Kiel University, officially theChristian Albrecht University of Kiel, (German:Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviatedCAU, known informally asChristiana Albertina) is apublicresearch university in the city ofKiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as theAcademia Holsatorum Chiloniensis byChristian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 27,000 students today. It is the largest, oldest, and most prestigious university in the state ofSchleswig-Holstein.

Kiel University

Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
Seal of Kiel University
Latin:Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis sive Christiana Albertina[1]
Motto	Pax optima rerum
Motto in English	Peace is the greatest good
Type	Public
Established	1665; 360 years ago (1665)
Budget	€ 268.7 million(2021)[2] Third-party funding: € 65 mio
President	Simone Fulda
Academic staff	433 professors(2021)[2]
Total staff	3,681(2021, not includingUKSH)[2]
Students	27,455(2021)[2]
Location	Kiel , Schleswig-Holstein , Germany 54°20′20″N10°7′21″E / 54.33889°N 10.12250°E /54.33889; 10.12250
Campus	Urban
Colors	Purple and white
Website	www.uni-kiel.de

Until 1866, it was not only the northernmost university in Germany but at the same time the 2nd largest university ofDenmark. Faculty, alumni, and researchers of Kiel University have won 12Nobel Prizes. Kiel University has been a member of theGerman Universities Excellence Initiative since 2006. The Cluster of ExcellenceThe Future Ocean, which was established in cooperation with theGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in 2006, is internationally recognized. The second Cluster of Excellence "Inflammation at Interfaces" deals with chronic inflammatory diseases. TheKiel Institute for the World Economy is also affiliated with Kiel University. The university has a great reputation for its focus on public international law. The oldestpublic international law institution in Germany and Europe – the Walther Schuecking Institute for International Law – is based in Kiel.^[3]

The origins of the university in Kiel trace back to the increasing need for well-educated priests during theReformation. Additionally, the growing involvement of citizens in significant administrative roles contributed to the idea of establishing a university in theduchies. However, wars in the early 17th century and political conflicts between dukes and the king initially delayed these plans. Eventually, Duke Friedrich III commissioned his son, Christian Albrecht, to advance the founding of the university. In 1660, Christian Albrecht succeeded in realizing these plans and selected Kiel as the university's location. On October 5, 1665, the university was inaugurated under the nameChristiana Albertina in a formerFranciscanmonastery with four lecture halls and a library. At that time, 17 professors taught theology, medicine, law, and the liberal arts.^[4][5]

A significant growth period for the university occurred a century later under Russian EmpressCatherine the Great, from whom it received its colors, purple and white. Following the unification of the duchies in 1773, the university continued to flourish as the northernmost German and southernmost Scandinavian university. Nearly 100 years later, the university's development stagnated, particularly after Schleswig-Holstein became part of Prussia. From 1870, student numbers began to rise again, and 38 years later, women were also admitted.^[4]

During theNazi regime starting in 1933, the university experiencedGleichschaltung, the expulsion of Jewish professors, and the persecution of dissenters. InWorld War II, many buildings were destroyed by Allied air raids, including the university library in 1942.^[4]

With the support of the British, teaching resumed as early as November 1945, initially on ships. In the 1960s, a new campus was developed on the Kiel Westring. The student protests of the late 1960s led to a modernization of the university's structure. The campus was expanded in 1972 with buildings on Olshausenstraße and new sports facilities, and in 1991, the Faculty of Engineering opened in Kiel-Gaarden. The number of students steadily increased and now stands at about 25,000 to 30,000. The Christian-Albrecht University has not only become an internationally respected university but also one of the largest employers in Kiel.^[4]

Christian-Albrechts-Universität currently consists of the following eight faculties:^[6]

• Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Business, Economics andSocial Sciences
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Arts andHumanities
• Faculty of Mathematics andNatural Sciences
• Faculty ofAgricultural Science and Nutrition
• Faculty of Engineering

