Sign in

Private company

FernUniversität in Hagen

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

German university

The University of Hagen (German: FernUniversität in Hagen, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the university maintains more than 50 study and research centers in Germany and throughout Europe. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, it is Germany's second-largest university.2 It employed 98 people in 2023.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1974Founded1
  • HeadquartersHagen1
  • Websitewww.fernuni-hagen.de
  • Legal formKörperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts3
  • Kind of organizationPublic body1
  • LEI967600UAB2SN4I3RTU153
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressUniversitätsstr. 47, 58097 Hagen, Germany3

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Fernuni Hagen 3
Photo: Bärwinkel,Klaus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

The University of Hagen (German: FernUniversität in Hagen, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the university maintains more than 50 study and research centers in Germany and throughout Europe. According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, it is Germany's second-largest university. The university was founded in 1974 as a public research university by the state Nordrhein-Westfalen and began its research and teaching activities in 1975. It was founded following the idea of UK's Open University to provide higher and continuing education opportunities through a distance education system in Germany.2

Corporate structure

FernUniversität in Hagen sits at the top of its group. 1 entity, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • FernUniversität in Hagen Hagen, Germany
    • Fuxml Owned

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What FernUniversität in Hagen reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • Fuxml

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

Lifelong learning, further education concurrent with work, along with the necessity to relieve the overcrowded on-campus universities have been important topics in the early 1970s. All this inspired the then minister of Higher Education and Research of the state North Rhine Westphalia to establish a public research university at Hagen dedicated to distance teaching.

Under the NRW-Foundation Law of 1 December 1974 the "pioneers" from academia and administration had only ten months for preparing the new university, so that 1,300 students could embark on their studies from winter academic term 1975/76. The two academic departments of economics and mathematics were soon joined by business administration, education, cultural sciences, social sciences and humanities, as well as electrical engineering, information technology, law and computer science. After some restructuring, these subject areas have been organised into five faculties. The first study centres in North Rhine-Westphalia started operating simultaneously with the FernUniversität.

According to the Bologna Process every course offered by the university has been transformed to bachelor's and master's degrees. The transformation was finished in 2010. Due to the transformation a sharp rise in the number of students was observable, e.g. 3,400 new students seeking a bachelor's degree in psychology enrolled in 2009.

From Wikipedia’s article on University of Hagen, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

Research

The University of Hagen supports focus- and profile-oriented research. Interdisciplinary and cross-faculty collaboration leads to the grouping together of competencies and to the formation of competitive research focal points. At the same time, basic and applied research is the basis for promoting the new generation of academics.

Research Institutes

FIRM – Forschungsinstitut für rechtliches Informationsmanagement (Research Institute for Legal Informationmanagement)

FTB – Forschungsinstitut Technologie und Behinderung (Research Center for Technology and Disabilities)

FTK – Forschungsinstitut für Telekommunikation (Research Institute for Telecommunication)

Read the full text

HIMS – Hagener Institut für Managementstudien e.V. (Hagener Institute for Management Studies)

IKS – Institut für kooperative Systeme (Institute for Cooperative Systems)

IWW – Institut für Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Forschung und Weiterbildung GmbH (Institute for Economic Research and Training)

TestDaF-Institut (Institute for Market Research)

Spin-offs

ISL – Internet Sicherheitslösungen GmbH (Internet Security Solutions Ltd.)

MMK – MultiMedia Kommunikationssysteme GmbH (MultiMedia Communication Systems Ltd.)

Peperoni Mobile & Internet Software GmbH

Partnerships and cooperations

In the fields of research and development the FU Hagen's faculties and chairs hold a wide array of diverse cooperations with renowned international scientific institutions, companies, associations (like the Kurt Haertel Institute for Intellectual Property) as well as public institutions.

Furthermore, exchange of technology and knowledge is conducted through a variety of cooperation projects between science and industry, ranging from final theses by arrangement with the individual employer to commissioned research. Moreover, joint development of academic further education programs with companies, associations and scientific institutions contributes to the interlinking of academia and practice.

From Wikipedia’s article on University of Hagen, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Subsidiaries and ownership

Also owns

  • Fuxml

From Wikidata.1

Employees over time

  • 2023981

Timeline

  1. 1974Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6