In 2007 Freie Universität Berlin first won excellence status in the German government’s first Excellence Initiative competition for universities. This status was re-confirmed in June 2012, when the university won special funding for its future development strategy, “Veritas- Justitia - Libertas. International Network University.”

On July 19, 2019, the Berlin University Alliance won funding as a group in the Universities of Excellence funding line of the German government’s Excellence Strategy. The four Berlin partners – Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – had submitted a joint proposal entitled Crossing Boundaries toward an Integrated Research Environment.

The four institutions had previously performed very well in the decisions in the first funding line. On September 27, 2018, seven Clusters of Excellence were approved for funding. The Berlin alliance is the first and only university consortium with excellence status in Germany.