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Our quality for your opportunities! So that you can enjoy the best possible education and preparation for your future.
Recognised, tested, recommended - an overview of our quality
Not only external bodies, but also our own students give us top marks: IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) regularly receives top ratings from the best-known study comparison platforms, where students can rate and recommend universities and study programmes.
Top ratings for our students
What our students say about us is particularly important to us. That's why we are delighted with the consistently high ratings on independent platforms:
Top Fernhochschule Award 2026 – FernstudiumCheck
IU Distance Learning regularly receives top ratings from our students: With a recommendation rate of 97% on the FernstudiumCheck platform, IU Distance Learning is once again one of the most popular distance learning programmes in Germany in 2026.
1st place Fernhochschulen 2026 – Fernstudium direkt
The IU distance learning programme also received excellent marks from the comparison platform Fernstudium Direkt. With 4.4 out of 5 stars, we were awarded as an "excellent provider" in 2026 and landed on the 1st place of the best list of distance learning providers.
Category Award "Top Hochschule 2026" – StudyCheck
Our Dual Studies and our IU myStudium made it into the ranking of the most popular universities in the category "over 15.000 students" on the StudyCheck comparison platform in 2026.
Real experiences, real stories - directly from our students
Our students tell us how they experience their studies at IU - with family, job or special challenges. Be inspired by their personal stories.
Erfahrungen im Fernstudium lesen Erfahrungen im dualen Studium entdeckenRankings: Top positions for teaching, practical relevance & support
The IU regularly achieves excellent results in renowned rankings:
FIBAA
IU is the first German University of Applied Sciences to receive the ‘Excellence in Digital Education’ seal of quality from the FIBAA Accreditation and Certification Commission in the ‘Premium’ category. According to the panel of experts, IU exceeds the underlying quality requirements in 15 out of 23 criteria. Digital teaching at IU is therefore rated as excellent.
FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation) is an internationally recognised accreditation and certification agency that supports universities in quality assurance. It accredits according to the standards of the German Accreditation Council and awards the FIBAA quality seal to universities and study programmes. Excellent performance is recognised with the premium seal.
AACSB International is a non-profit organisation with a global network that connects educators, students and diverse businesses to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of outstanding leaders.
Since 1916, AACSB has stood for the highest standards of performance, providing quality assurance and services in the areas of learning, development and business intelligence to more than 1700 organisations and over 840 accredited business schools worldwide. As a member of the AACSB, we are part of a movement that is committed to the education and skills development of tomorrow's professionals and leaders.
The Hanseatic Certification Agency (HZA) confirmed the quality assurance measures for teaching materials and services in 2017.
As the largest private university, it is important to us to do more for climate change. That's why we have been teaching and working in a completely climate-neutral way since 2020 - as the first distance learning university in the world. Together with TÜV Süd, we have drawn up our personal greenhouse gas footprint - because every lecture theatre, every journey to campus and every email generates CO2 emissions. To offset these emissions, we support recognised climate protection projects such as the 1005 MW Wind Project India and the Kariba Forest Protection Project. There is also an action plan to reduce the intensity of emissions, which includes switching to sustainable, green energy. In addition, the topic of sustainability flows directly into teaching - whether through individual modules, seminar projects or entire research projects.
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Awards, accreditations and certifications
