Saarland University is located in south-west Germany close to the borders with France and Luxembourg. The university has an international reputation for its research in computer science and for work in the life sciences and nanosciences. Close ties with France and a strong European focus are defining features of a university that attracts many international students. Saarland University is part of the "University of the Greater Region", a network of seven universities in Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Moreover, it has been awarded the European University status by the European Commission in 2019.

Study programs
Saarland University offers more than one hundred degree programmes. Saarbrücken is one of Europe’s leading teaching and research centres in the field of computer science with around 500 researchers working in eight highly respected research institutes. About 1700 students from 30 nations are enrolled in degree programmes in such fields as bioinformatics, computer linguistics and cyber security. In the life sciences there are close ties between medicine, pharmaceutical science and biology. There are also links to materials science and physics. Students benefit from the presence of other research institutes and the University Hospital in Homburg.

Traditional academic disciplines such as business economics, law and medicine are also taught. In the social sciences and humanities, interdisciplinary programmes such as ‘Historically Oriented Cultural Studies’ attract students to Saarbrücken from across Germany.

A defining feature is the range of cross-border programmes leading to double-degree qualifications mostly with French universities. Students on these courses not only study their chosen subject, such as physics or materials science, they also become acquainted with the language and culture of another country.

International research
Saarland University has one of the strongest research profiles of Germany’s mid-sized universities. This is demonstrated by the high levels of external funding, international visibility, strong research networks and the many external research organizations on campus, including two Max Planck Institutes, two Leibniz, two Fraunhofer and two Helmholtz Institutes.