15.11.08

University of Freiburg



University of Freiburg (German Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg ), sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburgs, becoming the second university in Habsburg territory after the University of Vienna. Today, Freiburg is among the oldest universities in Germany, with a long tradition of teaching the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. It is considered one of the most prestigious universities and a leading research and teaching institution in Europe.The university is made up of 11 faculties and attracts students from across Germany as well as from over one hundred and twenty countries.

The University of Freiburg was designated a German "University of Excellence" in 2007.

History

A university with tradition

The University of Freiburg was founded by Archduke Albrecht IV of Austria in 1457, the second university on Habsburg territory after Vienna. As was typical of universities in the late Middle Ages, the university originally consisted of four faculties: Theology, Law, Medicine, and Philosophy. Most students were from southwestern Germany, Alsace, Switzerland, and Austria.

The Name

When Freiburg and the Western Austrian Breisgau fell to the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1805, the fate of the University of Freiburg was uncertain. Thus, when Grand Duke Ludwig of Baden arranged an endowment in 1820, the university celebrated him as its second founder. To this day the Albert-Ludwig University of Freiburg honors both Albert (the Latin spelling of Albrecht) and Ludwig in its name.

Teaching and Learning in the Early Years

Documentation of many lectures and timed debates has been handed down to us, allowing us to make a fairly vivid reconstruction of academic life in the early years of the university. The University of Freiburg was able to make a good reputation for itself in its early years and produced many well-known scholars and personalities, including Johannes Eck, Ulrich Zasius, Jakob Locher, Thomas Murner, Heinrich Glarean, and others.

The Jesuits

The universities in the German Empire were not able to escape the denominational polarization which followed the Reformation. In Catholic Freiburg, the local princes put the Jesuits in charge of many departments of the university, including the entirety of the Faculty of Humanities and much of the Faculty of Theology. In the 17th century, the educational philosophy of the Jesuits stood for modernity and humanist ideals.

New Impetus

The university received new impetus even before the reforms of Maria Theresa and her son Josef in the Age of Absolutism, who in 1768 compelled the university to accept a new constitution and the rector to wear a badge of office in addition to his scepter. Several decades before this the university had already introduced modern languages, dancing, and fencing to its curriculum to cater to the needs of the aristocratic students of the time. By the end of the 18th century many denominational limitations had been done away with and the university was well on its way toward becoming a secularized and tolerant educational institution, ideals which Johann Georg Jacobi, the first protestant rector of the university, stood for as well.

Expansion in the German Empire

The University of Freiburg remained comparatively small for a time after being incorporated into Baden despite the fact that it brought forth many personalities well known for their progressive ideas, such as Karl von Rotteck or Karl Theodor Welcker. It was not until the 1880’s that a surge ofan enormous development took place. Departments differentiated themselves from one another and became more specialized, and clinics and scientific institutes were founded on their own campus in the north of the old city. These years were also witness to an enormous increase in enrollment, which reached the plateaus of 500, 1000, and 1500 in rapid succession. By the time World War I broke out there were already 3000 students. This expansion led the state government of Baden to require professors to wear gowns starting in 1903.

An Urban University

When the enormous expansion of the university made new buildings necessary at the end of the 19th century, it was decided that the university should remain in the heart of the city. The site chosen for the new University Library and the Main Building of the university, which were built between 1896 and 1911, was thus within sight of the oldest university buildings. This was a conscious decision for an urban university rather than a campus university.

Border Zone University under the National Socialist Regime

The University of Freiburg and its rector Martin Heidegger became a focus of public attention in 1933, and at the end of the war its buildings suffered severe damage from bombing raids. Between these two dates lies the suffering of Jewish members of the faculty and staff and of the professors who made it known that they opposed the Nazi regime. The main university building was also partially destroyed by a fire in 1934, but then rebuilt and expanded. Due to its proximity to the French border, Freiburg was in a dangerous position after the war began in 1939. For this reason the University of Freiburg was temporarily shut down during the war. Today, on the other hand, the Upper Rhine region represents a new opportunity to promote cooperation across national borders.

