The university was founded on March 12, 1365, byRudolf IV, Duke of Austria, hence the name "Alma Mater Rudolphina".[4] After theCharles University inPrague (1347) andJagiellonian University inKraków (1364), the University of Vienna is the third oldest university in Central Europe and the oldest university in the contemporary German-speaking world; it remains a question of definition as the Charles University in Prague was German-speaking when founded, too. However,Pope Urban V did not ratify the deed of foundation that had been sanctioned by Rudolf IV, specifically in relation to the department of theology. This was presumably due to pressure exerted byCharles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who wished to avoid competition for theCharles University in Prague.[5]
The pope later granted an endowment to the university in 1365, while papal assent was finally received in 1384.[6] This led to the University of Vienna and its Faculty of Catholic Theology being granted the status of a full university.[7] The first university building opened in 1385. It grew into the biggest university of theHoly Roman Empire, and during the advent ofHumanism in the mid-15th century was home to more than 6,000 students.[8]
In its early years, the university had a partly hierarchical, partly cooperative structure, in which theRector was at the top, while the students had little say and were settled at the bottom. TheMagister andDoctors constituted the four faculties and elected the academic officials from amidst their ranks. The students, but also all other Supposita (university members), were divided into fourAcademic Nations. Their elected board members, mostly graduates themselves, had the right to elect the Rector. He presided over the Consistory which included procurators of each of the nations and the faculty deans, as well as over the University Assembly, in which all university teachers participated. Complaints or appeals against decisions of the faculty by the students had to be brought forward by a Magister or Doctor.[8]
The courtyard (Arkadenhof) of themain building, constructed between 1877 and 1884
Being considered a Papal Institution, the university suffered a setback during theReformation. In addition, epidemics, economic stagnation, and the firstSiege of Vienna by Ottoman forces had devastating effects on the city, leading to a sharp decline in enrollment. For EmperorFerdinand I, this meant that the university should be tied to the church to an even stronger degree, and in 1551 he installed theJesuit Order there.[4] As time went on, conflicts between the Jesuit school and the university arose. This led EmperorFerdinand II, in 1623, to pass a law that incorporated the Jesuit College into the university.[9] It was only in the mid-18th century that the Jesuits lost influence over the university and when EmpressMaria Theresa ensured that the university went under the control of the monarchy. The university would later focus on the education of physicians and civil servants. Her successorJoseph II continued her reforms and further liberalized the university, abolishing official attire and allowing both Protestants and Jews to enroll by 1782, as well as introducing German as the compulsory language of instruction the year later.[4]
Students riot at the University of Vienna after a Nazi attempt to prevent Jews from entering the university (c. 1938)
Significant changes were instituted in the wake of theRevolution in 1848, with the Philosophical Faculty being upgraded into equal status as Theology, Law and Medicine. Led by the reforms ofLeopold, Count von Thun und Hohenstein, the university was able to achieve a larger degree of academic freedom.[4] The current main building on theRingstraße was built between 1877 and 1884 byHeinrich von Ferstel. The previous main building was located close to theStuben Gate (Stubentor) on Iganz Seipel Square, the current home of the old University Church (Universitätskirche) and theAustrian Academy of Sciences (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften). Women were admitted as full students in 1897, although their studies were limited to Philosophy. The remaining departments gradually followed suit, although with considerable delay: Medicine in 1900, Law in 1919,Protestant Theology in 1923, and finallyRoman Catholic Theology in 1946.[3] Ten years after the admission of the first female students,Elise Richter became the first woman to receivehabilitation, becoming professor ofRomance languages in 1907; she was also the first female distinguished professor.
In the late 1920s, the university was in steady turmoil because of anti-democratic and anti-Semitic activity by parts of the student body. ProfessorMoritz Schlick was killed by a former student while ascending the steps of the university for a class. His murderer was later released by the Nazi regime. Following theAnschluss, the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by theNazi regime, in 1938 the University of Vienna was reformed under political aspects, and a huge number of teachers and students were dismissed for political and "racial" reasons.[10] In April 1945, the then 22-year-old Kurt Schubert, later acknowledgeddoyen ofJudaic Studies at the University of Vienna, was permitted by theSoviet occupation forces to open the university again for teaching, which is why he is regarded as the unofficial first rector in the post-war period. On 25 April 1945, however, the constitutional lawyerLudwig Adamovich senior was elected as the official rector of the University of Vienna.
