Faculty of Physics
  10. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  11. Faculty of Economics and Management

Reasons to Study at Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

  1. University of Excellence

    KIT is one of Germany’s eleven “Universities of Excellence.” Our 2019 concept with which we prevailed in the Excellence Contest conducted by the federal and state governments, focuses on expanding cutting-edge research across the entire spectrum, from basic research to practical applications, by using the momentum of 100 new professorships, fostering intensive dialogue with society, and providing reliable career paths for young scientists.


     

  2. Science for Impact

    With passion, curiosity, creativity, and freedom – and with a clear awareness of our social responsibility – we at KIT contribute to shaping a sustainable and resilient future. The pressing challenges of our time – climate change, the energy transition, the sustainable use of natural resources, digitalization and artificial intelligence, security and technological sovereignty, and demographic change – require bold, collaborative responses from science and society


     

  3. Equal Opportunities and Diversity at KIT

    Diversity is essential for mastering the challenges of our time, and together we develop tailored, innovative solutions for global issues such as climate change and the energy transition, and find answers to questions about sustainability, the future of mobility, and artificial intelligence. Different perspectives, experiences, and skills enrich our daily work at KIT and make it possible to offer genuine added value to society.


     

  4. Sustainability

    Sustainable development is a shared responsibility. At Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, we create and share knowledge that supports society and the environment. Through innovative research in climate protection, resource conservation, and sustainable practices, we shape the future. We also apply these solutions in our teaching, partnerships, and everyday actions.

     


     

Fees

Undergraduate Tuition

International Students EUR 3,000

Postgraduate Tuition

International Students EUR 3,000

Admission

Undergraduate Admission Requirement

Entry requirements vary by program. View the program page for the requirements.

Postgraduate Admission Requirments

Entry requirements vary by program. View the program page for program specific requirements.

How To Apply For Admission

The application portal for all Bachelor's, Master's and Studienkolleg courses can be found here: https://bewerbung.studium.kit.edu/en

  • Apply Online

Admission Contacts

Email: [email protected],[email protected]
Phone : +49 (0) 721 - 608 44911, +49 721 608 45164

Apply For Admission

Campus Tour

Facilities

  • Classrooms
  • Library
  • Laboratory
  • Research Center
  • Accommodation
  • Sports
  • ICT
  • Cafeteria
  • Research Center: As with the establishment of the Polytechnic School in Karlsruhe, the founders of the Kernreaktor Bau- und Betriebsgesellschaft mbH, later the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center (KfK), which was founded in 1956, also broke new ground: On a site near Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, north of Karlsruhe, the first German reactor built in-house, the Research Reactor 2 (FR 2), began operation in 1962.


 

School Contact

Address

Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Email Address

[email protected]

Phone Number

+49 721 608-0

Fax Number

+49 721 608-44290

Website Address

https://www.kit.edu/

Social Media Pages

Accreditations

  • Institutional Accreditation: Recognized by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg.


 

Vice Chancellor

Jan S. Hesthaven

Professor Dr. Jan S. Hesthaven, born in 1965, studied Computational Physics and earned his doctorate at the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen. Between 1995 and 2013, he was a faculty member at Brown University in the USA, where he was Founding Director of the Center for Computation and Visualization (2006 to 2013) and co-founder of the Institute for Computational and E... read more
xperimental Research in Mathematics. From 2013, Hesthaven had been Professor of Mathematics of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, and from 2021 to 2024, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of EPFL. His scope of responsibility included strong integration of research and academic education, all appointment and promotion procedures, as well as close cooperation with the President of EPFL on the university’s strategic orientation.


 

Academic Staff

  • Oliver Kraft

    Vice President Academic Affairs Professor Dr. Oliver Kraft was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1964. He studied materials science and graduated in this discipline at the University of Stuttgart. He was a guest scientis... read more
    t at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of Stanford University, USA, and worked as a group leader in the field of “Mechanisms of Deformation in Thin Metal Layers and Small Volumes” at the Max Planck Institute of Metallurgy in Stuttgart.

    Since 2002 he has been Professor and Head of the current Institute of Applied Materials of the KIT. Kraft is the scientific co-author of more than 200 articles; between 2006 and 2011, he was the spokesman of a collaborative research center. Between 2006 and 2009, he was Chairman and Deputy Chairman, respectively, of the Scientific-technical Council of the former Karlsruhe Research Center. In 2011, Kraft was granted the Professorship for Nanostructured Functional Materials funded by the Bosch Group. From 2012 to 2015, he was one of the spokespersons of the Helmholtz Programme Science and Technology of Nanosystems (STN).

  • Kora Kristof

    Vice President Digitalization and Sustainability Professor Dr. Kora Kristof studied economics, and wrote her doctoral thesis on a problem related to energy economic. In her post-doctoral work she investigated the question of how soc... read more
    ietal changes can be shaped more effectively. She was a research assistant at the LMU Munich economics department from 1988 to 1992, and  then until 1994 she was a research assistant to the German Bundestag’s special committee on protecting Earth’s atmosphere. At the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy from 1994 to 2011, Kora Kristof headed the energy department and a research group for sustainable production and consumption, and she organized the institute’s work on material efficiency and resource conservation. From 2011 until she moved to KIT, she headed the Sustainability Strategies, Sustainable Resource Use, Instruments department at Germany’s Federal Environment Agency. Moreover, she is Apl. Professor at the University of Witten/Herdecke.


     

  • Thomas Hirth

    Vice President Transfer and International Affairs Professor Dr. Thomas Hirth was born in Michelbach/Rastatt in 1962. He studied chemistry at Universität Karlsruhe, one of the predecessors of the KIT, and then graduated in Karlsruhe ... read more
    at the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Professor Dr. Thomas Hirth started to work at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 1992, holding different positions, the last being that of a Head of the Environmental Engineering Department of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal. In December 2007, Hirth became director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart. From 2012 to 2015, Hirth was spokesman of the Fraunhofer Group for Life Sciences and Member of the Presidential Council of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Since April 2008, he in addition has been professor at the University of Stuttgart and head of the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology IGVP of Stuttgart University. From 2012 to 2015, Hirth was vice dean of Faculty 4 Energy-, Process- and Bio-Engineering of Stuttgart University.


     

  • Stefan Schwartze

    Vice President Operations Dr. Stefan Schwartze, born in 1966, studied law at the universities of Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Münster and earned his doctorate at the University of Bochum. After working for the G... read more
    erman Research Foundation and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Wuppertal native was an administrative member of the Foundation Board of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin from 2003 to 2008 and Chancellor of the University of Münster from 2008 to 2011. Schwartze then held the position of Administrative Executive Director of the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) until 2024. From 2019 to 2022, he was also Administrative Vice President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, and from 2021 to 2022 he was Spokesman for the Administrative Directors of the Helmholtz Centers.


     

View More Staff

Notable Alumni

View More Alumni

History

Fifty years after the founding of the Karlsruhe Research Center and 181 years after the founding of the University of Karlsruhe, the two institutions jointly prevailed in the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments in 2006. At the heart of the successful application was the merger to form the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), a unique entity within the German higher education and research landscape. On October 1, 2009, the two institutions merged to form the new legal entity KIT.

In its tenth year, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology successfully prevailed again in 2019 in the "Universities of Excellence" funding line of the Excellence Strategy of the... read more

Federal Government and the Länder .

  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT): 1825 to 2025 – The first 200 years  (Publication by Dr. Felix Mescoli)
  • The founding of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology  (essay by Dr. Dennis Nitsche)
  • KIT Archive