Rebuilding and the 500th Anniversary Celebration in 1957

The university was able to open its doors again and slowly resume operation only a few months after the end of the war. The reconstruction and repair of the buildings was largely completed by the 500th anniversary of the university in 1957, and this also marked the beginning of a further expansion of the university. Special priority in this new wave of expansion was given to programs in medicine and the natural sciences.

New Profile or Old News?

At the end of the 19th century the University of Freiburg was already known as an up-and-coming university whose size at times even surpassed its sister institution Heidelberg at the other end of Baden. Flourishing in the north of the old city was a new natural sciences campus, to which the hospital was added in 1926. In the 1990’s this campus was expanded again to include the engineering departments.

A Popular Large University

The University of Freiburg grew rapidly after the first wave of economic recovery in Germany in the 1950’s. Enrollment had stagnated at around 3000 between 1913 and 1950, with even less during the two wars, but by 1961 there were already 10,000 students. But even this was not the zenith: By the end of the 20th century enrollment was nearly at 25,000. It has gone back a bit in the past few years and now lies at about 19,000. Freiburg is undoubtedly one of the most popular places to study in Germany. This is due in part to the quality of its academic programs, but the proximity of the university to France, Switzerland, and the Black Forest certainly contributes to the appeal the university has for many students as well.

Faculties

1. Faculty of Theology
2. Faculty of Law
3. Faculty of Economics and Behavioral Sciences
4. Faculty of Medicine
5. Faculty of Philology
6. Faculty of Humanities
7. Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
8. Faculty of Chemistry, Pharmacy, and Earth Sciences
9. Faculty of Biology
10. Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences
11. Faculty of Applied Sciences

Notable alumni and professors

With its long tradition of excellence in science and research, the University of Freiburg has been home to some of the greatest minds. Among them are Hannah Arendt, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Paul Ehrlich, Hans Adolf Krebs, Hans Spemann, and Friedrich August von Hayek, to name but a few.

Among the distinguished affiliates, there are numerous Nobel laureates and Leibniz Prize winners.


University of Freiburg ranked 144th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Freiburg ranked 147th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Freiburg ranked 122nd in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Freiburg ranked 97th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

University of Freiburg ranked 105th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking

5.11.08

University of Tübingen


Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (German: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, sometimes called the "Eberhardina Carolina") is a public university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of Germany's oldest universities, internationally noted in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. Especially German Studies (German: Germanistik) has been ranked first of all German universities for many years. Tübingen is one of five classical "university towns" in Germany; the other four being Marburg, Göttingen, Freiburg and Heidelberg. The university has many Nobel laureate alumni, especially in the fields of medicine and chemistry.

Currently, about 24,000 students are enrolled. The 17 hospitals in Tübingen affiliated with the university's faculty of medicine have 1,500 patient beds, and cater to 66,000 in-patients and 200,000 out-patients on an annual basis.

History

The university has a history of innovative thought, particularly in theology. Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560), prime mover in building the German school system and a chief figure in the Protestant Reformation, helped establish its direction. Among Tübingen’s eminent students have been astronomer Johannes Kepler, poet Friedrich Hölderlin, and philosophers Friedrich Schelling and G.W.F. Hegel. The university rose to its height of prominence in the middle of the 19th century with the teachings of poet and civic leader Ludwig Uhland and the Protestant theologian Ferdinand Christian Baur, whose beliefs and disciples became known as the “Tübingen School.” The University of Tübingen also was the first German university to establish a faculty of natural sciences, in 1863.

In the 20th century, Tübingen became dominated first by Marxist-Leninist philosophy and then by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime until the beginning of the Allied occupation in 1945. In 1970 the university was restructured into a series of independent departments of study and research after the manner of French universities.

Faculties

The university is made up of 14 faculties, some of which are subdivided into further departments.

