Alanus University is a state-approved private University of Arts and Social Sciences. It is a place of arts-based education and academic research. The University offers a wide range of courses covering both artistic and academic disciplines. Since January 2003, Alanus University has offered fully recognised and accredited arts degrees, and since January 2006, has offered fully state recognised academic degrees, including Business Management and Art Teacher Training. In May 2010 the University was awarded institutional accreditation by the German Scientific Council and was assigned the right to award doctorates.

The Arts in Dialogue

The university was named after Alanus ab Insulis (ca. 1114 - 1203 A.D.) who taught the seven liberal arts as part of a human centred approach to education. As early as the twelfth century, his idea was to teach a broad range of skills as a way of cultivating essentially human qualities. Following Alanus ab Insulis' idea, Alanus University puts its main focus on an inter-disciplinary arts-based training that offers deep social engagement as well as creative and personal inspiration.