The Technische Universität Darmstadt, commonly referred to as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt, Germany. It was founded in 1877 and received the right to award doctorates in 1899. In 1882 it was the first university in the world to set up a chair in electrical engineering, and founded the first faculty for it in 1883. TU Darmstadt is a member of TU9, a network of the most notable German Technische Universitäten (universities of technology).