Thomas von der Vring, between 1957 and 1963, studied history, sociology and economics in Munich and Frankfurt and in 1964 he received his doctorate in Frankfurt. During that time he was member of the Socialist German Student Union (SDS). From 1963 to 1968 von der Ving worked as assistant to Political Sciences at the Technical University of Hannover. Between 1968 and 1970 he was a university lecturer in Hannover. Between 1970 and 1974 he was founding rector of the University of Bremen. He was a professor of Political Economy from 1974 to 1979.
In 1979 Thomas von der Vring was elected member of the European Parliament and remained an MEP until 1994. During that period he was member of the Socialist Group, member of the Group of the Party of European Socialists, Chair of the Committee on Budgets, member of the Committee on Regional Policy and Regional Planning, member of the Delegation to the European Parliament/Spanish Cortes Joint Committee, member of the Committee on Budgets, member of the Delegation for relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and member of the Delegation for relations with Albania, Bulgaria and Romania.
From 1994 until his retirement in 2000, Thomas von der Vring worked again as a lecturer in political economy at the University of Bremen.