University of Regensburg

The University of Regensburg, situated in Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany, was founded on July 18 1962 by the Bavarian parliament. Bavaria's fourth university saw its first lectures during the 1967-68 winter semester , initially housing a faculty of Law and Business Sciences as well as a faculty of Philosophy. During the summer semester, 1968 the School of Theology was created.

This was the realisation of a longstanding aspiration of the city of Regensburg, a plan maintained ever since Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria and the city council had sent a petition to the Pope to establish a Regensburg-based university in 1487. The idea failed for economic reasons, and throughout the following centuries it did not become reality.

Entirely on one campus, the university is located just outside Regensburg's inner city on a small incline south of the River Danube, and directly next to the interstate Autobahn. Students are supported by an excellent library, where 3.15 million books are available in one central and eleven departmental libraries, as well as the university's various well-equipped computer rooms. The university has been adapted to the needs of the disabled as far as possible and accommodation of the same standard is available.

Including the affiliated university hospital, the University of Regensburg has approximately 4,200 employees including 312 professors, and teaches about 16,000 students. The attractiveness of the university is also enhanced by the 2000 year-old town of Regensburg, its scenic countryside, the Donautal (Danube Valley), the modest living costs, a high density of bars and the nearby heights of the Bavarian Forest. Brisk cultural life both in the city and on campus provide for great recreational opportunities, enhanced by a number of nearby lakes.

The most famous professor of the university is the Pope Benedict XVI, who taught there from 1969 until he was appointed Cardinal and Archbishop of Munich in 1977. Since his election as Pope in 2005, he has made one highly publicised visit to the university.

Faculties

The university is structured into 12 faculties:

*School of Catholic Theology
*School of Law
*Faculty of Business, Economics and Information
*School of Medicine
*Humanities I: Philosophy, Sports, and Art
*Humanities II: Psychology and Pedagogy
*Humanities III: Society, History, and Geography
*Humanities IV: Languages and Literature
*Natural Sciences I: Mathematics
*Natural Sciences II: Physics
*Natural Sciences III: Biology, Preclinical Medicine
*Natural Sciences IV: Chemistry and Pharmacy

Degree Courses

With its 12 faculties, The University offers a wide variety of traditional programmes of study leading to a Magister (M. A.), Diplom or doctorate degree. There is also a wide selection of modularised interdisciplinary programmes in the Humanities, in which students can earn a Bachelor or a Master's degree.

Cross-disciplinary co-operation, the strengthening of key competences, project orientation, and a flexible study programme are the hallmarks of these new degree programmes. They prepare students for many modern career options. For international students of law, the University offers an LL.M. course in German Law. All students, irrespective of their specialisation, are offered a number of programmes which can be taken to complement their main field of study. Among these are data processing, general language courses, specialised language courses (business, law etc.), courses in oral presentation and communication, and a programme in intercultural communication.

Research

The University of Regensburg has developed a clear research profile. Key fields of activity include the Natural Sciences (Physics, Bio-Sciences, Chemistry and Pharmacy), the Humanities (History, Geography, Philologies) and Medicine. The University Clinic and Medical School's facilities are considered to be some of the best-equipped in Germany. The German Research Foundation (DFG) currently sponsors 2 collaborative research centres, 4 research units and 5 interdisciplinary graduate colleges. The University participates in well over 30 EU projects. Through interdisciplinary research in areas such as Medieval Studies, regional development, innovation management and business, the University shows its dedication to putting its knowledge and expertise to good use for the city and the region. By expanding the biotechnological centre (BioPark) on campus, the University makes full use of the links between science and industry.

Due to its geographical location, the University has always considered itself a bridge between East and West. With the EUROPAEUM it has set up an interdisciplinary centre for research and teaching on all aspects pertaining to Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries. The University will also be home to the Bavarian Centre of Competence for Research on Eastern Europe, which will work in close collaboration with institutions outside the University.

ervice

On campus, students are provided with a large central cafeteria (Mensa) and several smaller ones, a pizzeria, a bank, a bookshop as well as various other shops. The open-access University Library, with its modern online catalogue and loan system, holds over 3 million books and periodicals. All students receive a PIN code for the computers, which also grants them free access to e-mail and the Internet. They have access to the services provided by the University’s Computer Centre in any one of the more than 20 computer pools on campus and in most of the student dormitories.

Student residences, a number of which cater to students with special needs, are located in close proximity to the campus as well as in the city centre itself.

In addition to its academic function, the University encourages numerous extracurricular activities on campus. Various choirs, musical ensembles and art exhibitions (drawings, prints, sculpture and photography) testify to a dynamic cultural life on campus. Every year, more than 10 student drama groups stage their productions in the theatre on campus. Well equipped audiovisual studios cater to students with an interest in film and music production.

The Sports Centre provides a vast selection of recreational courses for students. The choice of courses ranges from aikido to capoeira, and from kayaking to volleyball. The University’s International Office offers international students well developed orientation and integration programmes which quickly help them feel at home.

Partner Universities

The university currently maintains links with over 130 European academic institutions. The number of partner universities in countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus and the Baltic States has steadily grown ever since the initiation of the programme for associated countries. The university now has over 20 partners in these countries. Favourite destinations for students are and have always been Great Britain, followed by France, Italy and Spain. Universities of Kanazawa, Japan and Korea University, Seoul provide opportunities for Regensburg students to partake in teaching programs in English language and, depending on their level of language training, as teachers themselves. Two Latin American universities, the Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela, and the Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico, provide several university places.

* Charles University of Prague, Czech Republic [http://www1.cuni.cz/index.php?lng=eng Website]
* University of Brno, Czech Republic [http://www.muni.cz Website]
* University of Colorado at Boulder, USA [http://www.colorado.edu Website]
* University of Ljubljana, Slovenija [http://www.uni-lj.si Website]
* University of Lodz, Poland [http://www.uni.lodz.pl/ulan/ogolne.htm Website]
* Lomonosov Moscow State University [http://www.msu.ru/en Website]
* University of Odessa, Ukraine
* University of Trieste, Italy [http://www.univ.trieste.it Website]
* Dongguk University, Seoul, Korea [http://www.dongguk.edu/english/ Website]
* Kanazawa University, Japan [http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp Website]
* Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA [http://www.vanderbilt.edu Website]
* Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA [http://www.wustl.edu Website]
* Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky, USA [http://www.murraystate.edu Website]
* Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
* Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom

External links

* [http://www.uni-regensburg.de University of Regensburg]
* [http://www.regensburg.de City of Regensburg]

ee also

* List of universities in Germany
* City of Regensburg
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishi_Valley_School