Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich, Germany
The University
Location
Academic Highlights and Specific Research Opportunities
Language and Culture
The University
Ludwig-Maximilian University: 500 years of tradition and an “excellent” future
Founded 1472 in Ingolstadt and since 1826 located in Munich, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) is one of the most prestigious universities in Europe and also one of the largest. The wide range of courses comprises around 150 subjects, ranging from law and economics through the social sciences and the humanities to medicine and the natural sciences.
Together with an atmosphere of liberal-mindedness, this attracts a large number of students each year. Currently, more than 46,000 students, about fifteen percent of which are international students, take advantage of the highly differentiated spectrum of courses.
The university´s research strength is indicated by thirteen Nobel Prize winners, among them William Conrad Röntgen, Werner Heisenberg and, most recently, Theodor W. Hänsch. This was recently confirmed in a German wide Excellence Initiative Competition and regularly shows in the positions LMU reaches in national and international rankings.
Location: Munich, Germany
Munich is Germany‘s third largest city and offers ideal conditions for studying and conducting research within a vivid metropolitan yet charming and secure environment. It has a long and impressive history as a hub for research, inventions and higher learning with LMU as the centre and motor of it.
Even though Munich is known best for its annual beer fest, the Oktoberfest, its real charm lies in its qualities as a major cultural centre, with world-famous museums and galleries, theatres and concert houses, and the beautiful landscape around it.
A stroll through the “Englischer Garten” is a relaxing break in studying. With the Alps less than an hour away, skiing and mountain biking skills are easily improved. And visiting one of the city’s famous beer gardens is the perfect way to crown a day filled with stimulating lectures.
Academic Highlights and Specific Research Opportunities
LMU is constructed around the four pillars of classical academic research: Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Medicine. 18 faculties offer the possibility of top-level-research in nearly every academic field except Engineering.
The historic part of the campus mainly accommodates the humanities and is located in the city centre, close to the Bavarian State Library and numerous archives. Interdisciplinary centres of research as the Centre for Language and Literature Studies or the Munich Ethics Referral Center offer challenging research opportunities.
In the field of science and medicine, with a focus on life sciences, the new High-Tech-Campus in Martinsried-Grosshadern, to the south-west of Munich in direct vicinity of the Max Planck Institutes of Biochemistry and Neurobiology, stands for networked research of the highest quality.
The world-class research at LMU is exemplified by its clusters of excellence in the natural sciences – the Munich Center for Integrated Protein Science (CIPSM), the Munich–Center for Advanced Photonics (MAP) and the Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM).
German Language and Culture

German is a language spoken by ca. 120 million people. It is the official language not only of Germany, but also Austria and Switzerland. It was the premier language of science and technology, before English took this role by the middle of the 20th century. Today it is still a language widely used in philosophy and law.
The objective is to learn German at least up to an elementary level and to receive an impression of German culture and life in Germany today. After six months you can be fluent in German, after an additional six months you might reach the proficiency level.
The language courses are offered in different levels with 4 hours a week during the semester.
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Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munchen, Germany - Practical Information
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