Study in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany): All private universities at a glance

By Christian Wolf, Editor-in-chief  · Last updated 10.07.2023

There are a total of 68 higher education institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia. Of these 68 universities, 42 are state-owned, 8 are church-owned and 18 are private universities.

All 18 private universities in Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Bochum and other cities are presented here. In addition, there are some private universities such as IU and Hochschule Fresenius that operate campuses in larger cities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). You can find out exactly which universities they are here.

Private universities with campuses and study centres in NRW

Officially, there are 18 private universities in NRW, i.e. state-approved universities with their headquarters in NRW. In addition, some universities maintain branches in North Rhine-Westphalia and offer corresponding degree programmes in NRW's larger cities, such as Cologne and Dusseldorf.

Here are the most important private universities with a branch in NRW:

IU International University of Applied Sciences: IU International University is the largest university in Germany, with over 100,000 enrolled students. The university was founded in Bad Honnef in 1998. Today, the university still operates a campus in Bad Honnef with numerous Bachelor's and Master's programmes in the fields of economics. In addition, there are numerous university centres of the IU in NRW where attendance courses and dual study programmes are offered, for example in Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Essen and Cologne.

Fresenius University of Applied Sciences: Fresenius University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest private universities in Germany. In the winter semester 2019/2020, a total of 12991 students were enrolled at the university. Although the main location of the university is Idstein in Hesse, the university operates study centres in Dusseldorf and Cologne. At the Dusseldorf location, for example, the B.A. Business Administration, MBA General Management and many others are offered.

WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management: WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management is a private university with its headquarters in Vallendar and campus in Dusseldorf. The university is very exclusive, with just 1371 students enrolled in the 2019/2020 winter semester. WHU offers Bachelor's, Master's and MBA programs in the fields of economics.

Macromedia University of Applied Sciences: Macromedia University of Applied Sciences is a university in the field of media and communication sciences and has its headquarters in Stuttgart. As a media university, Macromedia University of Applied Sciences naturally also maintains a campus in Cologne. In the winter semester 2019/2020, a total of 3833 students were enrolled at the university.

University for Media, Communication and Business. The University for Media, Communication and Business offers degree programmes in design, journalism and communication, psychology and economics/management. In the winter semester 2019/2020, 2207 students were enrolled at the university. In addition to its campuses in Berlin and Frankfurt/Main, the University for Media, Communication and Business naturally also maintains a campus in the media city of Cologne.