Adult education centers (Volkshochschulen, VHS) are public adult education institutions that are run by the administrative districts and independent cities in Thuringia.

Thuringia's adult education centers act on behalf of the state and are not subject to ideological or commercial interests. As an independent part of the educational system, they cooperate with a wide variety of institutions in order to combine the content of their offerings with the goals of adult education and, in this sense, make an important contribution to the social, intellectual and cultural development of citizens.

The 23 adult education centers in Thuringia offer a comprehensive range of general, political, cultural and vocational education in the form of lectures, courses, seminars, workshops, working groups, discussion groups, study trips, etc. for general or continuing education. The educational offerings of the adult education centers include the basic areas of politics - society - environment, culture and design, health, languages, work and career, and basic education. Among other things, the adult education centers also offer the possibility of acquiring school-leaving qualifications via the second educational pathway, thus opening up opportunities for access to further qualifications.