Facts and Figures

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On this page you will find an overview of different statistics and data about the FernUniversität, ranging from student statistics to staff statistics to budget data.

  • 78,725 Students
  • 68,122 are enrolled in degree programs
  • 46% are women
  • 14% were admitted based on vocational qualifications
  • 7.4% live abroad
  • Average age 38.3 years
  • 27 regional and study centers
  • 7 of them abroad
  • 1,867 employees
  • 92 Professors
  • 98.7 million in revenues

(Date: June 2021)

  • Students
    Total students (including students on a leave of absence) 80,536
    Active students (not including students on a leave of absence) 78,725
    Students by Category
    Enrolled in a degree program 68,122
    Open Access students 7,698
    Continuing education students 2,905
    Students by Faculty
    Faculty of Business Administration and Economics 30 %
    Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 21 %
    Faculty of Psychology 16 %
    Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science 17 %
    Faculty of Law 15 %
    Gender
    male 53.75 %
    female 46.17 %
    other 0.02 %
    not specified 0.06 %
    Place of Residence
    Germany 72,895
    abroad (total, including Europe) 5,830
    abroad, in Europe 5,306
    Citizenship
    Germany 71,292
    another country (total, including Europe and stateless) 7,433
    another European country 6,368
    Average age (in years) 38.3
    Employed 80 %
    Previously completed a university degree 52 %

    Source: internal student statistics

  • Budget 2020  
    Revenues €98.7 million
    including:  
    Ongoing state funding €76.2 million
    Revenue from fees and other income €17.1 million
    Third-party contributions / Continuing education €5.4 million
    Other temporary state funding
    (not included in revenue above)    		 €14.7 million
    Higher Education Pact1 €11.0 million
    Other funding2 €3.7 million

    1 Higher Education Pact III including compensation funds, master program, European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), building and investment funds, FernUni development plan

    2 Subsidies, KAoA program, service offices, grants for the Programme for Women Professors, Digitale Hochschule NRW, Digitalisierungsoffensive, Chancengerechte Hochschule NRW, Landesunfallkasse

  • University Staff (Date: 1 April 2021)1) Total number of employees2) Full-time equivalents7)
    Staff financed through the university budget and third-party funds Total Women Total Women
    President 1 1 1 1
    Head of Administration 1 1 1 1
    Total Professors3) 92 29 91.73 28.73
    - W2/3 temporary professorships
    		 3 3 3 3
    - Junior professorships 8)
    		 5 3 4.73 2.73
    - Interim Professorships
    		 2 2 2 2
    Academic Staff 558 268 477.99 221.03
    Academic and student assistants4) 243 148 61.03 35.77
    Tutors5) 271 109 38.43 22.73
    Administrative and technical staff6) 701 480 599.01 389.72
    Total university staff 1,867 1036 1270.19 699.98

    1) Data from the BI (Basic data from April 2021).

    2) Not including staff on special leave according to collective labor agreements and civil service law, receiving temporary pensions, on parental leave, or on secondment. No employees are double-counted in these figures.

    3) Including W-1 professorships.

    4) Includes academic assistants and student assistants.

    5)Includes academic online tutors and mentors.

    6)Including trainees.

    7) Full-time equivalents represent the relationship between employees’ individual working times and full-time employment as defined by law or collective labor agreements.

    8) The junior professorships include two tenure-track junior professorships and one fast track junior professorship.

  • You can get an overview of the current semester, student statistics by semester, and graduation statistics over time at our in-depth statistics page (German).

Office for Communication and PR | 14.03.2023