University of Ghent

Ghent University (in Dutch, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated UGent) is one of the three large Flemish universities. It is located in the historic town of Ghent in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking (northern) part of Belgium. It has 30,000 students and 6,400 Staff members.

Ghent University, abbreviated to UGent, is one of the major universities in the Dutch-speaking region. Over 130 faculty departments, divided over 11 faculties, offer high-quality courses in every one of their scientific disciplines, each inspired by innovative research.

Ghent University distinguishes itself as a socially committed and pluralistic university in a broad international perspective.


History

In comparison with other European universities, the Ghent Alma Mater is relatively young. The institution was inaugurated on October 9, 1817, after King William I in the preceding year had proclaimed the establishment of three universities in the Southern Netherlands. Lectures started on November 3rd.

Two events had a decisive influence on the University's history: the political separation from the Netherlands in 1830 and the introduction of Dutch as the official language in 1930. Both events represented at the same time a break with the past and a new beginning. They also coincided with changes in the University's language statut.

The language of instruction from its establishment by William I of Orange till the separation from the Netherlands was Latin, from 1830 till 1930 it was first French and then a bilingual system, and after 1930 it was Dutch.

The first professorial staff had sixteen members, including nine foreigners, mainly Northern Dutch and Germans. In 1817 a total of 190 students registered in the four faculties: Arts, Law, Medecine and Sciences.

The revolution of 1830 had disastrous consequences for education in Ghent as two faculties were abolished- Sciences and Arts. Although the Law on Higher Education of 1835 returned the two faculties to Ghent University and also added the Technical Schools, the recovery proceeded very slowly. Thirty-five years would pass before the student population level of 1830 was once again attained. Nevertheless, during this period Ghent University won the greatest number of prizes in the university competitions.
A systematic and thorough modernization of higher education in Ghent took place after the Laws of 1876 and 1890 were passed, which granted universities the power to award academic degrees and enabled the scientific development. Due to the relaxed entrance requirements for university studies, female students also gained access to higher education. The first woman came to study in Ghent in 1882. She opted to study Sciences. Laboratory exercices and laboratory research work got their start in this period and research assistants were also appointed.
Over the years the professorial staff has included a number of eminent figures: the jurists Jean-Jacques Haus, and François Laurent, the physicist Joseph Plateau, the mathematician Paul Mansion, the physiologist and psychiatrist Joseph Guislain, the historians Henri Pirenne and Paul Fredercq, the Germanic scholars Joseph Vercoullie and Henri Logeman, and the zoologist and botanist Julius Mac Leod, who was also the spiritual father of the Flemish-speaking Ghent University.

Dutch became the official language of Ghent University in 1930, the year Belgium celebrated its first centennial. This made it the first institution in the country to offer its educationnal programmes in Dutch. In 1938 Prof. Corneel Heymans of Ghent was the only Fleming to receive the Nobel Prize for his discoveries in the field of respiratory regulation. The pulling down of the language barrier in 1930 constituted an important step towards the democratization and scientific development of recent decades.
A university stands or falls on the basis of the scientific research it produces. In the past, the university's fame was in the hands of individual scholars who taught and carried on research. In the last decades, because of the explosion in the growth and range of scientific research, this is no longer feasible. Research is increasingly becoming a matter of teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration.
As a consequence of the reform of the State, regional communities enjoyed wide powers of decision, for instance on education.

The decree of 1991, who assigned great autonomy to the University provided new challenges on education and research in an international perspective.
Today, after decades of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is one of the leading institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries. With 26,000 students and 5,450 staff members, Ghent University is an open, committed and pluralistic university with a broad international perspective.

Courses offered

• Philosophy and Moral Sciences
  
• Linguistics and Literature
  
• History
  
• Archaeology and Art Sciences
  
• Law, Notary's practice and Criminological Sciences
  
• Psychology and Educational Sciences
  
• Economics and Business Engineering
  
• Political and Social Sciences
  
• Social Health Science
  
• Physical Education, Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy
  
• Science
  
• Engineering Sciences
  
• Applied Biological Sciences
  
• Medicine
  
• Dentistry
  
• Veterinary Medicine
  
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
  
• Biomedical Sciences
  
• Combined Study Field
  

Faculties

• Faculty of Arts and Philosophy
  
• Faculty of Law
  
• Faculty of Science
  
• Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
  
• Faculty of Engineering
  
• Faculty of Economics and Business Administration
  
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
  
• Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
  
• Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
  
• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  
• Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
  

After more than twenty years of uninterrupted growth, Ghent University is now one of the most important institutions of higher education and research in the Low Countries.

Ghent University yearly attracts over 30,000 students, with a foreign student population of over 2,200 EU and non-EU citizens.

Ghent University offers a broad range of study programmes in all academic and scientific branches.

