TheUniversity of Freiburg (colloquially German:Uni Freiburg), officially theAlbert Ludwig University of Freiburg (German:Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is apublicresearch university located inFreiburg im Breisgau,Baden-Württemberg,Germany. The university was founded in 1457 by theHabsburg dynasty as the second university in Austrian-Habsburg territory after theUniversity of Vienna. Today, Freiburg is thefifth-oldest university in Germany, with a long tradition of teaching the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences and technology and enjoys a high academic reputation both nationally and internationally. The university is made up of 11faculties and attracts students from across Germany as well as from over 120 other countries. Foreign students constitute about 18.2% of total student numbers.[2]
Originally Albrechts University, the university started with four faculties (theology, philosophy, medicine, and law). Its establishment belongs to the second wave of university foundings in the German-speaking world in the lateMiddle Ages, like theUniversity of Tübingen and theUniversity of Basel (Switzerland). Established by papal privilege (papal bull), the university in Freiburg actually was – like all or most universities in the Middle Ages – a corporation of the church body and therefore belonged to theRoman Catholic Church and its hierarchy. The bishop ofBasel consequently was itsprovost orchancellor (Kanzler), the bishop ofConstance was its patron, and the real founder of the university was the sovereign, ArchdukeAlbert VI of Austria, being the brother ofFrederick III, Emperor of theHoly Roman Empire of the German Nation. At its founding, the university was named afterAlbert VI of Austria. He provided the university with land andendowments, as well as its ownjurisdiction. Also he declared Albrechts University as the "county university" (GermanLandesuniversität) for his territory until it was handed over to the AustrianHouse of Habsburg in 1490.
The university soon attracted many students, such as thehumanistsGeiler von Kaysersberg,Johann Reuchlin, andJakob Wimpfeling. WhenUlrich Zasius was teaching law (until 1536), Freiburg became a centre ofhumanist jurisprudence. From 1529 to 1535,Erasmus of Rotterdam after having left Basel, lived and taught inFreiburg, however, never at the university.[3] From around 1559 on, the university was housed at theAltes Collegium ("Old College"), today called the "new town-hall". The importance of the university decreased during the time of theCounter-Reformation. To counter reformatory tendencies, the administration of two faculties was handed over to the Roman Catholic order of theJesuits in 1620. From 1682 on, the Jesuits built their college, as well as the Jesuit church (nowadays the "University Church" orUniversitätskirche).
In 1679, Freiburg temporarily became French territory, along with the southern parts of theupper Rhine. French KingLouis XIV disliked the Austrian system and gave theJesuits a free hand to operate the university. On 6 November 1684, a bilingual educational program was initiated. From 1686 to 1698, the faculty fled toKonstanz.
After Freiburg was re-conquered and appointed as capital ofFurther Austria, a new time began for the university by the reforms of EmpressMaria Theresa of Austria. The requirements for admission were changed for all faculties in 1767 (before that time onlyRoman Catholics were allowed to study) andNatural Sciences were added as well asPublic Administration. Also in 1767, the university became a governmental institution despite the Church's protests. The Church finally lost its predominant influence on the university when theJesuits were suppressed following a decree signed byPope Clement XIV in 1773. Consequently,Johann Georg Jacobi (brother of the more famous philosopherFriedrich Heinrich Jacobi) in 1784 was the first Protestant professor teaching at the university in Freiburg.
The university had enoughendowments and earnings to survive until the beginning of the regency ofLudwig I, Grand Duke of Baden in 1818. Finally in 1820, he saved the university with an annual contribution. Since then, the university has been named Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg) as an acknowledgement of gratitude by the university and the citizens of Freiburg.
In the 1880s, the population of the student body and faculty started to grow quickly. The scientific reputation of Albert Ludwigs University attracted several researchers such as economistAdolph Wagner, historiansGeorg von Below [de] andFriedrich Meinecke, and juristsKarl von Amira andPaul Lenel.
In 1900, Freiburg became the first German university to accept female students. Before there had been nowomen at German universities.
In the beginning of the 20th century, several new university buildings were built in the centre of Freiburg, such as the new main building in 1911. The university counted 3,000 students just beforeWorld War I. After World War I, thephilosophersEdmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger (since 1928) taught at Albert Ludwigs University, as well asEdith Stein. In the field of social sciences,Walter Eucken developed the idea ofordoliberalism, which subsequently is known as the "Freiburg School".
