However, since it started teaching, there have been cooperation agreements with allied countries, on the basis of which a handful of selected officers from these states have been able to study in Hamburg.

[3] Academic degrees and titles obtained at HSU are equivalent to those awarded by state universities and are equally valid, since the courses comply with the requirements of Hamburg's higher education legislation.

[4] On 11 June 1970, the Federal Minister of Defense at the time, Helmut Schmidt, for whom the university was later named and who later would become chancellor of Germany, published a decree that a university be established for the purpose of schooling certain members of the German Federal Armed Forces.

[5] The German Federal Armed Forces agreed 29 June 1972 to collaborate with Schmidt's ideas for the university.

At the Helmut Schmidt University there is a specific organizational structure, in addition to the division between the areas of teaching and administration that is common to all universities, there is a military side, to accommodate the HSU's dual function as an educational establishment and a military authority for the students.

The number of departments was designed so as to allow for intensive study through teaching in small groups, and for the pursuing of research at the same time.

: "student subject area groups"), commandend by an army or air force captain or a naval lieutenant (NATO Rank Code OF-2).

In the course of the reforms of army training and the correspondingly higher student numbers in 2007 and 2008, further company commanders were added for the period 2007–2011 and again in 2019.

Apart from the administrative management of the soldiers, the Student Body Regiment undertakes the military training and advanced education of their personnel, in order to hone individual common core skills.

In contrast to the semester format usually practised in Germany, a year at the HSU is divided into 3 terms (trimesters) which means that it consists not of a winter and summer semester, but of autumn, winter and spring terms, 3 blocks of 3 months each.

As part of the graduation ceremony, the Böttcher-Preis, founded by the Hamburg businessman Johann Max Böttcher, is awarded to the highest-performing students of each year.

The library primarily exists to support the teaching and research of the HSU, but is also accessible to the general public.

The establishment of a uniform German Qualifications Framework in the context of the European Qualifications Framework may be traced back in no small part to the work of the professor for professional and organizational education in the working group of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, through expert advice and support.

South of the BAB 24, on the premised of the former Hanseatic barracks in the Stoltenstraße in Horn, is the accommodation for students of humanities and social sciences, and economics, and the medical facility.

In addition, from 2007 to 2010, flats will be rented on the private market, in order to absorb the overload of students, which is due to the unusually well-attended years of 2007 and 2008.

In principle, every student receives a single room with area of 14 to 20 m2 (151 to 215 sq ft), mostly with en-suite bathroom and toilet.

Due to structural changes in military training, several external residences had to be acquired including the former Lettow-Vorbeck Barracks, which is now used by the Federal Police (Bundespolizei).

Another facility frequented by students and staff is the casino, the officer's club of the HSU (not a gambling establishment), located opposite the campus.

Due to the quite strict study plan, compared with public universities, it is often not easy for students to pursue leisure activities.

In the course of the years, however, many different clubs and societies have been formed, to enable leisure activities without clashing with study obligations.