FAU

Higher Education / Research Universityfau.de

FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) is a public Bavarian research university founded in 1743, serving around 40,000 students across 275+ degree programs in five faculties, funded by the State of Bavaria, third-party research grants, and regulated tuition fees.

Company typePrivate
Founded1743
HeadquartersErlangen, Germany
Headcount101–250
GTM typeB2B and B2C
OfferingServices

What FAU does

FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) is a public research university founded in 1743 and owned by the Free State of Bavaria, headquartered in Erlangen with a second major campus in Nürnberg and a satellite location in Fürth, Germany. It serves approximately 40,000 students through 275+ degree programs spanning five faculties: Philosophical (with Theology), Law and Economics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Engineering. The university employs around 6,700 staff including 600+ professors, and operates a digital infrastructure stack consisting of FAUmail (email), StudOn (learning management), campo (course management/academic portal), UB-Katalog (library catalog), and CRIS (research information system).

FAU's research portfolio is organized around five Profile Centers (Profilzentren) — Immunmedizin (I-MED), Licht/Materie/Quantentechnologien (LMQ), Medizintechnik (MT), Neue Materialien und Prozesse (NMP), and Solar research — and an Excellence Cluster on "Transforming Human Rights," backed by the Nationales Hochleistungsrechnen Erlangen (NHR) high-performance computing infrastructure. The university has a documented technology-transfer ecosystem comprising the innovation locations JOSEPHS, ZOLLHOF, d.hip (Digital Health Innovation Platform), and Medical Valley Center, governed by an evolving IP-Policy.

Revenue is generated through three streams: (1) core public government funding from the Bavarian state for basic operations, (2) third-party research funding (Drittmittel) from DFG, EU programs, BMBF, and industry collaborations, and (3) regulated tuition and semester fees (subsidized for German/EU students). Pricing is not commercially negotiable, and the go-to-market model combines direct-to-consumer student recruitment (open days, study info days, orientation) with community-led channels (student ambassadors, school partnerships, regional Gymnasien and FOSBOS outreach). FAU has been ranked #1 in Germany for Innovation among universities and globally leading in innovation, with top positions across all submitted sustainability rankings.

FAU firmographics

Firmographics

Name: FAU
Legal name: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Website: https://fau.de
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1743
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 101–250 employees
Short description: FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) is a public Bavarian research university founded in 1743, serving around 40,000 students across 275+ degree programs in five faculties, funded by the State of Bavaria, third-party research grants, and regulated tuition fees.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

FAU industry classification

Industry

Product category: Higher Education / Research University
NAICS: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)
SIC: Services-Educational Services (8200)
akta.pro primary industry: Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools (EDAHAAAF)
akta.pro secondary industries: Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI), Public Research Universities with Engineering/Polytechnic Emphasis (EDAHAAAD)

Keywords

Higher education services
Research university programs
Degree programs
Research collaborations
Technology transfer

Where FAU is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Erlangen
HQ country: Germany
HQ region: Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

FAU business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B and B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Public Government Funding: FAU receives core funding from the German federal and Bavarian state governments as a public university. This covers basic operations, staffing, and infrastructure.
Third-Party Research Funding (Drittmittel): FAU generates significant revenue through research grants from DFG (German Research Foundation), EU research programs, BMBF projects, and industry collaborations.
Tuition and Semester Fees: Students pay regulated tuition fees and semester contributions. International students from non-EU countries pay application fees.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Annual	Standard semester fee for enrolled students

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

FAU product offering

Product offering

Core offering

FAU is a public research university that delivers degree education across 275+ programs spanning humanities, law, economics, medicine, natural sciences, and engineering, alongside funded research and industry collaboration. The university operates five profile research centers, the Nationales Hochleistungsrechnen Erlangen (NHR) high-performance computing facility, and an innovation ecosystem (JOSEPHS, ZOLLHOF, d.hip) for technology transfer. It also provides digital student services (StudOn, campo, FAUmail, UB-Katalog) and continuing education programs to corporate partners.

Product overview

FAU (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg) is a comprehensive public research university founded in 1743, offering over 275 degree programs across five faculties (Philosophical, Law & Economics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Engineering). The university's digital offerings consist of student-facing service platforms including FAUmail (email), StudOn (learning management), campo (course registration), and UB-Katalog (library catalog), along with CRIS for research information management. The FAU Jobs Portal serves as the university's official employment platform. These products function as interconnected digital infrastructure supporting the university's core educational mission rather than a commercial product portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Degree Programs (275+ across 5 Faculties) Comprehensive higher-education degree programs spanning the Philosophical Faculty & Theology, Law & Economics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Technical faculties, offered to prospective undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students across humanities, sciences, engineering, medicine, and law.
Digital Student Service Portals (FAUmail, StudOn, campo, UB-Katalog) Suite of interconnected digital platforms supporting enrolled students with email (FAUmail), learning management (StudOn), course registration and academic management (campo), and library catalog access (UB-Katalog).
Research Information System (CRIS)

