Tradition and progress

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is characterized by three differing regions, the Rhineland, the Ruhr Area and the Münsterland, with each having its own distinctive population.

Westphalian University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen was founded in 1992 and is therefore comparatively new.
However, the story behind its founding plays a decisive role.

In the early 1990s, the Ruhr Area towns and cities were characterized by their industrial history and by the companies which had been set up there.

Shaft towers, factory buildings and collieries are still omnipresent in the Ruhr towns and cities and are reminders of the old mines and heavy industries. But a decline in industries representative of the Ruhr Area plus the simultaneous withdrawal of the textile industry from the Münsterland region, created a sudden opening for new and better-qualified workers.

The region was in need of the type of impetus which modern technology businesses and companies could provide.


To the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen Bocholt Recklinghausen, progress means being able to meet the demands created by today´s rapid changes in the world of work. It achieves this by delivering an evenly and well-balanced combination of education and practical experience; an offer which universities of applied sciences provide.

The steady increase in the range of specialized subjects offered by the University is an indicator of the coexistence between cultivation of tradition and ongoing development in education and research.

Currently, over 30 study courses are offered in technology, informatics, natural sciences,  business studies, law and journalism.

The University has responded to developments in the sciences and to changes in both professional and occupational needs. It has provided new buildings at all four University campuses enabling education and research to be undertaken at a high level and in a comfortable and pleasant learning environment.