Most of the German universities are public institutions, charging fees of only around €60-200 per semester for each student, usually to cover expenses associated with the university cafeterias and (usually mandatory) public transport tickets.Thus, academic education is open to most citizens and studying is very common in Germany. The dual education system combines both practical and theoretical education but does not lead to academic degrees. It is more popular in Germany than anywhere else in the world and is a role model for other countries.

The oldest universities of Germany are also among the oldest and best regarded in the world, with Heidelberg University being the oldest university.

While German universities have a strong focus on research, a large part of it is also done outside of universities in independent institutes that are embedded in academic clusters, such as within the Max Planck, Fraunhofer, Leibniz and Helmholtz institutes. This German peculiarity of “outsourcing” research leads to a competition for funds between universities and research institutes and may negatively affect academic rankings