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University of Greifswald
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| University of Greifswald | |
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Latin: Universitas Gryphiswaldensis |
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| Established | October 17, 1456 |
| Type: | Public |
| Chancellor: | Dr. Behrens |
| Rector: | Prof. Dr. Rainer Westermann |
| Staff: | approx. 5,000 |
| Students: | 11,499 (12/2007) |
| Location | Greifswald, Germany |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Nickname: | EMAU, E.M.A.U. |
| Affiliations: | CBUR, DAAD, DFG, EUA, HRK, |
| Website: | http://www.uni-greifswald.de/ |
The Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald (German: Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald), generally known as the University of Greifswald, is located in Greifswald, Germany. Greifswald situated approximately 200 km to the north of Berlin, roughly in between the islands Rügen and Usedom.
Founded in 1456, it is one of the oldest universities in both Germany and Europe. For a time, it was also the oldest university of Sweden and Prussia. There are currently about 11,500 students studying at five faculties, 65 % of whom are from outside the state. Due to the size of the town, Greifswald is rather a university with a town around it than a town with a university.
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The University of Greifswald was founded on 17 October 1456 with imperial and papal approval. This was possible due to the great commitment of Greifswald's mayor, Heinrich Rubenow, who was also to become the university's first rector, under the protection of Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania and Bishop Henning Iven of St Nicolas' Cathedral.
The founding of the university was made possible by a law restricting teaching activity at the University of Rostock. Several professors left Rostock for Greifswald to continue their work there, where Heinrich Rubenow saw the chance of establishing his own university.
Originally, the university consisted of the four traditional divisions: Theology, Philosophy, Medicine and Law.
In Germany, there are only four older universities that operated continuously: Heidelberg (1386), Cologne (1388), Leipzig (1409) and Rostock (1419).
International co-operation with other instututions of higher education in northern Europe existed already in the earliest years, sparked and accelerated by the transnational trading network Hanse. From 1456 until 1526, 476 Scandinavians were enrolled at Greifswald University and 22 faculty members as well as six rectors came from Scandinavia. This was a relatively high percentage compared to the total number of students at the time.
The early sixteenth centry saw significant co-operation of the university, the Lutheran church, the city and the Duchy of Pomerania. Professors of theology simultaneously served as pastors in the three cathedrals. Professors of medicine usually served as personal physicians of the duke. Professors of law where also working at the local courts while professors of the faculty of philosophy usually taught the sons and daughters of the ducal family. The landed nobility also funded university-related purposes such as scholarships and student bursaries.
The Reformation was introduced at the university in 1539. After the secularisation of the monastery at Eldena near Greifswald, Duke Philipp I of Pomerania gave all revenue created by the newly created Amt Eldena to the university. His successor, Duke Ernst Ludwig, began the construction of a college building, which could only be completed after his death. Duke Philipp Julius presented the university a gown that was used by the rector on ceremonial occasions up until very recently.
In 1604, the university introduced the first centralised university library of Germany. The university signed a contract with a book printer from Wittenberg, Germany, for the amount of 2,000 Gulden. This contract lasted nearly a century due to the disruption caused by the Thirty Years' War. Hence, the university owns prestigious early prints of authors and printers such as Johannes Gutenberg or Thomas Thorild.
The Duke of Pomerania was in financial troubles and had not paid the professors. As a solution, he gave the Amt Eldena to the university - a total of 140 square kilometres of land.
After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 the western part of Pomerania, including Greifswald and its university, came under Swedish control. Without entirely losing its character as a German university, it was heavily influenced by Swedish educational policies until 1815. Especially during the second half of the eighteenth century Greifswald was a cultural and scientific bridge between Germany and Sweden. More than 1,500 Swedes studied at Greifswald University.
The main administrative building - still in use today - was built during the "good old Swedish years" by Andreas Mayer, a mathematician by profession, in the style of North German Baroque.
When Swedish Pomerania became part of Prussia in 1815, the University of Greifswald became the oldest university in Prussia. Extensive building activity was undertaken in all faculties and Greifswald grew significantly in size and reputation.
The Faculty of Law became Faculty of Law and Economics in 1905. In 1912, Otto Jaekel, a professor of paleontology in Greifswald, founded the German Paleontological Society.
The spectrum of academic research and teaching was further expanded during the Weimar Republic. The Nordisches Institut (Scandinavian and Finno-Ugric studies) and several other research institutes, e.g. for biological research, Christian archeology, and Palestinian studies, were founded.
