Germany Announces Shortlist for Elite Universities

The 10 academic institutions that will now be able to submit detailed proposals by October include universities in:

· Aachen

· Berlin (Free University)

· Bremen

· Freiburg

· Heidelberg

· Karlsruhe

· Munich (Ludwig Maximilian University and Technical University)

· Tübingen and

· Würzburg

The universities have been chosen by a committee set up by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Science Council. While many other institutions will still be able to compete for funding in specific areas, these 10 can get money to improve their position as elite universities.

Until 2011, the German federal and state governments plan to spend 1.9 billion euros ($2.3 billion). The elite universities would receive 13.5 million annually. Additionally, 40 graduate schools and 30 clusters of excellence are expected to receive funding.

Altogether, 27 universities had applied for the chance to receive the extra funding as elite universities. Berlin's Humboldt University, in the former East Berlin, had been seen as a favorite choice, but did not make the running. Not a single university in the eastern part of the country, including those in Leipzig and Dresden, managed to qualify.