diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c10d4f292..af4d02524 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ include(RegisterSourceGroup)
 include(imported)
 include(CheckCXXSourceCompiles)
 include(CheckCSourceCompiles)
+include(ProcessorCount)
 
 #############################################################
 ##
@@ -84,6 +85,17 @@ set(ADDITIONAL_LINK_DIRS "" CACHE STRING "Additional directories added to the li
 set(USE_XERCESC ${XML_SUPPORT})
 mark_as_advanced(USE_XERCESC)
 
+# Get an approximation of the number of available processors (used for parallel build of shipped resources)
+ProcessorCount(STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT_DEFAULT)
+# To be safe, we only take a little more than half of the resources.
+# This also correctly deals with the case where ProcessorCount is unable to find the correct number (and thus returns 0)
+MATH(EXPR STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT_DEFAULT "${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT_DEFAULT}/2 + 1")
+set(STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT "${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT_DEFAULT}" CACHE STRING "The number of jobs used when building external resources")
+mark_as_advanced(STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT)
+if(NOT STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT GREATER 0)
+	message(FATAL_ERROR "STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT must be a positive number. Got '${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT}' instead." )
+endif()
+
 # Set some CMAKE Variables as advanced
 mark_as_advanced(CMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES)
 mark_as_advanced(CMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT)
diff --git a/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt b/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt
index cdc18db60..6bfd018ea 100644
--- a/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/resources/3rdparty/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ set(STORM_3RDPARTY_SOURCE_DIR ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/resources/3rdparty)
 set(STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/resources/3rdparty)
 set(STORM_3RDPARTY_INCLUDE_DIR ${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/include/resources/3rdparty)
 
+message(STATUS "Storm - Building external resources with ${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT} job(s) in parallel.")
 
 #############################################################
 ##
@@ -338,7 +339,7 @@ if (STORM_SHIPPED_CARL)
             CONFIGURE_COMMAND ""
             BUILD_IN_SOURCE 1
             BUILD_COMMAND make lib_carl
-            INSTALL_COMMAND make install
+            INSTALL_COMMAND make install -j${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT}
             LOG_BUILD ON
 			LOG_INSTALL ON
             BUILD_BYPRODUCTS ${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/carl/lib/libcarl${DYNAMIC_EXT}
diff --git a/resources/3rdparty/include_cudd.cmake b/resources/3rdparty/include_cudd.cmake
index 6ed57d456..16b045306 100644
--- a/resources/3rdparty/include_cudd.cmake
+++ b/resources/3rdparty/include_cudd.cmake
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ ExternalProject_Add(
         PATCH_COMMAND ${AUTORECONF}
         CONFIGURE_COMMAND ${STORM_3RDPARTY_SOURCE_DIR}/cudd-3.0.0/configure --enable-shared --enable-obj --with-pic=yes --prefix=${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/cudd-3.0.0 --libdir=${CUDD_LIB_DIR} CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} CXX=${CUDD_CXX_COMPILER} ${CUDD_INCLUDE_FLAGS}
         BUILD_COMMAND make ${STORM_CUDD_FLAGS}
-        INSTALL_COMMAND make install
+        INSTALL_COMMAND make install -j${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT}
         BUILD_IN_SOURCE 0
         LOG_CONFIGURE ON
         LOG_BUILD ON
diff --git a/resources/3rdparty/include_glpk.cmake b/resources/3rdparty/include_glpk.cmake
index 87c3ebcfa..b2aef3dad 100644
--- a/resources/3rdparty/include_glpk.cmake
+++ b/resources/3rdparty/include_glpk.cmake
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ else()
         SOURCE_DIR ${STORM_3RDPARTY_SOURCE_DIR}/glpk-4.65
         CONFIGURE_COMMAND ${STORM_3RDPARTY_SOURCE_DIR}/glpk-4.65/configure --prefix=${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/glpk-4.65  --libdir=${GLPK_LIB_DIR} CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} CXX=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER} ${GLPK_INCLUDE_FLAGS}
         BUILD_COMMAND make "CFLAGS=-O3 -w"
-        INSTALL_COMMAND make install
+        INSTALL_COMMAND make install -j${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT}
         BUILD_IN_SOURCE 0
         LOG_CONFIGURE ON
         LOG_BUILD ON
diff --git a/resources/3rdparty/include_spot.cmake b/resources/3rdparty/include_spot.cmake
index d05f10b85..e7c138b2c 100644
--- a/resources/3rdparty/include_spot.cmake
+++ b/resources/3rdparty/include_spot.cmake
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ if(STORM_USE_SPOT_SHIPPED AND NOT STORM_HAVE_SPOT)
         SOURCE_DIR ${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/spot_src
         PREFIX ${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/spot
         CONFIGURE_COMMAND ${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/spot_src/configure --prefix=${STORM_3RDPARTY_BINARY_DIR}/spot --disable-python
-        BUILD_COMMAND make -j1
+        BUILD_COMMAND make -j${STORM_RESOURCES_BUILD_JOBCOUNT}
         INSTALL_COMMAND make install
         LOG_CONFIGURE ON
         LOG_BUILD ON