It was named after Ernst Moritz Arndt in 1933, who was a student of theology in 1791 and later taught history at Greifswald. Here, he published his works "Versuch einer Geschichte der Leibeigenschaft in Pommern und Rügen", "Germanien und Europa" as well as the first part of "Geist der Zeit". There have been frequent debates as to whether Arndt's name is desirable for the university or not, but attempts to change the university's name have always been democratically rejected.
All academic activities came to a halt towards the end of the Second World War, and the university was re-opened on 15 February 1946. Several organisational changes were made during the time of the GDR, most of which were revoked in the 1990s after the German Reunification. Freedom of science as well as the autonomy and self-administration of the university were re-established. The Faculty of Law and Economics was re-opened from 1991 to 1993. Extensive renovation took place since 1990.
Large-scale (re-)construction efforts were made and many university buildings were renovated or newly constructed. A new campus for natural sciences, medicine, IT and mathemats is under construction in the eastern part of the city. The new domiciles of the central library, the departments of physics, biology and biochemistry have already been completed. The university hospital, which is thought to be completed in 2009, will be the most modern up-to-date full service hospital in Germany, adding to the appeal of medical studies at the University of Greifswald.
In 2006, the university celebrated its 550th anniversary with a large variety of events. The central ceremony, involving the re-opening of the university's renovated administrative building by the President of Germany, Horst Köhler, and Queen Silvia of Sweden took place on October 17, 2006.
The University of Greifswald is governed by a rector (head of the university), a chancellor (head of the administration) and the senate.
Like many European universities, Greifswald University is separated into faculties (German: Fakultät) and among those further subdivided into Departments (Institut).
- Evangelical Theology
The research and teaching focus of the Faculty of Philosophy lies with the languages and cultures of northern Europe and Eastern Europe. Some subjects such as Latvian and Lithuanian Studies, Slavic Studies, Finnish Studies (including Estonian Studies) and Scandinavian Studies are only offered by few other universities in Germany.
In addition, other classic disciplines such as German Studies, English Studies, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Music and Church Music are offered as well. The Caspar-David-Friedrich-Institut, named for painter Caspar David Friedrich, who was born in Greifswald, offers degrees in Fine Arts and Art History.
Courses are offered on the under-graduate (B.A., three years) and post-graduate (M.A., two years) level.
In various rankings, the management programmes at the University of Greifswald get nation-wide top places[1].
As a consequence of education reforms, jurisprudence will, in the future, be concentrated at the University of Greifswald and the Faculty of Law at the University of Rostock will be closed.
At the Faculty of Law and Economics, courses are offered in:
- jurisprudence (State Examination; LL.B., LL.M.)
- business management (Diploma, B.A., M.A.)
The medical faculty of the University of Greifswald is one of the most requested in Germany. In 2007, Greifswald University was ranked 2nd of 34 medical schools in Germany in terms of popularity with prospective students, out-ranking other popular universities such as the University of Heidelberg[2].
Students can study medicine as well as dentistry. The university hospital is currently being re-built at the new campus. Upon completion in 2009, it will be the most modern full-service hospital in Germany.
- Department of Biology
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Department of Geography and Geology
- Department of Mathematics and IT
- Department of Pharmacy
- Department of Physics
Research emphasis lies in the field of plasma physics, landscape ecology, medicine, biotechnology, the Middle Ages and the languages and cultures of countries bordering the Baltic Sea.
Greifswald's university hospital is the most up-to-date hospital in Germany and Greifswald is one of the most requested medical schools in Germany, placing 2nd in 2007. Most science departments as well as the hospital and the new university library are located at the new campus to the southeast of the city centre, whereas the faculties of theology, law and economics and philosophy are situated in the old town.
- Alfried-Krupp-Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald [1]
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics
- Leibniz Institute of Plasma Research and Technology
- Nuclear fusion research reactor Wendelstein 7-X
- German Federal Institute of Animal Virus Diseases, Riems Island
- Siemens AG, Public Networks
- Technology Centre Vorpommern
- Biotechnikum Greifswald
- Technologiepark (under construction)
- Research Institute of Diabetes, Karlsburg (near Greifswald)
The regional focus of international co-operation, which was decided upon by the university, lies in Northern Europe and Eastern Europe.
International co-operation is done in two ways. Firstly, through co-operation agreements with partner universities, which takes place on the university level. Secondly, through contacts on the level of chairs, academic departments and academic faculties, focussing on scientific co-operation and/or student exchange.
There also numerous other channels of international academic contact by individual professors, departments or academic faculties, which often support student exchange through the ERASMUS programme. Student exchange from and to Greifswald is co-ordinated by the university's international office (Akademisches Auslandsamt). Co-operation of this kind takes place with numerous prestigious universities, including those in Barcelona, Bergen, Göteborg, Graz, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Lancaster, Lund, Stockholm, Southampton, Uppsala und Utrecht.
The University of Greifswald has signed several official partnership agreements with other universities [2] and focuses on co-operation within the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe:
University of Aarhus, Denmark- Holbæk Seminarium Denmark
University of Brno, Czech Republic
University of Tartu, Estonia
University of Joensuu Finland
University of Padua, Italy
University of Latvia, Latvia
University of Klaipeda, Lithuania- University of Vilnius, Lithuania
University of Poznan, Poland- University of Szczecin, Poland
Immanuel Kant State University of Russia, Russia- Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Lund University, Sweden
The University of Greifswald was a large scale land owner until 1945. It owned more than 140 square kilometres of arable land. Because of this, it was one of the wealthiest universities in Germany and financially independent. The former wealth of the university can still be seen in many historic buildings as well as art and other possessions. The Croy Tapestry, a tapestry depicting of the Reformation from 1554) as well as many century old books, fossils, scientific collections form the core of possessions which, in the future, will be exhibited in the former department of physics near the main building. The university also owns one of only four remaining 36-line Gutenberg bibles from 1458.
Wealthiness and independence ended with communist land reforms after the Second World War, though parts of the land have been given back. Today, the university again manages some of the land previously owned, including a large forest, but revenue is low. Some land claims are still pending in court. The university also owns its own forest, which is administered by a "university forester".
The University of Greifswald is associated with a number of notable people, including both former students and faculty. For instance, two Nobel prize laureates as well as two German chancellors have studied or worked in Greifswald.
Johannes Stark (1874-1957) received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1919 (see Nobel Prize Website) "for his discovery of the Doppler effect in canal rays and the splitting of spectral lines in electric fields" during his time at the University of Greifswald. In 1939, Gerhard Domagk (1895 - 1964) received the Nobel Prize in Medicine (see Nobel Prize Website) "for the discovery of the antibacterial effects of prontosil". The university was named in honour of its former student and faculty member, the writer, politician und poet Ernst Moritz Arndt. Otto von Bismarck, chancellor of the German Empire from 1871-1890 and the "engineer" of the Unification of Germany in 1871, had a connection to Greifswald as well as one of his successors, Bernhard von Bülow, who was chancellor of the German Empire from 1900 to 1909.
Franz Seldte, a chemist by profession, worked as German labour minister. Johannes Bugenhagen, who introduced the Reformation in much of Northern Germany and Scandinavia was a student at the University of Greifswald and Thomas Thorild, a Swedish poet spent parts of his life in Greifswald. Alfred Gomolka, Member of the European Parliament for the CDU, worked for the university as well as the mathematician Felix Hausdorff.Bernhard Windscheid is one of the fathers of present German civil law. Ferdinand Sauerbruch, Theodor Billroth, Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach and Friedrich Loeffler made important contributions to the field of medical science. Hermann Löns became famous as a poet just like the discovers of Africa explorer Gustav Nachtigal became known around the world. Carl Schmitt, one of the most influential figures of 20th century political science was a member of staff. Mie scattering is named for Gustav Mie, a former professor of Physics. Georg Friedrich Schömann, Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff were noted classical philologists.
A number of public figures received honorary doctorates of the University of Greifswald, including Jacques Delors (former President of the European Commission) and Hannelore Kohl (wife of former German chancellor Helmut Kohl).
Since 1999, the EMAU has implemented the international Bachelor/Master system as proposed by the Bologna declaration. These are in the process of replacing the traditional German "Magister" and "Diplom" courses. With the rapid introduction and by cooperation with two other universities, Greifswald has become a leading university in welcoming and implementing the new system.
- Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald
- City of Greifswald
- Pomeranian Evangelical Church
- Faculty of Theology
- Faculty of Philosophy
- Faculty of Law and Economics
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
- List of universities in Germany
- List of oldest universities in continuous operation
- Medieval university
- Ernst Moritz Arndt
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| University of Greifswald · University of Rostock Fachhochschule Stralsund · Hochschule Wismar · Hochschule Neubrandenburg · Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock · Baltic College Güstrow · Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung, Rechtspflege und Polizei |
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