A large degree of participation by students and university staff was realized in 1975, however, the University Reforms of 1993 and 2002 largely re-established the professors as the main decision-makers. However, also as part of the 2002 reform, the university, after more than 250 years of being largely under governmental control, finally regained its full legal capacity. The number of faculties and centers was increased to 18, and the whole of the medical faculty was separated into the newMedical University of Vienna.[11]
The University of Vienna does not have one single campus. Historically, the university started functioning from the First District near the Jesuit Church. Now, the academic facilities occupy more than sixty locations throughout the city of Vienna. The historical main building on the Ringstraße constitutes the university's center and is commonly referred to as "die Uni". Most other larger university facilities and lecture halls are located nearby in the area of Vienna's First and NinthDistrict: the so-called new Lecture Hall Complex (Neues Institutgebäude, NIG), the lecture hall complex Althanstraße (UZA), the campus on the premises of theHistorical General Hospital of Vienna, the Faculty of Law (Juridicum) and others. TheBotanical Garden of the University of Vienna is housed in the Third District, as are the Department of Biochemistry and related research centers.[12]
Also worth mentioning is theVienna Observatory, which belongs to the university, and the Institute for University Sports (USI), which offers training and recreational possibilities to all students of the university. In addition, the University of Vienna maintains facilities outside of Vienna in the Austrian provinces ofLower Austria,Upper Austria, andCarinthia. These are mainly research and experimental departments for Biology, Astrophysics and Sports.[12]
The reading room in the university's main libraryEntrance to the large reading room
The University Library of the University of Vienna comprises the Main Library and the 50 departmental libraries at various university locations throughoutVienna. The library's primary responsibility is to the members of the university; however, the library's 350 staff members also provide access to the public. Use of the books in the reading halls is open to all persons without the need for identification, which is only required for checking out books. The library's website provides direct access to information such as electronic journals, online indices, and databases.[13]
Rudolf IV had already provided for apublica libraria in the Foundation Deed of 12 March 1365, where the valuable books bequeathed by deceased members of the university should be collected. Through many legacies, this collection was subsequently greatly increased and became the basis of the oldLibreye that was accommodated in the same building as the student infirmary. In addition, there were libraries in the separate Faculties and in the Duke's College.
Main Ceremonial Chamber (Festsaal) in the Main Building
From the 17th century onwards, interest in the old library, with its manuscripts and incunabulae, went into decline and the modern library in the Jesuit College came to the fore. In 1756, the oldest university library was finally closed down and its books, 2,787 volumes, were incorporated into the Court Library, of whichGerard van Swieten was then director. After the dissolution of the Jesuit order (1773), the new "Academic Library" was created out of the book collections of the five Lower Austrian Colleges and many duplicates from the Court Library. This was opened on 13 May 1777, the birthday of Maria Theresa of Austria, in the building of the Academic College. Initially, the stock consisted of some 45,000 books, and during Emperor Joseph II's dissolution of the monasteries, this was soon considerably extended. In contrast to its antecedents, the new library was open to the general public. Between 1827 and 1829, it acquired the classicist extension (Postgasse 9) to the Academic College, in which it was to be accommodated until 1884. In this year, the main library, with some 300,000 books, moved toHeinrich von Ferstel's new Main Building on the Ring, where stacks for some 500,000 volumes had already been prepared. With an annual growth of up to 30,000 volumes, the surplus space was soon filled. Book storage space had to be extended continuously. One hundred years later, the complete library, including departmental and subject libraries, comprised more than 4.3 million volumes. Today, Vienna's University Library is the largest collection of books in Austria, still facing problems of space. In addition to the Main Library, which alone has to cope with an annual growth of 40,000 volumes, it includes about 40 Subject Libraries.[14]
The University of Vienna, like all universities and academies in Austria, once featured a system of democratic representation. Power in the university was divided equally among three groups: students (the largest group), junior faculty, and full professors. All groups had the right to send representatives to boards, who then voted on almost every issue. From 2002 on, the government of Austria, headed bychancellorWolfgang Schüssel, reformed the university system, transforming the institutions into legal entities, but also concentrating power in the hands of the full professors.[16] The reform also introduced a board of governors and tuition fees. In 2013, those amounted to about €381 per semester for students from Austria, theEuropean Union as well as some non-EU countries, while students from developed non-EU countries usually pay double that amount. The reforms also separated the medical departments into separate medical schools, such as theMedical University of Vienna.
Students at the university can select from 181 degree programs: 55bachelor programs, 110master programs, 3diploma programs, and 13doctoral programmes. In the academic year 2013/14, the university awarded 7,745 first degrees (Bachelors andDiplomas), 1,424 Master's degrees, and 568 Doctoral degrees. The university offers a number of Master's programs in English, including quantitative economics, management and finance, science-technology-society, environmental sciences, Middle European interdisciplinary master programme in cognitive science, European master in health and physical activity, English language and linguistics, Anglophone literature and culture, East Asian economy and society, economics, botany, ecology and ecosystems, molecular biology, microbial ecology and immunobiology, European master in urban studies, masters in European and international business law, mathematics, etc.[17]
Faculty of Mathematics
Some 6,900 scholars undertake research and teaching activities at the university. Of these, approximately 1,000 engage actively in projects financed by third parties. The main fields of research at the university cover a wide spectrum of subjects: Catholic and Protestant theology, law, economic sciences and computer science, philological-cultural studies and historical-cultural studies, social sciences and psychology, life sciences and natural sciences, mathematics, sports sciences, and teacher education.
The University of Vienna has the highest ranking inMathematics and inArts andHumanities. In Mathematics it is placed 31st in the world according to theShanghai-Ranking. In Arts and Humanities it is placed 35th and 54th in the world according to theTHE andQS ranking respectively. Outstanding subjects includeGeography (ranked 28th globally in 2013),Linguistics andPhilosophy (both 46th globally) andLaw (ranked 73rd globally). It is rated high in academic reputation and number of international students, but low in terms of faculty-to-student ratio and citations per faculty.[24][25][26] In the THE ranking for 2026, the University of Vienna came in at number 95, making it the first Austrian university to break into the top 100.[27]
^ab"University of Vienna".Top Universities. QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2017.Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved19 March 2017.
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