Quantifiable outcome

Ranked #1 in Germany for Innovation among universities
+1 more outcomes

Companies that use FAU

Customer profile

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

FAU technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

FAU partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

Willstätter-Gymnasium NürnbergcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation focused on MINT/Science education promotion for students. Includes research camps, research AG, and student research projects. Students gain insights into scientific working methods and make contacts with university students. The cooperation is open to students from all schools in the Nürnberg metropolitan region.
Paul-Pfinzing-Gymnasium HersbruckminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on university teacher training and school practice cooperation. Emphasizes history didactics with joint courses, student teaching experiments, historical excursions, memorial site visits, and collaborative research projects.
FOSBOS WeißenburgminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation with Department of Business Education and HR Development for internship supervision in school practice studies. Also includes collaboration with Natural Sciences and Technical faculties, regular lectures, information events, and exchange with FAU teaching staff.
Christian-Ernst-Gymnasium Erlangen (CEG)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation to support student decision-making for study and career choices through various contact opportunities. Includes planning and organization of joint projects for interested students and support for FAU research in the school domain.
SiemenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor industry partner in the Nürnberg-Erlangen region. FAU mentions Siemens as a key employer and industry connection for student career opportunities and research collaborations.
Bayerisch-Kalifornisches Hochschulzentrum (BaCaTeC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAU's Bavarian-Californian Higher Education Center facilitating international research and educational exchange between Bavaria and California.
Bayerisches Hochschulzentrum für Lateinamerika (BAYLAT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAU's Bavarian Higher Education Center for Latin America promoting cooperation with Latin American universities and research institutions.
500+ Partner Universities WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational network of partner universities for student exchange, research collaborations, and academic cooperation under programs including Erasmus+, FAUexchange, and bilateral agreements.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

FAU competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

ETH Zurich: ETH Zurich is Europe's leading public technical research university and a benchmark for innovation and industry-funded research. While not in direct geographic competition with FAU, ETH sets the standard FAU compares against in international rankings, faculty recruitment, and frontier research output.

Direct peers

Technical University of Munich (TUM): TUM is Germany's top public technical research university and FAU's closest domestic competitor. Both are Bavarian public universities with comprehensive engineering and science programs, strong industry ties, and innovation leadership claims, competing directly for students, faculty, and industry partnerships.
RWTH Aachen University: RWTH Aachen is a top German public technical research university with deep industry partnerships in a major industrial region. Comparable to FAU on engineering emphasis, industry-funded research intensity, and competition for technical talent and DFG/BMBF grants.
University of Freiburg: Freiburg is a comprehensive German public research university with strong life sciences, medicine, and sustainability research. Comparable to FAU on Volluniversität structure, Excellence Strategy participation, and competition for top German and EU students.
Heidelberg University: Germany's oldest public research university with a comprehensive faculty structure and elite research reputation, competing with FAU in national rankings, top faculty recruitment, and international student appeal. Highly comparable on Volluniversität profile and Excellence Strategy positioning.
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT): KIT combines a major research university with a national Helmholtz research center, mirroring FAU's combination of academic and large-scale research infrastructure (NHR). Directly comparable on the integration of teaching, fundamental research, and applied innovation.
University of Göttingen: Göttingen is a long-established comprehensive German public research university with strength across natural sciences, humanities, and life sciences. Comparable to FAU on traditional research university profile, third-party funding intensity, and competition for international graduate students.
Humboldt University of Berlin: Humboldt is a comprehensive German public research university with traditional prestige and a strong research profile. Comparable to FAU on faculty breadth, Excellence Strategy participation, and competition for top students in northern Germany and internationally.
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU): LMU is a comprehensive Bavarian public research university with similar scale, broad faculty structure spanning humanities to medicine, and competing for the same Excellence Strategy designations. Direct comparable on research breadth and Bavaria-based student recruitment.
Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin): FU Berlin is a comprehensive German public research university with comparable scale, broad faculty structure, and significant international student population. Directly comparable on research breadth, Berlin-based industry partnerships, and competition for Excellence Cluster designations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

FAU financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

FAU leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

FAU funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

FAU M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FAU

What does FAU do?

Is FAU a public or private company?

FAU is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.

When was FAU founded?

FAU was founded in 1743. It employs 101 to 250 people.

Where is FAU based?

FAU is headquartered in Erlangen, Germany, in the Europe region.

How does FAU make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Public Government Funding is the primary driver. The others are third-Party Research Funding (Drittmittel) and tuition and Semester Fees.

Who are FAU's main competitors?

ETH Zurich is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Technical University of Munich (TUM), RWTH Aachen University, University of Freiburg, Heidelberg University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), University of Göttingen, Humboldt University of Berlin, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) and Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin).

Does FAU have an API?

No public API is recorded for FAU.

What industry is FAU in?

FAU's product category is Higher Education / Research University. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAAAF, Public Research Universities with Comprehensive Graduate & Professional Schools, with a secondary code of EDAHAAAI, Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems. Its NAICS code is 6113 and its SIC code is 8200.