AfterWorld War II, the University of Freiburg was reopened. New buildings for natural sciences were erected in theInstitutsviertel ("institute quarter").In the postwar years, the ideas of ordoliberalism, developed earlier by economists of the Freiburg School, such asWalter Eucken,Franz Böhm, Hans Grossmann-Doerth, and Leonhard Miksch, drove the creation of the Germansocial market economy and its attendantWirtschaftswunder. Nobel Prize winner and former professor at the University of Freiburg,Friedrich Hayek, is also associated with this theory. He directed theWalter Eucken Institut, an economicthink tank in Freiburg cooperating with the university. Arnold Bergstraesser, considered a founding father or German political science after World War II, was also a professor at the University of Freiburg. His research group later formed what is now the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute for sociocultural research at the university.
In the late 20th century, the university was part of a mass education campaign and expanded rapidly. The student body grew to 10,000 by the 1960s, and doubled to 20,000 students by 1980. In the 1970s, the faculty structure was changed to 14 departments, with the Faculty of Engineering becoming the 15th faculty in 1994. In 2002, the number of faculties was reduced to 11. The university opened a memorial dedicated to the victims of National Socialism among the students, staff, and faculty in 2003.[4]
In 2006, the University of Freiburg joined theLeague of European Research Universities (LERU). One year later, the university was chosen as one of nine German Universities of Excellence. However, it did not receive the third line of funding in 2012.
The university seal is set into the floor at the entrance of the largest lecture hall –auditorium maximum.
The seal of the University of Freiburg depicts Christ seated on a gothic throne holding the gospel in his right hand with the temple curtain in the background. Christ offers the teachings of the gospel to the Jewish scholars who are crouched at his feet. To the left and right of Christ are structures resembling towers, most likely symbolic of the Temple ofJerusalem. Located to the right of Christ is thecoat of arms of the Austrian duchies, a banner with five eagles. The shield on the opposite side symbolizes the coat of arms used by the Habsburgs in conjunction with their territories. The coat of arms of the city of Freiburg is located at the bottom of the seal, displayingSt George's Cross. The Latin inscription on the seal readsSigillum universitatis studii friburgensis brisgaudie. The seal was slightly modified in 1913, but has otherwise been in continuous use since it was adopted in 1462.[5]
Kollegiengebäude I, erected in 1913 as the main building of the university
Having grown with the city since the 15th century, the university's buildings are deeply intertwined with the city. The three large campuses are the university center next to the historical city center, the institutes quarter, and the engineering campus, but other buildings can be found scattered throughout Freiburg.
The university complex in the historical center of Freiburg contains such picturesque buildings as theJugendstilKollegiengebäude I(short: "KG I"), built in 1911 by Hermann Billing, and thegothic revival old university library. The currentUniversity Library is also located in the historical center; it is a monumental building erected in the 1970s, and was to be renovated and redesigned beginning in September 2008.[6] It is one of the largest in Germany and placed fourth in an October 2007, German national ranking of university libraries.[7]
TheUniversity Church, located across fromKollegiengebäude II (short: "KG II"), was built in 1683 by theJesuit order. The church and the Jesuit college were handed over to the university after theJesuit order was suppressed in 1773. The church was destroyed in the 27 November 1944, bombing raid on Freiburg, and reconstructed in 1956.[8]
The "institute quarter" (Institutsviertel) is home to the science faculties. This campus was destroyed almost completely in the Freiburg bombing raid in 1944. After World War II, the reconstruction of the institutes began. Today, the quarter houses the physics buildings, the tall main chemistry building, visible from afar, the famous Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry at the Hermann-Staudinger-Haus, various other science buildings, and the preclinical institutes of theFaculty of Medicine.
The engineering campus is located next to the small Freiburg airfield to the northwest of the city center, close to the University Medical Center. The campus is home to theInstitut für Mikrosystemtechnik ( Department of Microsystems Engineering) and the Department of Computer Science. With the addition of the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Freiburg became the first classical university to combine traditional disciplines with microsystems technologies.
The University Medical Center (Universitätsklinikum Freiburg) is one of Germany's largest medical centers. It boasts 1,600 beds and handles 55,000 in-patients a year, with another 357,000 being treated as out-patients. It consists of 13 specialized clinics, five clinical institutes, and five centers (e.g. Center for Transplantation Medicine). The University Medical Center achieved many technical advances, such as the first implantation of an artificial heartJarvik 2000 in 2002.
