Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena | |
 | |
| Latin:Universitas Litterarum Ienensis[1][2] | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | February 2, 1558; 467 years ago (1558-02-02) |
| Budget | € 372 million[3] |
| President | Andreas Marx |
Academic staff | 3,415[4] |
Administrative staff | 5,151[4] |
| Students | 18,219[5] |
| Location | , Thuringia ,Germany 50°55′42″N11°34′56″E / 50.92833°N 11.58222°E /50.92833; 11.58222 |
| Campus | University town |
| Affiliations | Coimbra Group EUA |
| Website | www.uni-jena.de |
TheUniversity of Jena, officially theFriedrich Schiller University Jena (German:Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviatedFSU, shortened formUni Jena), is apublic research university located inJena, Thuringia, Germany.
The university was established in 1558 and is counted amongthe ten oldest universities in Germany. It is affiliated with six Nobel Prize winners, most recently in 2000 when Jena graduateHerbert Kroemer won the Nobel Prize for physics. It was renamed after the poetFriedrich Schiller who was teaching as professor of philosophy when Jena attracted some of the most influential minds at the turn of the 19th century. WithKarl Leonhard Reinhold,Johann Gottlieb Fichte,G. W. F. Hegel,F. W. J. Schelling andFriedrich Schlegel on its teaching staff, the university was at the centre of the emergence ofGerman idealism andearly Romanticism.
As of 2014[update], the university has around 19,000 students enrolled and 375 professors. Its current president,Walter Rosenthal, has held the role since 2014.
ElectorJohn Frederick of Saxony first thought of a plan to establish a university atJena upon Saale in 1547 while he was being held captive by emperorCharles V. The plan was put into motion by his three sons and, after having obtained a charter from the EmperorFerdinand I, the university was established on 2 February 1558. The university, jointly maintained by theSaxon Duchies derived from the partitioning of John Frederick's duchy, was thus namedDucal Pan-Saxon University (German:Herzoglich Sächsische Gesamtuniversität) orSalana (after theriver Saale).
Prior to the 20th century, university enrollment peaked in the 18th century. The university's reputation reached its zenith under the auspices of DukeCharles Augustus,Goethe's patron (1787–1806), whenGottlieb Fichte,G. W. F. Hegel,Friedrich Schelling,Friedrich von Schlegel andFriedrich Schiller were on its teaching staff.
Founded as a home for the new religious opinions of the sixteenth century, it has since been one of the most politically radical universities in Germany. Jena was noted among other German universities at the time for allowing students toduel and to have a passion forFreiheit, which were popularly regarded as the necessary characteristics of German student life. The University of Jena has preserved a historical detention room orKarzer with famous caricatures by Swiss painterMartin Disteli.
In the latter 19th century, the department ofzoology taughtevolutionary theory, withCarl Gegenbaur,Ernst Haeckel and others publishing detailed theories at the time ofDarwin's"Origin of Species" (1858). The later fame ofErnst Haeckel eclipsed Darwin in someEuropean countries, as the term "Haeckelism" was more common thanDarwinism.
In 1905, Jena had 1,100 students enrolled and its teaching staff (includingPrivatdozenten) numbered 112. Amongst its numerous auxiliaries then were the library, with 200,000 volumes; the observatory; the meteorological institute; the botanical garden; the seminaries of theology, philology, and education; and the well-equipped clinical, anatomical, and physical institutes.
After the end of the Saxon duchies in 1918, and their merger with further principalities into theFree State of Thuringia in 1920, the university was renamed as theThuringian State University (Thüringische Landesuniversität) in 1921. In 1934 the university was renamed again, receiving its present name ofFriedrich Schiller University. During the 20th century, the cooperation betweenZeiss corporation and the university brought new prosperity and attention to Jena, resulting in a dramatic increase in funding and enrollment.
During the Third Reich, staunchNazis moved into leading positions at the university. The racial researcher andSS-HauptscharführerKarl Astel was appointed professor in 1933, bypassing traditional qualifications and process; he later became rector of the university in 1939. Also in 1933, many professors had to leave the university as a consequence of theLaw for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. Student fraternities – in particular theBurschenschaften – were dissolved and incorporated into the Nazi student federation. The Nazi student federation enjoyed before the transfer of power and won great support among the student body elections in January 1933, achieving 49.3% of the vote, which represents the second best result. Between the Jena connections and the NS students wide-ranging human and ideological connections were recorded.
When the Alliedair raids to Jena in February and March struck in 1945, the University Library, the university main building and several clinics in the Bachstraße received total or significant physical damage. Completely destroyed were the Botanical Garden, the psychological and the physiological institute and three chemical Institutes. An important event for the National Socialist period was the investigation of the pediatricianYusuf Ibrahim. A Senate Commission noted the participation of the physician to the "euthanasia" murders of physically or mentally disabled children.
In the 20th century the university was promoted through cooperation withCarl Zeiss (company) and thereby enabling it to increase the student population as a mass university. In 1905 the university had 1,100 students and 112 university teachers, so this figure has since been almost twenty-fold. The Friedrich-Schiller University is the only comprehensive university in Thuringia.
Since 1995, there is a university association with theMartin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg and theUniversity of Leipzig. The aim is firstly to give the students the opportunity to visit with relatively few problems at the partner universities and events in order to broaden the range of subjects and topics. Currently e. g. has joined a cooperation in teaching in the field of bioinformatics. In addition, the cooperation provides the university management the opportunity to share experiences with their regular meetings and initiate common projects. So z. B. went from the successful bid to theGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) from the university network. The co-operation continues at other levels: for example in a joint mentoring program for female postdocs or in the central German archives network. And last but not least, there are common sports activities.
Since October 2014, the pharmacologistWalter Rosenthal is the president of the university;Chancellor is since 2007 the mathematician Klaus Bartholmé.[6]
The university is organized in 10 schools:
Research at Friedrich Schiller University traditionally focusses on both humanities and sciences. In addition to the faculties the following "Collaborative Research Centers" (German "Sonderforschungsbereich", short: "SFB") operate at the university:
Participations in DFG-Collaborative Research Centres:
In 2006 the research center, Jena Center – History of the 20th century, was founded. In 2007 the graduate school "Jena School for Microbial Communication" (JSMC) was established within theGerman Universities Excellence Initiative. In 2008 the Center for Molecular Biomedicine (CMB) and the interdisciplinary research center Laboratory of the Enlightenment were developed as research institutions. 2014 the "Center of Advanced Research" (ZAF) was established.
Jena University is one of the founder of The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, that was founded in 2013. It is a research centre of the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Friedrich Schiller University is the only German university with chairs for eithergravitational theory or Caucasus Studies.
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The University of Jena is recognized in severaluniversity ranking systems. As per theQS World University Rankings for 2024, the university is ranked 461st in the world and 26th nationally.[7] In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings of 2024, it is placed at 201-250th globally and 22-24th within the country.[8] TheAcademic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for 2022 places it within the 401-500 bracket globally, and between 25th and 31st in the national context.[9]
Among the collections which are open to the public are theJena Phyletisches Museum, an institution which is unique in Europe for illustrating the history of evolution, theErnst-Haeckel-Memorial Museum, theMineralogical Collection which traces its roots back toGoethe and the second oldestBotanical Garden ofMiddle Europe. TheSchiller Gardenhouse [de] (Schillers Gartenhaus) and the Goethe Memorial at theBotanical Garden are reminders of the two towering geniuses ofJena. Both buildings are also open to the public.
Oriental Collections/ Papyrus Collection
Archaeological Collections
Mineralogy & Geology
History of Sciences
Medicine
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Jena".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 315.