With a view to cooperation in research and community service, numerous research groups, centres and institutes have been founded over the

University of Ghent, Belgium ranked:

124th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

136th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking
136th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking
192nd in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

165th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking

University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (UR) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational, research university located in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degrees. The university is home to several noted schools and programs, including the number one ranked Eastman School of Music, and The Institute of Optics, the oldest optics program in the U.S. The university enrolls approximately 4,600 undergraduates and 3,900 graduate students. University of Rochester competes in the NCAA’s Division III for athletics. UR is a highly research oriented institution, hosting numerous centers of research, and boasts the most powerful ultraviolet laser in the world. UR with its affiliated Strong Health System, is the largest employer in the Greater Rochester area.

History

The University of Rochester was founded in 1850 as a Baptist-sponsored institution. The impetus to form the university came primarily from the little town of Hamilton, New York, which has been home to Colgate University since 1819. In 1848, the Baptist Education Society planned to move Colgate University (Then known as Madison University) to the city of Rochester, but was halted by legal action. Dissenting Colgate trustees, faculty, and students founded the University of Rochester, receiving a charter from the Regents of the University of the State of New York on January 31, 1850. Classes began that November, with approximately 60 students enrolling, including 28 transfers from Madison.

University of Rochester’s campus was originally in downtown Rochester at the United States Hotel, which was located on Buffalo Street near Elizabeth Street, which today is West Main Street near the I-490 overpass. In 1853, the campus moved east to a then-suburban location on what is now University Avenue. Local businessman and Congressman Azariah Boody donated 8 acres of land for the new campus, and the University purchased a further 17 acres from him.

The first women students were admitted in 1900, the result of an effort led by Susan B. Anthony and Helen Barrett Montgomery. During the 1890s, a number of women took classes and labs at the university as “visitors” but were not officially enrolled nor were their records included in the college register. President David Jayne Hill allowed the first woman, Helen E. Wilkinson, to enroll as a normal student, although she was not allowed to matriculate or to pursue a degree. Thirty-three women enrolled among the first class in 1900, and Ella S. Wilcoxen was the first to receive a degree, in 1901.

Major growth occurred under the leadership of Rush Rhees, during his 1900-1935 tenure. During this time, George Eastman became a major donor, giving more than $50 million to the university. The first Ph.D. was awarded in 1925. In 1955, the separate colleges for men and women were merged into The College. In 1958, three new schools were created in engineering, business administration, and education.

In 1995, university president Thomas H. Jackson announced the launch of a “Renaissance Plan” for The College that, among several changes, reduced enrollment and created a more selective admissions process. The plan also revised the undergraduate curriculum significantly, creating the current system with only one required course and only a few distribution requirements(known as “clusters”).

Academics

• Arts, Sciences, and Engineering
  
• Eastman School of Music
  
• School of Medicine and Dentistry
  
• School of Nursing
  
• William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development
  

Medical, Research, and Cultural Components

• University of Rochester Medical Center
  
• Strong Health
  
• Laboratory for Laser Energetics
  
• Memorial Art Gallery
  
• Eastman Theatre
  
• University of Rochester Press
  
• Center for Optics Manufacturing
  
• Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership
  
• C. E. K. Mees Observatory (Bristol Hills)
  

University of Rochester’s undergraduate enrollment consists of about 4,500 full-time and about 100 part-time students from across the U.S. and over 90 countries.Graduate enrollment comprises about 3,300 full-time and about 550 part-time graduate students. The university has more than 97,000 living alumni. The university employs more than 1,200 tenure-track faculty, with more than 17,000 faculty and staff across the university and the Strong Health System. UR's faculty include fellows of all four National Academies of the U.S., Guggenheim Fellows, and recipients of many other awards and recognitions.

The defining feature of the undergraduate program at the University is the Rochester Curriculum. There are no required subjects outside of a prerequisite writing course, which may be tested out of. The Curriculum requires that undergraduates study in all of three areas of knowledge: humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Aside from the area of study which a student’s major falls in, undergraduates must complete 3-4 courses of related materials (called “clusters”) within each of the remaining areas. For example, a student with a concentration in mathematics, a natural science field, must complete at least one cluster in the humanities and one in social sciences. A second concentration or a minor also satisfies this requirement. The only exceptions are students concentrating in an accredited engineering field (biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical and computer engineering or mechanical engineering), who are only required to have one cluster in either humanities or social sciences.

Recent Rankings

Kaplan's 2008 "How to Get Into College" guide lists the Eastman School of Music as the Hottest Music School

Kaplan's 2007 guide includes the University of Rochester as one of 25 "New Ivies."
US News and World Report 2008
National universities: 35th
US News and World Report 2008
Best graduate schools—School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: 30th
Best graduate schools—political science: 13th
Best graduate schools—economics: 19th
Center for College Affordability and Productivity 2008

(ranks colleges based on student outcomes)
National universities: 29th
Times of London 2007
World universities: 21st
Washington Monthly 2007

(ranks colleges by what they give back to the country)
National universities: 45th

The University of Rochester ranked 95th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

The University of Rochester ranked 119th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

The University of Rochester ranked 141st in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

The University of Rochester ranked 128th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

The University of Rochester ranked 128th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking