Overview

Goethe University Frankfurt is a public research university based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Established in 1914 as a citizens’ university funded by the local community, it is recognised for its interdisciplinary research and commitment to academic freedom, international collaboration and social responsibility. The university operates across multiple campuses and offers a broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes.

The institution’s mission emphasises open, democratic and diverse research and teaching. Goethe University positions itself as a learning organisation that promotes dialogue, equal opportunity and engagement with societal challenges through research and education.

Mission and focus areas

Goethe University conducts research and teaching across 16 faculties, including economics, law, medicine, social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. It supports disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research aimed at addressing complex social, environmental and economic issues.

Sustainability forms an increasing part of the university’s strategic direction. Through its Sustainability Office and related initiatives, Goethe University integrates sustainability into research, governance, campus operations and knowledge transfer. The university also contributes to sustainability and ESG-related research through collaborations such as the Frankfurt Panel on Sustainability Research and programmes focused on sustainable finance and ESG management.

Structure and governance

The university is led by a presidential board and operates through a transparent organisational structure comprising faculties, central institutions and administrative divisions. Governance frameworks emphasise stakeholder participation, academic independence and institutional accountability.

Goethe University also works closely with regional and international research networks, including Max Planck institutes and finance-related research centres located within Frankfurt’s academic and financial ecosystem.

Programs and offerings

Goethe University provides degree programmes, executive education, research centres and specialised institutes across a wide range of disciplines. Its offerings include sustainability and ESG certificate programmes, financial research initiatives, interdisciplinary sustainability projects and practitioner-oriented academic partnerships.

The university also produces research publications, policy-relevant analysis, sustainability reporting initiatives and public engagement activities. Resources such as the Sustainability Office, sustainability consultation programmes and research collaborations support knowledge exchange between academia, industry and policymakers.

Goethe University Mission Statement*

At the heart of Europe and open to the world, Goethe University Frankfurt is a workshop for the future. Founded by and for citizens in 1914, it resumed this tradition in 2008 as an autonomous foundation university. Obligated by its eventful history, the University is guided by the concepts of European Enlightenment, democracy and the rule of law, and opposes racism, nationalism and antisemitism. Goethe University Frankfurt is a place of argumentative debate; research and teaching carry social responsibility. The University and its namesake – writer, thinker and naturalist Johann Wolfgang Goethe – have in common innovative thinking and interdisciplinary action.

Our main principles are:

• We address societal questions with disciplinary diversity.
• We are committed to the freedom and unity of research and teaching.
• We teach, learn and conduct research at an international level.
• We review our own performance in a constructive and critical manner.
• We see ourselves as a learning organization.
• We ensure transparent management structures and participation of all stakeholders.
• We put equal opportunity into practice.
• Our thinking and action are based on our appreciation of openness and diversity. As a citizens’ university, we seek to engage in a dialogue with all social groups.

* Includes modifications proposed by the University Forum on June 4, 2014, reactions to the announcement of June 30, 2014, and Senate amendments of October 8, 2014.