The Rector of the University of Bonn

Source: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/organisation-and-institutions/rectorate/rector Parent: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/imprint

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch has been the 143rd Rector of the University of Bonn since May 2015.
The Rector is the head of the University of Bonn. He acts as its representative and ensures that University rules are observed.
He is responsible for defining the University’s strategic objectives (e.g. Excellence Strategy1) and coordinating their implementation. He is also responsible for the area of knowledge transfer.2
The Rector is assisted by the Rectorate’s Executive Management3.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch

since 2015 - 143rd Rector of the University of Bonn (in his third term of office)
since 2022 - Chair of the university allianceGerman U155
since 2023 - President of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation)6

Curriculum Vitae

2024: Re-elected as Rector

2020: Re-elected as Rector

2019: Under his leadership, the University of Bonn became the most successful institution in the German Excellence Strategy (6 Clusters of Excellence and title University of Excellence)

2019: “University Manager of the Year 2019” (CHE and DIE ZEIT)

2015:Elected as Rector of the University of Bonn

2000–2006: Co-founder of the Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES7) \ and Spokesperson for the LIMES Alliance

since 1999: University Professor of Molecular Developmental Biology at the University of Bonn

1983–1989: Studies in Biology in Heidelberg and Paris

Honours and awards (selected)

2024: “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” of the Japan’s Imperial House
2023: "Rector of the Decade" (DHV - German Association of University Professors and Lecturers8)
2020, 2021, 2023: “Rector of the Year” (DHV - German Association of University Professors and Lecturers8)
2020: Signature in the “Golden Book” of the City of Bonn
2017: Honorary Doctorate of Waseda University, Tokyo
1986 - 1989: Scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation

Rector’s Curriculum Vitae, English (PDF)9

A message from the Rector

WE - the very first word in our founding charter - captures the spirit that still defines us today. For over 200 years, the University of Bonn has united people from around the world to explore, discover, and shape the future together. Diversity, openness, and shared responsibility drive our community of 50,000 students, teachers, researchers, and staff.

As a University of Excellence, we are one of Germany's leading institutions of higher education. Located in Germany’s UN City and the country’s second political center, we are part of one of Europe’s most research-intensive regions. International rankings place us among the top 100 universities worldwide, with many disciplines counted among the global leaders.

With 8 Clusters of Excellence – a distinction unmatched in Germany – as well as eight Nobel Prizes and the only two Fields Medalists from Germany, we hold a leading position nationally and internationally.

Together with our regional, national, and international partners, we aim to make an even greater contribution to global progress in the future.

Yours sincerely, Michael Hoch

University of Bonn: Mission Statement10

News

University of Bonn Honors Four Outstanding Individuals with Its University Medal15

The University Medal is the highest honor that the University of Bonn can bestow on its members and its wider community, meaning that it is only ever awarded to people who have rendered truly special service to the University. The medal is presented by the Rectorate and the Senate, which counts representatives of all the University’s status groups among its members. This year, this unique accolade was conferred on to four exceptional individuals during the ceremonial opening of the academic year 2025/26.

Oct 21, 2025 15

University of Bonn One of Germany’s Top Four Universities16

The recently published Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) still puts the University of Bonn among the four best universities in Germany. It has been placed 11th in the list of top universities in the EU and 68th in the world.

Aug 15, 2025 16

Most successful University in the competition, having received eight Clusters of Excellence17

A huge success for the University of Bonn: today, all six of the University of Bonn's existing Clusters of Excellence were selected for further funding in the nationwide Excellence Competition. In addition, both newly applied Bonn cluster initiatives will receive funding from the federal and state governments. This means that Bonn will be represented by a total of eight clusters in the coming funding period - more than at any other university in Germany.

May 22, 2025 17

Carnival meets University - carnival revelers, plaster art and mythical creatures18

The University of Bonn has been combining academic excellence with Rhenish cheerfulness for many years. This carnival season, the gates of the University of Excellence are once again wide open for encounters of the jolly kind. The Rector's traditional reception for the Carnival Prince and Bonna was just the beginning...

Feb 23, 2025 18

Change at the top of the Bonn University Council19

The University Council of the University of Bonn has a new chairman: The committee unanimously elected the Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation, Dr. Georg Schütte, to succeed Prof. Dr. Dieter Engels, who had chaired the University Council since 2013.

Feb 03, 2025 19

University of Bonn opens its 2024/2025 academic year20

As is tradition, the University of Bonn opened its 2024/2025 academic year on October 18, the date of the institution’s founding. The joy at everything that the University of Excellence and its members had achieved was tempered by a contemplative mood due in particular to the many conflicts currently affecting the world—conflicts whose impact can also be felt here in Bonn.

Oct 18, 2024 20

Japan’s Imperial House honors Rector Michael Hoch21

Rector Professor Michael Hoch has now been given the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” of Japan’s Imperial House in recognition of his contribution to academic exchange and Japanese-German understanding. The order, which is one of the highest awarded in Japan for services to civil society, was presented by the country’s Consul-General Setsuko Kawahara on behalf of the Tennō and the Prime Minister of Japan at a ceremony held at her official residence in Düsseldorf.

Oct 01, 2024 21

University Election Assembly elects five female and one male Vice-Rectors22

The University Election Assembly of the University of Bonn has elected five female Vice-Rectors and one male Vice-Rector. This completes the team with which Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch will start his third term of office in May 2025. Vice-Rectors are part-time and form the Rectorate together with the Rector and Provost Holger Gottschalk.

Jul 05, 2024 22

Contact

Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Hoch

rektor@uni-bonn.de

+49 228 73 5738

Rector of the University of Bonn

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

About the Rectorate's Executive Management3

Jonas Fehres

fehres@uni-bonn.de

+49 228 73 5088

Personal Assistant to the Rector

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

Niklas Almasi

niklas.almasi@uni-bonn.de

+49 228 73 5090

Advisor to the Rector

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

Christopher Prinz

christopher.prinz@uni-bonn.de

+49 228 73 69002

Advisor to the Rector

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

Heidrun Schneider-Klinkosch

rektorbuero@uni-bonn.de

+49 228 73 5738

Assistant to the Rector

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

Lisa Wulf

rektorbuero@uni-bonn.de

+49 228 73 68754

Assistant to the Rector

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

Press Service

Please direct any press inquiries to the Press Service23.

Also see

The Provost

Holger Gottschalk has been the head of the University administration since 2017. His goal is to achieve agile university management.

About the Provost24

Excellence Strategy

Since 2019, the University of Bonn has held the title of "University of Excellence" and, with six Clusters of Excellence, has been the most successful institution in the German Excellence Strategy. In 2025, it succeeded in securing two additional Clusters.

About the Excellence Strategy25

enaCom Transfer Center

The enaCom Transfer Center is the point of contact for all matters relating to knowledge and technology transfer—for everyone interested in working together with us.

More information on enaCom26

The Rector of the University of Bonn

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch

Curriculum Vitae

Honours and awards (selected)

A message from the Rector

News

Contact

Press Service

Also see

The Provost

Excellence Strategy

enaCom Transfer Center

Links