See alsoCategory:University of Kiel alumni

• Franz Boas (1858–1942), anthropologist
• Alice Bota (born 1979), journalist
• Georg von Dadelsen (1918–2007), musicologist,Neue Bach-Ausgabe
• Matthias von Davier, psychometrician, academic, inventor, and author
• Gerhard Domagk, bacteriologist, Nobel laureate
• Andre Franke, geneticist
• Maren Gaulke (born 1955), herpetologist
• Johanna Hellman (1889–1982), surgeon
• Mareile Höppner, television presenter^[8]
• Doris König, current judge of theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany
• Wolfgang Kubicki, politician, vice chairman of theFDP in Germany, from 1992 to 1993 and since 1996 he is faction leader of the FDP in theLandtag, the parliament ofSchleswig-Holstein, member of theBundestag
• Oswald Pohl (1892–1951), Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes
• Viktoria Schmidt-Linsenhoff (1944–2013), German art historian and professor
• Gerhard Stoltenberg, politician, former prime minister ofSchleswig-Holstein, former finance minister of Germany
• Peer Steinbrück, politician, former prime minister ofNorth Rhine Westphalia, former finance minister of Germany
• Erich Walter Sternberg, composer
• Sibylle Kessal-Wulf, current judge of theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany, Germany's highest court
• Surya Hermawan, lecturer at Petra Christian University, Indonesia

Kiel University is recognized in severaluniversity ranking systems. According to the 2024QS World University Rankings, the institution is globally positioned at 530 and holds the 33rd place nationally.^[12] In the 2024THE World University Rankings, it is placed within the 301–350 bracket worldwide and ranks between 32nd and 33rd nationally.^[13] TheARWU World Rankings for 2023 presents the university within the global 201–300 range, while its national rank is within the 10th to 19th positions.^[14]

• The Ethnographisch-Archaeologische Zeitschrift (EAZ)^[15] is aninterdisciplinary journal dedicated to the study of human societies from prehistory to the present day by bridgingarchaeology,anthropology, and philosophy and addressing topics likesocial inequality,climate change, andindigenous sovereignty.^{[16][17][18][15]} The EAZ was founded in 1960 as the successor to the publication seriesEthnographisch-Archäologische Forschungen, which was published from 1953 to 1959.^[19] First published atHumboldt University Berlin in 1960,^[19] the EAZ later moved to Leipzig in 2010,^[20] and since 2023 it is published at Kiel University.^[17]

• Botanischer Garten der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, the university'sbotanical garden

•  
  "Some shine when you read them" - Aerial photograph of the University Library of the CAU on Leibniz Street
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  The Leibniz Institute for the Education in Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Olshausenstraße
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  The Center for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ZMB) of the CAU at the Botanical Garden
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  Leibniz-Straße-based institutes, the cafeteria and the university library
•  
  The Otto-Hahn-Platz and the Max-Eyth-Straße with the various chemical institutes and the Anatomical Institute
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  The sports facilities and the Institute of Sports Science of the CAU
•  
  The grounds of the botanical garden of the CAU Kiel
•  
  The greenhouses of the Botanical Garden of the CAU

CAU's most renowned award is the Holstein Study Award (Holsteiner Studienpreis), which is awarded to the university's top three students each year since 2001.^[21][22] The award's criteria include extraordinary academic achievements, a broad intellectual horizon and political or social involvement.^[23] It is endowed with a prize money of €500 for the 2nd and 3rd prize and €1000 for the 1st prize.^[24] The Holstein Study Award is funded by the association 'Iuventus Academiae Holsatorum'. The award's expert jury includes professors of various faculties and the prizes are awarded by the university's president or vice-president in a formal ceremony in the top floor of the skyscraper on campus.^[25]

• List of early modern universities in Europe
• Lists of universities and colleges

• Official website(in English and German)
• Kiel University International Affairs
• Students' Association at Kiel University(in German)