  • Protestant Theology
  • Catholic Theology
  • Law
  • Economics and Business Administration
  • Medicine
  • Philosophy and History
  • Social and Behavioral Science
  • Modern Languages
  • Cultural Sciences
  • Mathematics and Physics
  • Chemistry and Pharmacy
  • Biology
  • Geosciences
  • Information and Cognitive Science

The University of Tübingen is undertaking a broad range of research projects in various fields. The most prominent ones are to be found among the natural sciences. The Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, for instance, focuses on general, cognitive and cellular neurology as well as neurodegeneration. The Centre for Interdisciplinary Clinical Research deals primarily with cell biology in diagnostics and therapy of organ system diseases.

University of Tübingen ranked 142th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Tübingen ranked 155th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Tübingen ranked 149th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Tübingen ranked 131st in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

University of Tübingen ranked 152th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking

2.11.08

University of Minnesota





The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (U of M or The U) is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. It is located on two campuses in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; the campuses are linked through a dedicated transitway with free bus service. Its student body is the fourth largest in the United States according to Fall 2007 statistics, with 50,880 students.

The mighty Mississippi River winds through the Twin Cities' home of the University of Minnesota. Founded in 1851, the University has a presence throughout the state with its five campuses and numerous research and outreach centers.

From the Crookston campus on the edge of the northern prairie to the newest campus, Rochester, less than 50 miles from the state's southern border, the University serves Minnesota’s families and businesses, while contributing knowledge and innovations to help build a healthier, sustainable world. With a graduate school established in 1905, the University has helped lead the nation in scholarship and higher learning.

Life-changing work, like the recent creation of a beating heart and stem cell transplant to cure recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a once-fatal skin disease, shows the caliber of the University's research. Ranked among the top public research universities in the world, the University of Minnesota is truly driven to discover, and that goal reaches into every college on every campus.

The University was established as a land-grant college, meaning the federal government gave it land to use or sell to provide an education for students of all incomes. Being a land-grant institution meant you also had a commitment to your state's agriculture. Today, through myriad scholarships, the University helps its students afford tuition, housing, and books, and agriculture is still a focus of its teaching, research, and outreach.

As the U grew, so did the city around it, and the University has adapted its historic land-grant mission to fit its surroundings and has dedicated itself, through programs like the University Northside Partnership, to resolving complex contemporary issues in the urban age.

History

The University of Minnesota was founded as a preparatory school in 1851, seven years before the territory of Minnesota became a state. Financial problems forced the school to close during the Civil War, but with the help of Minneapolis entrepreneur John Sargent Pillsbury, it reopened in1867. Known as the father of the University, Pillsbury, who was a University regent, state senator, and governor, used his influence to establish the school as the official recipient of public support from the Morrill Land-Grant Act, designating it as Minnesota's land-grant university.

William Watts Folwell was inaugurated as the first president of the University on December 22, 1869. In 1873, two students received the first bachelor of arts degrees. In 1888, the first doctor of philosophy degree was awarded. The Duluth campus joined the University in 1947; the Morris campus opened in 1960, and the Crookston campus in 1966.

Faculties

The second largest institution of higher education in the Midwest, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, offers degree programs in many fields, from agriculture to modern dance. As of 2006, the university has sixteen schools and colleges:


Carlson School of Management (CSOM)
College of Biological Sciences (CBS)
College of Continuing Education (CCE)
School of Dentistry (DENT)
College of Design (CDES)
College of Education and Human Development (CEHD)
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS)
College of Liberal Arts (CLA)
Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs (HHH)
Institute of Technology (IT)
Law School (LAW)
Medical School (MED)
School of Nursing (NURS)
College of Pharmacy (PHARM)
School of Public Health (SPH)
College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)

Rankings

The University of Minnesota has recently made an explicit goal to become one of the top three public research universities in the world within a decade.



In 2007 Times Higher Education (previously the Times Higher Education Supplement) ranked the University of Minnesota at 142 (with Universität Tübingen) in its ranking of the World's Top 200 Universities , up from 172 in 2006.

In 2007, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked the University of Minnesota at 33 on the list of Academic Rankings of World Universities.

University of Minnesota ranked 142th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Minnesota ranked 87th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Minnesota ranked 105th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Minnesota ranked 96th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

University of Minnesota ranked 102th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking