Tired and lost in thought, Claudius Urban was undergoing his daily dental hygiene routine a few years ago when his toothbrush slipped from his hands. A non-event by all accounts, but one that would eventually help Urban find his way into one of Germany’s top film schools.

There comes a time in just about every student’s life when money becomes a serious issue. Like, where did it go? And so darn quickly? One moment you’re living it up on double vanilla lattés and...

The German Sport University Cologne is a sporting city: it has Bundesliga soccer, a sport museum, an Olympic training center, trainer academies – and

Higher education in Germany is changing fast – as a result of numerous reforms and the Initiative for Excellence. The quality of research and teaching is benefiting from this – and so are students.

On October 19, the decision announcing which universities had won Germany’s second round of funding in the Excellence Initiative was made public. The six universities awarded the "excellence status" are Berlin's Free University, RWTH Aachen University, and universities in Freiburg, Göttingen, Heidelberg and Constance.

• Freie Universität Berlin

• Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

• Albert-
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