University of Wuppertal

The University of Wuppertal was established in 1972 as part of the North Rhine-Westphalian (NRW) drive to create a practically oriented (or 'comprehensive') higher education sector. Already existing HE institutions in the region, like the Schools of Engineering, Industrial Art, and Education, were assimilated into the new format and expanded to incorporate new departments. A leading figure in this development was the locally born then NRW Minister of Science and Research, later Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and Federal German President, Johannes Rau.

In 2003 the so-called 'Comprehensive University of Wuppertal' was re-styled simply 'University of Wuppertal'. The initial 3473 students by now numbered 23,000.

A main focus of degree programs remained on the traditional Wuppertal subjects of engineering and science on the one hand and art and design on the other, with economics and the humanities given new prominence and state examinations for future school teachers offered in a wide variety of subjects. The roots of the UW Faculty of Engineering, as of the Faculty of Art and Design, go back well into the 19th century.