About privathochschulen.net

privathochschulen.net is a guidance and comparison platform for private universities in Germany, in German and English. It is operated by onblur.media GmbH, an independent media company from Eisenach, Germany. Christian Wolf founded privathochschulen.net in 2009. He is managing director of onblur.media GmbH and founder and editor-in-chief of fernstudi.net.

On this page, you will find out what we work for, how our content is created and how we are funded. Openly and completely, so you can judge for yourself how to use our information.

What we work for

Studying at a private university commits you for years and usually involves tuition fees. That is why we do our own research, present programmes in a comparable way and also point out drawbacks and limits. We list private universities because they are our subject, not because we consider them the better choice in general. For many people, a public university is the right decision.

Who we are here for

• School leavers and bachelor’s graduates looking for the right programme.
• International students, with information in English.
• Working professionals planning a part-time degree.
• Parents and advisers supporting prospective students in their decision.

What “independent” means for us – and what it does not

• Owner-managed: onblur.media GmbH does not belong to any corporate group or education provider. No university holds a stake in our company.
• Our editorial team decides: Content, ratings and assessments are decided by our editorial team alone. Universities have no influence on them, including those who work with us.
• Not without money from universities: Independent does not mean that we work without money from universities. privathochschulen.net is free for you. A large part of our work is paid for by universities and advertising. The next section explains exactly how.

privathochschulen.net is not an education provider itself and is not affiliated with any of the universities listed on the platform.

How we are funded

• Premium profiles: Universities can book a premium profile at a fixed price. This lets them present themselves in more detail, for example with more information, images and contact options. In listings, these profiles are labelled “Premium profile”.
• Affiliate links: Some of the links to universities are affiliate links. They are marked with an asterisk (*). If you enrol via such a link, we may receive a commission from the university.
• Enquiries to universities: When you request information material or contact a university via privathochschulen.net, we forward your enquiry. For a small share of these enquiries, we receive a fixed fee. This only applies to universities we have a business relationship with. Most enquiries are forwarded without any payment.
• Advertising: Ads from Google AdSense appear on the website. They are labelled as ads. Google decides which individual ads are shown, and these may include ads from universities. They have nothing to do with our content or assessments.

What we do not offer: advertorials, i.e. paid articles disguised as editorial content, and native ads.

What universities can buy – and what they cannot

Universities can buy visibility from us: a more detailed profile and advertising. Universities cannot buy a verdict. The following are not for sale:

• ratings and student reviews
• reviews and assessments by our editorial team
• the order of results in the programme finder and on our comparison pages
• inclusion on our comparison pages by federal state

How we sort results

Programme finder: The programme finder sorts by relevance, i.e. by how well a programme matches your search and filters. If you are logged in, the sorting also takes your saved details into account. You can change the sorting at any time.

Comparison pages: On our comparison pages, we sort by popularity, i.e. by the number of page views. Whether a university has a premium profile plays no role.

How our content is created

University and programme profiles: The information is based on our own research, official sources and details from the universities, prepared by our editorial team. Tuition fees, deadlines and admission requirements change. Always check them directly with the university before you apply. If you are applying from abroad, also check the language of instruction and the recognition of the degree in your home country.

Editorial reviews: Our editorial team publishes its own reviews. They are labelled as editorial reviews. Our editorial team chooses which programmes to review by topic. Whether a university works with us plays no role in the selection or the verdict.

Found a mistake? Let us know. We will correct it and make significant corrections visible.

How reviews are created

Reviews on privathochschulen.net are voluntary. We do not pay for them, run prize draws or hand out vouchers. Anyone can write a review, with or without a user account. We do not check whether the reviewer actually studies or studied at the university. Our editorial team reads every review before it is published. If a review violates our review guidelines or there are signs of manipulation, we do not publish it. Reviews older than five years are hidden. A university can only have a review removed or changed if it violates our guidelines.

How we use AI

• Study advice with Frau Weber: Frau Weber, our digital study advisor, is an AI. She answers your questions based on our database and our content. She only passes your enquiry on to a university with your explicit consent. AI can make mistakes too. Always check important details such as fees, deadlines and admission requirements with the university.
• Programme finder: Our search recognises connections between fields of study, careers and interests. This helps you find suitable programmes even if you do not know their exact name.
• Editorial work: Our editorial team uses AI for research, structuring and proofreading. A person from our editorial team is responsible for every piece of content we publish.
• No AI verdicts: AI does not write ratings or pass verdicts on universities at privathochschulen.net.

Your data in enquiries

We automatically anonymise contact details from enquiries to universities after 45 days. Everything else we store is described in our privacy policy.