Excellence Strategy

Excellence Strategy — Clusters of Excellence Round 2 (decision, funding from)

Funds seven-year cross-disciplinary research clusters at German universities to strengthen international competitiveness and talent development.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Clusters of Excellence funding line is the project-based pillar of Germany's Excellence Strategy, a joint Federal Government and Länder programme launched in 2019 to strengthen the international competitiveness of German universities. Clusters receive seven-year project funding to support internationally competitive, cross-disciplinary research fields addressed by individual universities or university networks. The programme spans every academic discipline, from basic research to collective behaviour to cybersecurity, and enables intensive talent development as well as recruitment of international researchers. Host universities may additionally apply for a Universitätspauschale — a lump-sum strategic allowance — alongside their cluster award.

The second funding phase covers up to 70 Clusters of Excellence at an annual budget of 539 million EUR from 2026, up from the first-phase ceiling of 57 clusters. The Federal Government contributes 75 percent of all costs; the host Land contributes the remaining 25 percent. The overall Excellence Strategy budget (clusters plus universities) reaches 687 million EUR per year from 2026. Eligibility is restricted to German universities and university networks; non-university research organisations may participate as cooperation partners but cannot lead. The entire selection process is science-led, conducted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with international peer review, and decided by the 39-member Excellence Commission. Round 2 proposals closed on 22 August 2024; the Excellence Commission announced funded clusters on 22 May 2025; funding commenced 1 January 2026 for a seven-year term.

A second seven-year funding period is possible under review. Because Round 2 is fully committed, no open competition exists until approximately 2031. Organisations tracking this program should monitor the DFG's Excellence Strategy pages for the Round 3 announcement and ensure they have existing or planned Clusters of Excellence in place before a new call opens, as eligibility for the companion Universities of Excellence line is gated on cluster participation.