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ATechnische Hochschule (German:[ˌtɛçnɪʃəˈhoːxˌʃuːlə], plural:Technische Hochschulen, abbreviatedTH) is a type of university focusing on engineering sciences in Germany. Previously, it also existed inAustria,Switzerland, theNetherlands (Technische Hogeschool), andFinland (teknillinen korkeakoulu,teknisk högskola). In the 1970s (in Germany) and the 1980s (in the Netherlands), theTechnische Hochschule emerged into theTechnische Universität (German) orTechnische Universiteit (Dutch). Since 2009, several Germanuniversities of applied sciences were renamed asTechnische Hochschulen.
InGerman-language countries, the termHochschule is more general thanUniversität (plural:Universitäten) and also encompasses universities which do not have the right to conferdoctorates andhabilitations, in contrast toUniversitäten. Today,Universitäten as well as otherHochschulen call themselvesTechnische Hochschule for historical reasons. However, aTechnische Hochschule with the status of aUniversität is regarded as aTechnische Universität despite the name.
Since theMiddle Ages, higher education institutions in Europe were called auniversity only if a certain classicalcanon of subjects encompassingphilosophy,medicine,law andtheology was taught. Whenengineering sciences became more important in academica due to theIndustrial Revolution, institutions oftertiary education devoted to these were denied the prestigious denomination "university", and had to use the more general termHochschule instead.
It was a major breakthrough, then, when in the first half of the 20th century, someTechnische Hochschulen inGermany andTechnische Hogescholen in theNetherlands were given the right to award thedoctoral degrees, and again later when they were allowed to call themselves universities. This change of status was accompanied by a broader spectrum of academic disciplines and more fundamental research.
While most formerTechnische Hochschulen opted to change their name toTechnische Universität to reflect their new status, some of them preferred to maintain their traditional and established names, most notably theRWTH Aachen in Germany as well asETH Zurich andEPF Lausanne in Switzerland.
Starting in 2009, several Germanuniversities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) with a technical focus have changed their names toTechnische Hochschule.
List of AustrianTechnische Universitäten by location:
| Institution | Established | City | State | Staff | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technische Universität Graz | 1811 | Graz | Styria | 2,256 | 12,692 |
| Technische Universität Wien | 1815 | Vienna | Vienna | 4,078 | 26,218 |
The concept of a TH exists also in Finland asteknillinen korkeakoulu, which is equivalent to a TH. Examples includeTeknillinen korkeakoulu in Espoo,Tampereen teknillinen korkeakoulu andLappeenrannan teknillinen korkeakoulu. Similarly to German speaking countries, most of them later changed their name toteknillinen yliopisto, which is equivalent to a TU. However,Teknillinen korkeakoulu retained its old name until it merged with two other universities to form the currentAalto University.
List of GermanTechnische Universitäten by location:
List ofTechnische Hochschulen (institutions with the status ofTechnische Universität not included) by location:
List ofSwiss Federal Institutes of Technology by location:
| Institution | Established | City | Staff | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | 1853 | Lausanne | 4,000 | 9,000 |
| Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich | 1855 | Zürich | 10,242 | 17,781 |
List of Universities of Technology (Technische Universiteiten) in the Netherlands:
| Institution | Established | City | Staff | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delft University of Technology | 1842 | Delft | 7,265 | 26,424 |
| Eindhoven University of Technology | 1956 | Eindhoven | 3,200 | 12,926 |
4TU is the federation of the four Dutch universities of technology with the following institutions as members:Delft University of Technology (TU Delft),Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e),University of Twente (UT), andWageningen University and Research Centre (WUR).
