Université de Lausanne | |
 | |
| Latin:Schola Lausannensis | |
| Motto | Le savoir vivant |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Live knowledge |
| Type | Public university |
| Established | 1537; 489 years ago (1537) |
| Rector | Frédéric Herman (since August 2021) |
Administrative staff | 3,861 (2023) |
| Students | 16,951 (2023) |
| Undergraduates | 8,459 (2023) |
| Postgraduates | 5,444 (2023) |
| 2,476 (2023) | |
| Location | 46°31′21″N6°34′46″E / 46.52250°N 6.57944°E /46.52250; 6.57944 |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | www.unil.ch |
 | |
TheUniversity of Lausanne (UNIL; French:Université de Lausanne) inLausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestanttheology,[1] before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities in the world to be in continuous operation. As of fall 2017, about 15,000 students and 3,300 employees studied and worked at the university. Approximately 1,500 international students attend the university (120 nationalities), which has a wide curriculum including exchange programs with other universities.
Together with theÉcole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) the university forms a vastcampus at the shores ofLake Geneva.
The university was founded in 1537 as theSchola Lausannensis, one year afterBern annexed the territory of Barony of Vaud from theDuchy of Savoy, as a school oftheology with the purpose of training pastors for the church.[2] It enjoyed great renown in its early years for being the first and, until the establishment of theAcademy of Geneva in 1559, the onlyFrench-languageProtestant school of theology. It quickly became a center ofhumanist learning, with thinkers such asCorderius andCelio Secondo Curione among its professors.[2] In 1558, the school had 700 students. It entered into a period of decline in the following years, after several members of the academic staff, includingrectorTheodore Beza andPierre Viret, resigned their seats to join the newly established Academy of Geneva.[2]
In the seventeenth century, the institution became known as theAcademy of Lausanne (Académie de Lausanne).[2] In 1741, it counted 150 students and seven professors. Starting in 1837, the academy was modernized by the authorities of thecanton of Vaud, becoming asecular institution divided into three faculties (letters and sciences, theology, and law).[2] It continued to expand throughout the second half of the 19th century, until 1890, with the establishment of a medicine course, the academy received the name and status of a university.[2]
In 1909,Rudolphe Archibald Reiss founded the first school offorensic science in the world: theInstitut de police scientifique.
From 1970, the university moved progressively from the old centre of Lausanne, around the Cathedral and Château, to its present site atDorigny.
The end of the 20th century, witnessed the beginnings of an ambitious project aiming at greater co-operation and development among the French-speaking universities of Lausanne, Geneva, and Neuchâtel, together with theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Among others, this led to the transfer of the sections of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry from the university to the EPFL; the funds that were made available following this transfer were invested in the development of the life sciences at the university, including the creation of a Center for Integrative Genomics.
In 2003, two new faculties were founded, concentrating on the life and human sciences: the Faculty of Biology and Medicine and the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment.
On 1 January 2014, theSwiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) was integrated into the University of Lausanne.[3]
Since August 2021, the rector of the University of Lausanne isFrédéric Herman; before then, the university was led byNouria Hernandez (2016–2021) and by Dominique Arlettaz (2006–2016).
The University of Lausanne comprises sevenfaculties:
The University of Lausanne also comprises schools and different sections, including but not limited to:
The main campus is presently situated outside the city ofLausanne, on the shores ofLake Léman, inDorigny. It is adjacent to theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and is served by theLausanne Metro Line 1 (M1). The two schools together welcome about 20,000 students.
The UNIL and the EPFL share an active sports centre located on the campus, on the shores ofLake Geneva[4] and their campus is also equipped with abicycle sharing system.[5]
The university campus is made up of individual buildings with a park and arboretum in between. Theuniversity library also serves as eating hall and is centrally located. The view from the library across the sports fields to thelake of Geneva and the French andSwiss Alps. On a clear day,Mont Blanc can be seen.
TheSwiss Institute of Comparative Law and the central administration of theSwiss Institute of Bioinformatics are also located on the main campus.
_by_Martin_Rulsch_79.jpg)
In addition to its main campus at the lakeside, the University of Lausanne also has other sites. The Faculty of Biology and Medicine is also located in two other sites: around theUniversity Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV) (site called Bugnon) and inÉpalinges (to the north ofLausanne).
The Department of Biochemistry, theLudwig Cancer Research branch of the University of Lausanne and theWHO Immunology Research and Training Centre and some laboratories of theUniversity Hospital of Lausanne are located inÉpalinges. The Biopôle was built next to theÉpalinges campus. The Faculty of Biology and Medicine also comprises a fourth site, thePsychiatric Hospital of Cery, inPrilly.
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[11] | 101–150 (2023) |
| QS World[12] | =212 (2026) |
| THE World[13] | =143 (2024) |
| USNWR Global[14] | 182 (2023) |
The University of Lausanne is consistently ranked among the top 100 universities in the world. Between 2010 and 2018, theLeiden Ranking (CWTS) ranked the University of Lausanne 57th-98th globally, and 15th-38th among all universities in Europe.[15] According to theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings (THE), the University of Lausanne ranked 62nd in life sciences worldwide (4th in Switzerland) in 2017.[16] TheQS World University Rankings (QS)[17] placed the University of Lausanne 96th in life science and medicine.[18] TheAcademic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked the University of Lausanne 101-150 globally.[19]
Below are rankings for the University of Lausanne by theLeiden Ranking (CWTS).[15]
| Year | In Europe | In the World |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2018 | 35 | 98 |
| 2014–2017 | 38 | 108 |
| 2013–2016 | 28 | 90 |
| 2012–2015 | 34 | 99 |
| 2011–2014 | 22 | 73 |
| 2010–2013 | 15 | 57 |
| 2009–2012 | 31 | 88 |
| 2008–2011 | 21 | 67 |
| 2007–2010 | 16 | 67 |
| 2006–2009 | 14 | 67 |
The UNIL publishes a free monthly campus magazine entitledL'Uniscope[20] The UNIL also publishesAllez savoir !,[21] a free magazine aimed at a larger audience (general public), in January, May, and September.
Besides these,L'auditoire is the students' newspapers from both UNIL and EPFL, with a circulation of 19,000.
In 2011, an on-line network of the UNIL alumni, called ALUMNIL, was created.[22] Since then, regular events (throughout the year) and an annual party (in autumn) are organised every year for the alumni.
Neoclassical school of thought ineconomics founded at the University of Lausanne by two of its professors:Léon Walras andVilfredo Pareto. TheSchool of Lausanne is associated with the development ofgeneral equilibrium theory as well as themarginalist revolution.
(in English)