Most recently, the University of Freiburg purchased a large historic villa in the district of Herdern, which will house part of the literature and linguistics, as well as history departments of theFreiburg Institute for Advanced Studies.
In 2015, the University of Freiburg opened itsnew library, housed in amodern building with a large glass and chrome facade. The library features a section for quiet work and the permanent collection as well as space for group work, wherecollaboration is encouraged. The building also includes a studentcafe and an outdoor plaza with modern sculpture.
The green at the centralMensa (cafeteria) on Rempartstraße
The university has a combined undergraduate and graduate student population of around 21,600.[2] About 16% of these students are foreigners, from about 120 countries. Admission largely depends on the faculty and program applied for and is strictly merit based, with the average score of final secondary-school examinations (GermanAbitur) or A-levels playing an important role. Overall, in the fall of 2010, roughly 4,000 of around 26,000 applicants were admitted: this means that the university's acceptance rate that year was equal to 15.38%.[9]
The University of Freiburg offers a large variety of undergraduate,graduate, andpostdoctoral degree programs at its 11 faculties in 150 fields of study.[10]
As common among German universities, the academic year consists of summer and winter terms (semesters). The winter term runs from 1 October to 31 March, while the summer term runs from 1 April to 30 September. However, lectures and classes usually do not run for the full duration of these periods and allow for breaks in spring and fall.
As a German university, tuition is mostly free. The University of Freiburg currently has a semester fee of 180 EUR for all undergraduate and most graduate and doctoral programs. Additionally, since autumn 2017, non-EU students are charged 1500 EUR tuition fee per semester.[11]
Numerous student clubs and organizations are active, among them acampus news station, uniCROSS[12] which is a cross-media platform run by students. It consists of the "uniFM" team, which brings the news as a radio format, the "uniTV" team, producing videos and the "uniONLINE" team which is responsible for the magazine. Because of the nearby French and Swiss borders and the adjacentBlack Forest, where the university owns a retreat onSchauinsland Mountain, fine opportunities exist for leisure and outdoor activities. Students come from Central and Eastern Europe for language studies, the majority demographic category is females in age range 18–25 (58%).
The university provides student housing in its various dormitories, run by theStudentenwerk. Additionally, further dormitories in Freiburg are operated by other institutions, such as theCatholic Archdiocese. Due to the affordable rent and limited spots, rooms in the various dormitories are very popular. Many students find private living arrangements, such asWohngemeinschaften (shared apartments). However, the popularity of Freiburg for prospective students can make finding an apartment or room quite time-consuming, especially before the start of the academic terms.
The university has its own career center, singled out as one of the best in Germany by theStifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.[13]
"Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen" (The truth will set you free)
The university scored well with its submissions to theGerman Universities Excellence Initiative. The university received funding in all three categories. In the first category, funding for a new graduate school, the Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine, was granted; in the second, funding was granted for the excellence cluster Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (bioss); and in the third category, Institutional Strategy Line of Funding, open only to institutions with submissions qualified in the first two categories, the university is receiving funding for "Windows for Research", which aims to promote a high level of interdisciplinarity between research fields and attract scientists from all over the world. To that end, the university founded theFreiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS). Being selected for the third category ranks Freiburg as one of nine "excellence universities" in Germany. The university is to receive over EUR 130 million in additional funds over five years (from 2007) from this third category of funding.[14][15]In 2009, the university was also successful in a nationwide competition for excellence in teaching, held by theStifterverband der deutschen Wissenschaft. The University of Freiburg, with its plans for future innovative teaching concepts, was selected as one of 10 winners from a field of over 100 higher education institutions.[16]
In 2012, in the third round of the Excellence Initiative, the university was able to successfully extend funding for the Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine, as well asbioss, while also gaining funding for a new cluster called BrainLinks-Brain Tools, an interdisciplinary neurotechnology project. Citing insufficient evidence of integration of the FRIAS concept into the university's framework, the committee did not extend funding for the FRIAS and the institutional strategy line of funding, despite acknowledging the impressive research and advances achieved at FRIAS in the past years.[17]
