Hochschule Fresenius is a private , state - recognized university of applied sciences accredited by the Science Council . It is divided into five departments: Economics & Media, Health & Social Affairs, Chemistry & Biology, Design and Onlineplus. The sponsor is Hochschule Fresenius gGmbH, a subsidiary of COGNOS AG. 

The university goes back to the Fresenius chemical laboratory founded in 1848 by Carl Remigius Fresenius and the associated laboratory school. In 1931, the Fresenius School of Chemistry received state recognition for the training of chemical engineers . In 1962, the chemistry school and research laboratory were separated and the chemical engineer training was supplemented by an engineering degree. Three years later, the chemistry school was upgraded to an engineering school. In 1971 it was officially recognized as a Fresenius University of Applied Sciences with a degree in chemical engineering .

In 1995 the university moved from Wiesbaden to Idstein . In 1997, the vocational school for speech therapy in Darmstadt was taken over, which has been based in Frankfurt am Main since 2010 . In addition to the originally single chemistry department, the Economics & Media and Health & Social Affairs departments were added in 1998. The university was renamed Europa Fachhochschule Fresenius . The Cologne location was founded in 2003, the Zwickau location (which was closed in 2016) in 2004, and the Hamburg and Munich locations in 2008 . In 2008 the name was changed toFresenius University of Applied Sciences .

A location was opened in Düsseldorf in 2012 . In the same year, the departments were restructured and the school and academy models were introduced. Since then, the courses have been assigned to different schools.

The Fresenius University of Applied Sciences is state-recognized by the Hessian Ministry for Science and Art . The courses at all locations are based on the Hessian Higher Education Act. The university undergoes a regular review of the entire institution by the Science Council . Hochschule Fresenius is audited and certified annually by the certification organization CERTQUA in terms of quality management and organizational development.