Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

Ludwig-Maximilians-University or LMU, the University in the heart of Munich, forms the urban landscape and has campuses throughout the city. LMU Munich is one of the leading universities in Europe. Carrying on a tradition that goes back over 500 years, LMU offers challenging study programs and provides an ideal environment for top-level research. The LMU links academic excellence with the urban quality of life and a unique recreational value for approximately 50,000 students. With about 7,500 external students from more than 125 countries, the LMU is the academic home of most of the foreign students in Germany. 70 % of these students come from Europe, 20 % from Asia and 7 % from North and South America. All of these students, which come from abroad, contribute together with the international scientists to the diversity in the culture of the university. LMU Munich has a long tradition as a top-level European research university, clearly demonstrated in its international character and its areas of academic cooperation from research to teaching and student exchange. The university was a founder member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), Venice International University (VIU), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Bavarian International Academic Centers. Within the European Union’s successful mobility and grant programs, LMU Munich takes part in ERASMUS student and lecturer exchange programs, Erasmus Mundus programs, and EU third-country projects. LMU Munich also cooperates closely with numerous partner universities outside of EU programs. In total, LMU maintains faculty-based cooperation agreements with well over 400 partner universities worldwide which regulate areas from academic contacts and student exchanges to the design of joint degree programs. Collaborations and exchange activities at individual and chair level round off the close-knit international network. In addition, selected strategic research collaborations offer the opportunity for close contacts between institutions and for the establishment of new forms of cooperation. These are funded by the institutional strategy LMUexcellent and serve to underpin LMU Munich’s status at national and international level. In geographic terms, LMU Munich’s strategy of internationalization observes traditional roots while pursuing current developments in the global academic world. The majority of its contacts and strategic initiatives are based in Europe, followed by North America and Asia. One outcome of this development is a new collaboration project with outstanding Chinese partner Universities, the LMU‑China Academic Network. LMU Munich is the academic home of almost 7,000 international students from 125 countries, the largest number at any German university and the equivalent of 15 percent of LMU Munich’s student population. Three-quarters of these students come from Europe, 15 percent from Asia, and 6 percent from North and South America. Up to 1,000 students from partner universities enroll at LMU Munich as exchange students for a semester or year. In two junior year programs, around 70 students from North American partner universities spend their third year of studies in Munich, in addition to some 450 attendees of the Munich International Summer University (MISU). Approximately 1,500 visiting fellows teach and research at LMU Munich, including 90 research fellows of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. LMU Munich’s Mobility Center and range of special services on offer plus the International Center for Science and Humanities in Munich (Internationales Begegnungszentrum der Wissenschaft München e.V., IBZ) also underlines the university’s international commitment. LMU Munich wins a significant volume of outside funding from its commitment to internationality in teaching and research. Apart from the university’s success in raising international third-party funds, many other fields offer funding opportunities which safeguard the competitive edge of its students, alumni, and academics for the future. DAAD alone contributes over four million euros per year in the form of grants to German and international students and international projects, as well as supporting grants to LMU Munich. Home to approximately 1.5 million people, Munich is one of the world’s most friendly and vibrant cities. With its renowned museums and galleries, theater and festivals, art and ballet and music, including the world-class Bavarian State Opera and Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, it is not just the capital of Bavaria, but a major European cultural center. Its proximity to the Bavarian Alps and the variety of lakes, castles, and leisure activities in the surrounding countryside add to Munich’s uniqueness. It is indeed a city like no other!