In university rankings published in 2007 and 2008 by German magazines and periodicals (Der Spiegel,Die Zeit,Focus, etc.[21][22]) the University of Freiburg has established itself as one of Germany's top universities.[23] The faculties for law, medicine, economics, history, English studies, German studies, biology, dentistry, and pharmacology achieve especially high scores.[24][25] In regards to the natural sciences, the University of Freiburg ranked sixth in Europe and second in Germany[26] in a ranking from 2003 of the European Commission of the universities according to their overall impact on scientific research. The Centre for Higher Education Development, a German higher educationthink tank, periodically publishes comprehensive rankings of EuropeanMaster's and PhD programs. In 2016, Freiburg garnered five spots in the top Excellence Group among seven subject fields examined.[27] In a recent survey by theNature Publishing Group, theNature Publishing Index – 2012 Global Top 100, the University of Freiburg was the highest-ranked German university and ranked 66th worldwide and 18th in Europe.[28] A recent study, "Benchmarking China and Germany: An Analysis of Patent Portfolios of Universities and Research Organizations", was published in May 2013 and sought to evaluate leading universities and research institutions in Germany and China in regards to their patent applications. The study placed the University of Freiburg as the third-most innovative university in Germany in terms of total patent applications.[29]
Teams of the University of Freiburg frequently participate in academic competitions with considerable success. The moot court team of the Faculty of Law has been the most successful team in the history of the competitionWillem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. The humanoid robot team of the Faculty of Engineering regularly competes with distinction in international tournaments.[33] The University of Freiburg team has also repeatedly scored highly at theInternational Genetically Engineered Machine undergraduate synthetic biology competition held at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.[34] The team was supported by numerous university institutions, among them the recently establishedbioss cluster of excellence. The University of Freiburg also participates in the National Model United Nations held annually in New York City.
The genetically engineeredgolden rice was developed by the University of Freiburg (Peter Beyer) and theETH Zurich (Ingo Potrykus) from 1992 to 2000. It was considered a breakthrough in biotechnology at the time of publication and now can help to providevitamin A to people lacking access to it in their diets.
When previous rector Jäger retired in 2008, law professorAndreas Voßkuhle was chosen as his successor. However, shortly after the start of his term, theSocial Democratic Party of Germany nominated Voßkuhle as vice-president of theFederal Constitutional Court of Germany. Voßkuhle accepted the nomination, was confirmed, and took his seat on the court in May 2008. In July 2008, then vice-rector Hans-Jochen Schiewer was elected as successor to Voßkuhle. Schiewer has assumed the position of rector with the start of the winter term 2008/2009.
The University of Freiburg offers educational audio and video contents on theiTunes U software platform since January 2008.
The University of Freiburg Institute of Physics is actively involved with research at theLarge Hadron Collider and has contributed significantly to theATLAS experiment, resulting in the discovery of theHiggs boson in 2012.
Today, about 430 professors, 3,695 academic employees, and 8,644 non-academic employees at the university are working for the Albert Ludwigs University, making it Freiburg's and the region's biggest employer. The university attracts many academics from abroad and was awarded excellent positions in the 2005 and 2009Humboldt Ranking.[35][36]
Logo at the entrance of University College Freiburg
University College Freiburg (UCF) is the university's central facility for promoting and administering international, interdisciplinary teaching activities. It was established in 2012 and is situated in the historical buildings of the old university, the historical site of theartes liberales. UCF serves as a lab for innovative teaching approaches and instructional design at the University of Freiburg and works in close co-operation with the faculties and the Rectorate's departments for Instructional Development and International Relations. It isaccredited by the University of Freiburg, which draws its authority from the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency.[37]
The four-year, English-taught Bachelor program inLiberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) is UCF's major offering, the first of its kind in Germany. It emphasizes a broad interdisciplinary education, while at the same time providing for individualized academic concentrations on a high academic level. Students have to complete 240ECTS credits and are able to major inlife sciences,environmental and sustainability sciences,culture and history andgovernance. Electives can be taken at UCF, in the greater University of Freiburg, during studies abroad or in the form of internships and self-directed practical projects.[37]
In order to provide a framework and didactic guidance for interdisciplinary higher education, the University of Freiburg has established two chairs at UCF:Epistemology andTheory of Science (Prof. Dr. Frieder Vogelmann, who is also the Dean of Studies)[38] andScience and Technology Studies (Prof. Dr. Veronika Lipphardt).[39] The College and the program are directed by Managing Director Paul Sterzel and the Academic Coordinator Thorsten Leiendecker.
