Since 2007, RWTH Aachen has been continuously funded by the DFG and the German Council of Science and Humanities as one of eleven (previously nine) German Universities of Excellence for its future concept RWTH 2020: Meeting Global Challenges and the follow-up concept The Integrated Interdisciplinary University of Science and Technology: Knowledge, Impact, Networks, also receiving grants for associated graduate schools and clusters of excellence.

On 25 January 1858, prince Frederick William of Prussia (later German emperor), was given a donation of 5,000 talers from the Aachener und Münchener Feuer-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft, the precursor of the AachenMünchener insurance company, for charity.

This began to change in 1880 when the early RWTH, amongst others, was reorganized as a Royal Technical University, gained a seat in the Prussian House of Lords and finally won the right to bestow Dr.-Ing.

Beginning in September 1933, Jewish and (alleged) Communist professors (and from 1937 on also students) were systematically persecuted and excluded from the university.

[10] The freedom of research and teaching became severely limited, and institutes important for the regime's plans were systematically established, and existing chairs promoted.

[11] In December 2006, RWTH Aachen and the Sultanate of Oman signed an agreement to establish a private German University of Technology in Muscat.

In June 2024 a research by Correctiv journalists showed Chinese military involvement in several RWTH projects.

From 100 RWTH professors in Mechanical- and Electrical engineering 19 had coorperated with researchers from NUDT and the Seven Sons of National Defence initiative and 45 had benefited from Chinese government funding.

The money, in some cases channelled through companies privately held by RWTH professors, went, among other things, to projects with military applications, including radar technology for drones.

[16][17] The RWTH has external facilities in Jülich and Essen and owns, together with the University of Stuttgart, a house in Kleinwalsertal in the Austrian Alps.

Double degrees and student mobility are promoted with other technology universities through the TIME (Top Industrial Managers for Europe) network.

Compared to other German universities the RWTH Aachen received the highest amount of funds granted by third-party donors in the last years.

In Asia, RWTH Aachen collaborates with Tsinghua University to offer Tsinghua-Aachen (Germany) Joint Master Program.

[26] In the 2015 ranking published by DAAD together with Centre for Higher Education Development and Die Zeit, RWTH Aachen also stands on top among other German universities in the aforementioned fields of engineering and computer science.

[31][32][33][34][35] Almost all basic lectures are held in German, but an increasing number of master programs require proficiency in English for admission.

Since the summer semester of 2007, all students enrolled at the RWTH Aachen had to pay these €500, if they were not exempt for one of several reasons put forth by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Since 24 February 2011 study fees were abolished by the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia (Legislation for the Improvement of Equal Opportunities to University Admission) with effect from Winter Term 2011/12.

Universities will receive 249 Mio Euro of national funding for measures that improve the quality of teaching (e.g., through additional teachers and tutors) as compensation.

AICES is a collaborative effort of 47 principal investigators from 8 academic divisions of RWTH Aachen University, as well as Max Planck Institute for Iron Research and Forschungszentrum Jülich.

RWTH Aachen University has educated several notable individuals, including some Nobel laureates in physics and chemistry.

The scientists and alumni of the RWTH Aachen played a major role in chemistry, medicine, electrical, and mechanical engineering.