The Northwest Alliance unites the University of Bremen and the University of Oldenburg. Since their founding over 50 years ago, both reform-oriented universities have championed a steadfast commitment to addressing the pressing societal challenges of our time. This shared ethos shapes every aspect of university life from research to teaching to everyday university operations.
With a combined total of around 580 professors, 6,400 employees, 2,700 doctoral researchers, and 33,000 students, the universities of Oldenburg and Bremen form the heart of a vibrant scientific ecosystem in northwestern Germany. The two locations are home to four Clusters of Excellence. As Northwest Alliance partners, the University of Bremen and the University of Oldenburg jointly applied in the second funding line of the German Excellence Strategy, pursuing the goal of becoming Universities of Excellence.
University of Bremen
The University of Bremen is a medium-sized university with over 18,000 students. It offers a wide range of subjects and programs including 100 master’s and bachelor’s programs, as well as the state law exam. The university is part of the European university alliance YUFE.
The university has five high-profile research areas: Marine, Polar, and Climate Research; Social Change, Social Policy, and the State; Materials Sciences and Technologies; Minds, Media, Machines; and Health Sciences. Two Clusters of Excellence are currently being funded as part of the German federal and state governments’ Excellence Strategy: “The Ocean Floor” in marine sciences (since 2006) and “The Martian Mindset: A Scarcity-Driven Engineering Paradigm” in materials sciences (since 2026).
University of Oldenburg
The University of Oldenburg conducts research and teaching on the major issues of the 21st century. Founded in 1973, the university now boasts around 15,000 students and over 300 partnerships with universities worldwide. In the tradition of its namesake, the committed democrat, pacifist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Carl von Ossietzky, it is committed to transparent science with a sense of social responsibility and sees itself as a cosmopolitan university.
Embedded in the region and at the same time internationally oriented, the university takes a strongly interdisciplinary approach to research. In keeping with its motto “Open to new paths,” the university offers a creative environment for developing and sharing knowledge. The university is partnered with numerous non-university institutions in research, education, the arts, and business. Non-university research institutes are located on campus, including the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity. The University of Oldenburg is one of the best German universities for start-ups and a pioneer of the “Open University.”
Since January 2026, three Clusters of Excellence have been based at the University of Oldenburg: Hearing4all.connects (in cooperation with the University of Hannover and the Hannover Medical School), The Ocean Floor (in cooperation with the University of Bremen), and NaviSense.
History
The Northwest Alliance builds on a long-standing cooperation between the universities of Oldenburg and Bremen. Since their founding in the 1970s, the two universities have worked closely together in fields such as marine, polar, and climate research, computer science, health sciences, and energy research. For a detailed overview, explore the timeline:
© Jens Oellermann
2025
The Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg establish the Northwest Alliance.
© Uni Bremen
2019
The University of Bremen becomes a founding member of the European University Alliance YUFE.
© Uni Oldenburg
2012
The University Medical Center in Oldenburg is founded—initially under the name “European Medical School,” in collaboration with the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
© malopo/Adobe Stock
2009
Oldenburg is awarded the titel “City of Science.”
© Von Schulzff - eigenes Werk, CC BY 3.0
2005
Bremen receives the award “City of Science.”
© HWK
1995
The Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg – Institute for Advanced Study (HWK) is founded.
© Universität Groningen / Marcel Spanjer
1980
The University of Oldenburg signs its first cooperation agreement with a foreign university, the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
© Uni Oldenburg
1973
The ruling of the Lower Saxony state parliament of December 3, 1973, to establish the University of Oldenburg comes into force.
© Fotoarchiv SBK-Bremen
1971
On October 14, 1971, the University of Bremen is inaugurated in the ceremonial hall of Bremen Town Hall.