Students at UCF organize a number of interest groups, for instance a magazine publishing group, a 3D printing group, an arts collective, and a Model United Nations team.[41] They represented by an elected board of twelve student office holders.[42] Alumni are a part of a subgroup within the greater University of Freiburg alumni association.[43]
The University of Freiburg has a variety of graduate education and research opportunities. In an evaluation of European graduate programs, Freiburg was ranked among the leading universities in several subject fields examined.[44][27]
Apart from the many graduate programs of its faculties, Freiburg has set up additional specialized graduate schools and graduate research centers, coordinated by the newly founded International Graduate Academy (IGA) Freiburg. The IGA coordinates five graduate schools: the Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine; the European Cultures and Intercultural Interweaving school; the Theology and Religious Studies school; the Hermann Paul School of Language Sciences, and the Environment, Society and Global Change graduate school of the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences.
The IGA also coordinates 12 Graduate Research Centers (Graduiertenkolleg): Biochemistry of Enzymes; Friends, Patrons, Clients; Formation and Development of Present-Day Landscapes; Mathematical Logics and Applications; Mechanisms of Neuronal Signal Transduction; Catalysts and Catalytic Reactions for Organic Synthesis (in cooperation with the University of Basel); Hadron Collider Physics; Embedded Microsystems; From Cells to Organs: Molecular Mechanisms of Organogenesis; Signal Systems in Model Organisms of Plant Origin; Micro Energy Harvesting; and PhD program Computational Neuroscience at theBernstein Center Freiburg for Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology.
The University of Freiburg has offered German language courses for foreign students since 1911. The courses take place at the university's Language Teaching Centre ('Sprachlehrinstitut') during the semester breaks and attract students from over 50 nations.. The intensive language lessons are bolstered by a supplementary program with lectures and seminars onGerman culture,politics,philosophy, andart, as well as excursions to the Black Forest, theAlsace region in France, Basel (Switzerland) orLake Constance. In addition to classes for all language levels, professional German courses (e.g. business German) are also offered.
The city of Freiburg is known for its environmentally friendly policies and focus on renewable energy and sustainability, attracting solar industry and research to the city. This environmentally conscious attitude also extends to the University of Freiburg which has founded the work group "Nachhaltige Universität Freiburg" (Sustainable University of Freiburg) and has drawn up environmental guidelines to be implemented in university practice.
The university has also founded the initiative Solar-Uni Freiburg in 2007, with the aim of further expanding its capabilities in sustainability and environmental research. Solar panels were installed on the roofs of university buildings. To bundle renewable energy research and teaching at the university, the Center for Renewable Energy (ZEE, Zentrum für Erneuerbare Energien), an interdisciplinary and cross-faculty facility, was founded. Aside from research in the fields of solar energy, biomass, geothermal energy, energy efficiency and new energies, an international Master of Science degree in Renewable Energy Management is being offered.
In addition to its own expertise, the Center for Renewable Energy can draw upon the support of the renewable energy industrial sector in Freiburg, as well as the university's cooperation with other research institutes in the area, such as theFraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, the Öko-Institut – Institute for Applied Ecology, or the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg.
The University of Freiburg cooperates closely with external research institutions located in Freiburg, several of which are connected with chairs at the university.[45]
The University of Freiburg initiated an English language international master's program insocial sciences, theGlobal Studies Programme (GSP) in 2001. The aim of the program is to enable students to study social sciences in different regions and cultures. Combining various disciplines such as sociology,political sciences,anthropology andgeography, students approach globalization with a unique perspective. The program is conducted jointly by the University of Freiburg with theUniversity of Cape Town inCape Town, South Africa, theJawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, theLatin American Social Sciences Institute in Buenos Aires,Argentina, and theChulalongkorn University inBangkok, Thailand. Students in the GSP master's program study on three different continents during the two-year degree program. Since 2008, the GSP also offers a PhD program in Global Studies. The Global Studies Program has received many awards, among them theBMW Group Award for Intercultural Learning in 2004 as well as being listed a Top Ten International master's degree Course in Germany by theGerman Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in 2006.[47]
In 1995, the University of Freiburg helped theAromanian professorVasile Barba [bg] found the European Center of Aromanian Studies (Aromanian:Tsentrul European ti Studii Armãneshti; German:Europäisches Zentrum für Aromunische Studien), specialized onAromanian studies.[48]
^Mayer, Hermann (1907)."Erasmus in seinen Beziehungen zur Universität Freiburg" [Erasmus in his relations with the University of Freiburg].Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Beförderung der Geschichts-, Altertums- und Volkskunde von Freiburg, dem Breisgau und den angrenzenden Landschaften (in German).23:287–302 – via Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg im Breisgau.
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