# Technische Hochschule

A Technische Hochschule (German:, plural: Technische Hochschulen, abbreviated TH) is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed in Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands (Technische Hogeschool), and Finland (teknillinen korkeakoulu, teknisk högskola). In the 1970s (in Germany) and the 1980s (in the Netherlands), the Technische Hochschule emerged into the Technische Universität (German) or Technische Universiteit (Dutch). Since 2009, several German universities of applied sciences were renamed as Technische Hochschulen.

## Terminology

In German-language countries, the term Hochschule is more general than Universität (plural: Universitäten) and also encompasses universities which do not have the right to confer doctorates and habilitations, in contrast to Universitäten. Today, Universitäten as well as other Hochschulen call themselves Technische Hochschule for historical reasons. However, a Technische Hochschule with the status of a Universität is regarded as a Technische Universität despite the name.

## History

Since the Middle Ages, higher education institutions in Europe were called a university only if a certain classical canon of subjects encompassing philosophy, medicine, law and theology was taught. When engineering sciences became more important in academica due to the Industrial Revolution, institutions of tertiary education devoted to these were denied the prestigious denomination "university", and had to use the more general term Hochschule instead.
It was a major breakthrough, then, when in the first half of the 20th century, some Technische Hochschulen in Germany and Technische Hogescholen in the Netherlands were given the right to award the doctoral degrees, and again later when they were allowed to call themselves universities. This change of status was accompanied by a broader spectrum of academic disciplines and more fundamental research.
While most former Technische Hochschulen opted to change their name to Technische Universität to reflect their new status, some of them preferred to maintain their traditional and established names, most notably the RWTH Aachen in Germany as well as ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne in Switzerland.
Starting in 2009, several German universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) with a technical focus have changed their names to Technische Hochschule.

## In Austria

List of Austrian Technische Universitäten by location:
| Institution | Established | City | State | Staff | Students |
| Technische Universität Graz | 1811 | Graz | Styria | 2,256 | 12,692 |
| Technische Universität Wien | 1815 | Vienna | Vienna | 4,078 | 26,218 |

## In Finland

The concept of a TH exists also in Finland as teknillinen korkeakoulu, which is equivalent to a TH. Examples include Teknillinen korkeakoulu in Espoo, Tampereen teknillinen korkeakoulu and Lappeenrannan teknillinen korkeakoulu. Similarly to German speaking countries, most of them later changed their name to teknillinen yliopisto, which is equivalent to a TU. However, Teknillinen korkeakoulu retained its old name until it merged with two other universities to form the current Aalto University.

## In Germany

List of German Technische Universitäten by location:
| Institution | Established | City | State | Staff | Students |
| Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen | 1870 | Aachen | North Rhine-Westphalia | 8,047 | 40,025 |
| Technische Universität Berlin | 1770 | Berlin | Berlin | 8,302 | 31,427 |
| Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig | 1745 | Braunschweig | Lower Saxony | 5,550 | 15,500 |
| Technische Universität Chemnitz | 1836 | Chemnitz | Saxony | 1,185 | 10,850 |
| Technische Universität Clausthal | 1775 | Clausthal-Zellerfeld | Lower Saxony | 1,000 | 4,080 |
| Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg | 2013 | Cottbus | Brandenburg | 1,218 | 10,310 |
| Technische Universität Darmstadt | 1877 | Darmstadt | Hesse | 4,122 | 24,305 |
| Technische Universität Dortmund | 1968 | Dortmund | North Rhine-Westphalia | 3,867 | 29,672 |
| Technische Universität Dresden | 1828 | Dresden | Saxony | 7,094 | 36,534 |
| Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg | 1765 | Freiberg | Saxony | 1,540 | 5,455 |
| Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg | 1978 | Hamburg | Hamburg | 1,150 | 6,678 |
| HafenCity Universität Hamburg | 2006 | Hamburg | Hamburg | 504 | 2,304 |
| Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover | 1831 | Hannover | Lower Saxony | 4,290 | 22,236 |
| Technische Universität Ilmenau | 1894 | Ilmenau | Thuringia | 2,021 | 6,909 |
| Technische Universität Kaiserslautern | 1970 | Kaiserslautern | Rhineland-Palatinate | 1,124 | 14,184 |
| Karlsruher Institut für Technologie | 1825 | Karlsruhe | Baden-Württemberg | 9,251 | 22,146 |
| Technische Universität München | 1868 | Munich | Bavaria | 8,351 | 52,000 |
| Universität Stuttgart | 1829 | Stuttgart | Baden-Württemberg | 4,946 | 27,686 |
| Technische Universität Nürnberg | 2021 | Nuremberg | Bavaria | 20 | 106 |
List of Technische Hochschulen (institutions with the status of Technische Universität not included) by location:
| Institution | Established | renamed Technische Hochschule | City | State | Staff | Students |
| Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden | 1994 | 2013 | Amberg, Weiden | Bavaria | 325 | 3,500 |
| Technische Hochschule Aschaffenburg | 1995 | 2019 | Aschaffenburg | Bavaria | ? | 3.374 |
| Technische Hochschule Bingen | 1971 | 2016 | Bingen am Rhein | Rhineland-Palatinate | 212 | 2,628 |
| Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola | 1816 | 2016 | Bochum | North Rhine-Westphalia | 252 | 2,279 |
| Technische Hochschule Brandenburg | 1992 | 2016 | Brandenburg an der Havel | Brandenburg | 240 | 2,616 |
| Technische Hochschule Deggendorf | 1994 | 2013 | Deggendorf | Bavaria | 552 | 5,700 |
| Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt | 1994 | 2013 | Ingolstadt | Bavaria | 450 | 5,200 |
| Technische Hochschule Köln | 1971 | 2015 | Cologne | North Rhine-Westphalia | 1,620 | 24,818 |
| Technische Hochschule Lübeck | 1969 | 2018 | Lübeck | Schleswig-Holstein | 441 | 4,689 |
| Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen | 1971 | 2010 | Giessen, Friedberg, Wetzlar | Hesse | 1,000 | 16,044 |
| Technische Hochschule Nürnberg | 1971 | 2013 | Nuremberg | Bavaria | 1,855 | 12,234 |
| Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe | 1971 | 2019 | Lemgo, Detmold, Höxter | North Rhine-Westphalia | 715 | 6,544 |
| Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg | 1971 | 2013 | Regensburg | Bavaria | 690 | 11,000 |
| Technische Hochschule Rosenheim | 1971 | 2018 | Rosenheim | Bavaria | 500 | 5,901 |
| Technische Hochschule Ulm | 1960 | 2019 | Ulm | Baden-Württemberg | 120 professors | 4,125 |
| Technische Hochschule Wildau | 1991 | 2009 | Wildau | Brandenburg | 335 | 4,152 |
| Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt | 1971 | 2023 | Würzburg, Schweinfurt | Bayern | 795 | 9,322 |

## In Switzerland

List of Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology by location:
| Institution | Established | City | Staff | Students |
| École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | 1853 | Lausanne | 4,000 | 9,000 |
| Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich | 1855 | Zürich | 10,242 | 17,781 |

## In The Netherlands

List of Universities of Technology (Technische Universiteiten) in the Netherlands:
| Institution | Established | City | Staff | Students |
| Delft University of Technology | 1842 | Delft | 7,265 | 26,424 |
| Eindhoven University of Technology | 1956 | Eindhoven | 3,200 | 12,926 |
4TU is the federation of the four Dutch universities of technology with the following institutions as members: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), University of Twente (UT), and Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR).