Clausthal University of Technology (CUT) is an internationally renowned institution with strong regional ties. The University has strong traditions of quality education recognized and valued by many national and international companies.
Young people enjoy a different and unique way of studying in Clausthal: the personal atmosphere and practice-oriented education make us distinctive.
Research and education at the Clausthal University of Technology are currently focused on Energy and Raw Materials, Natural Science and Materials Science, Economics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, and Process Engineering.
In three innovative centers, the Energy Research Center Niedersachsen (EFZN), the Clausthal Centre of Material Technology (CZM), and the Center of Simulation (SWZ), we aim to link applied research in natural science, engineering, and economics.
With about 4,600 students and some 1,050 employees, Clausthal University of Technology is one of the most important economic factors in the western Harz Mountains.
The superb worldwide reputation of the Clausthal University of Technology is regularly reflected in comparative university rankings where CUT enjoys a leading position.
Beyond that, students and employees enjoy the international atmosphere at the Clausthal University of Technology, the Harz Mountains' extensive nature, and the over 60 different sports ranging from skiing to sailing and mountain biking offered by the Sports Institute.
The fatty ore deposits in the Harz Mountains were the breeding ground for the region's economic importance as a center of raw materials production. They formed the roots of the "Clausthaler montanistische Lehrstätte," founded in 1775, from which the internationally renowned "Bergakademie" (Mining Academy of Clausthal) originated in 1864.
Since its foundation, the University has been associated with technical progress: sophisticated systems for the use of water power to operate mining and processing machines, the wire cable, and precise mining surveillance instruments were invented in Clausthal. Famous scientists such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Arnold Sommerfeld, or Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich von Terebra, a Goethe friend, are connected with the history of Clausthal.
For a long time, education and scientific research were focused on mining and metallurgy, and earth sciences. However, during the 1960s, the range of studies was significantly expanded. Significant courses of study from Chemistry and Physics to Mathematics and Materials Science to Mechanical Engineering and Process Engineering resulted in structural changes, which led to renaming the institution "Clausthal University of Technology" in 1968.
Bridging the gap between tradition and innovation, further pioneering courses of study followed: in the past twenty years, courses were introduced in Informatics, Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, Power Systems Engineering, Physics/Physical Technology, and Plastics Engineering, courses followed these in Business Sciences such as Industrial Engineering, Business Mathematics, and Business Informatics. As a result of this reorientation, the number of students has increased sharply.
The new direction in teaching led to enhanced research activities: in 1986, the interdisciplinary "Forschungsverbund Umwelttechnik (Association for Environmental Engineering Research) was founded from which the CUTEC Institute originated. The CUTEC Institute is a stately research institute with excellent ties to industry. The Arnold Sommerfeld Institute combines Physics and Mathematics to study complex physical systems. Chemists, physicists, and engineers work closely together on producing and using new materials in the Polymer Research Center. With the Center of Simulation Technology (Simulationswissenschaftliches Zentrum), an interdisciplinary scientific institution was created to study information technology in science, economy, and society. An energy research center, the Energie-Forschungszentrum Niedersachsen (EFZN), in Goslar has emerged from Clausthal University of Technology.
The Clausthal University of Technology is active in several particular research fields such as the development of new materials and forms of energy, the improvement of engineering processes by new equipment, and oil and natural gas research or exploration of textures. For this work, scientists from the Clausthal University of Technology have received numerous technology awards. CUT participated in space projects and is also well known for its start-up companies, which are offshoots of the University.
Despite all its innovative developments, the core area of teaching and research at the Clausthal University of Technology is deeply rooted in the exploitation, refining, storage, distribution, use, and reuse of our earth's resources – be it materials, energy, or information. This gives the direction for research in Chemistry, Physics or Earth Sciences, and the Engineering Sciences such as Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering, Mining/Geotechnical Engineering, and Materials Science or Mathematics, Informatics and Economics. The University's compact size and the fact that facilities and institutes lie within a short distance encourage interfaculty cooperation, which is one reason for the superb worldwide reputation of the Clausthal University of Technology.
About 90 professors and over 400 research staff, and 500 technical and administrative employees of about 45 facilities are responsible for teaching and research. Up to one-third of the total budget is raised through research. Therefore the non-professorial teaching staff is mainly well developed. Honorary professors and visiting lecturers from the industry strengthen our programs of teaching with practice-oriented offers. Overall, the University has more than 1,100 employees, including 100 apprentices.
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