Facts and Figures

Statistik, Berichte, Diagramme Photo: stock.adobe.com

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

  • 78,684 Students
  • 67,450 are enrolled in degree programs
  • 47.9% are women
  • 13.2% were admitted based on vocational qualifications
  • 8.2% live abroad
  • Average age 37.9 years
  • 13 regional and study centers
  • 7 of them abroad
  • 1,748 employees
  • 102 professors
  • €122,5 million revenue (financial year 2024)

(Date: winter semester 25/26)

  • Students
    Total students (including students on a leave of absence) 78,684
    Active students (excluding students on a leave of absence) the following entries are based on this figure 77,540
    Students by Category
    Enrolled in a degree program 67,450
    Open Access students 6,539
    Continuing education students 3,551
    Students by Faculty
    Faculty of Business Administration and Economics 25.7%
    Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences 18.4%
    Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science 23.3%
    Faculty of Law 15.7%
    Faculty of Psychology 16.9%
    Gender
    male 51.8%
    female 47.9%
    other 0.1%
    not specified 0.3%
    Place of Residence
    Germany 71,184
    abroad (total) 6,356
    Citizenship
    Germany 69,096
    other nationalities (total, including stateless) 8,444
    Average age (in years) 37.9
    Employed 75%
    Previously completed a university degree 54%

    Source: internal student statistics

  • University Staff (Date: 1 April 2025)1) Total number of employees2) Full-time equivalents7)
    Staff financed through the university budget and third-party funds Total Women Total Women
    President 1 0 1.00 0
    Head of Administration 1 0 1.00 0
    Total professors3) 103 33 103.00 33.00
    W2/3 non-tenured professorships
    		 4 3 4.00 3.00
    Junior professorships
    		 8 5 8.00 5.00
    Interim professorships
    		 3 3 3.00 3.00
    Academic Staff 566.5 262 438.08 215.04
    Academic and student assistants4) 226 152 54.09 36.29
    Tutors5) 171 84 31.21 19.30
    Administrative and technical staff6) 681.5 455 587.01 374.28
    Total university staff 1749 986 1260.39 678.91

    1) Data from the BI (Basic data from April 2024).

    2) Not including staff on special leave in accordance with collective labor agreements and civil service law, those receiving temporary pensions, on parental leave, or on secondment. In contrast to the previous “headcount”, the adjusted headcount has been used since the cut-off date of January 1, 2022. This means that persons who, for example, work in two areas of the FernUniversität are counted as 0.5 in the headcounts of the areas.

    The total headcount of the FernUniversität thus corresponds to the sum of the headcounts for the individual areas.

    3) Including W1 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.

  • Budget 2024  
    Revenue €122.5 million
    including:  
    Ongoing state funding €87.5 million
    Revenue from fees and other income €26.3 million
    Third-party contributions / Continuing education €8.7 million
    Other temporary state funding
    (not included in revenue above)    		 €16 million
    Future fund “Strengthening Study & Teaching”1 €10.7 million
    Other funding2 €5.3 million

    1 Special higher education contract on the future fund “Strengthening Study and Teaching” (Zukunftsvertrag »Studium und Lehre stärken«, ZSL)

    2 Subsidies, e.g. cybersecurity, EGovG NRW, Zukunftsfonds

  • You will find a more detailed 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 | 29.06.2026