The Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) is a Roman
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
and
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, Germany.
Compared to other German universities it is a rather small institution with 4,800 students in 2019; nevertheless, it is the largest non-state university in Germany. The university has its main campus in
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
(the buildings being in the town center or within walking distance) and another (the ''Ingolstadt School of Management'') in
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
, site of the first Bavarian university in 1472.
History
The university's history dates back to a seminary for priests ("Collegium Willibaldum"), which was founded in 1564 by bishop
Martin von Schaumburg and the old
University of Ingolstadt
The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law, and medicine, all o ...
, the first university in Bavaria, which was founded in 1472 with the approval of the pope. The latter institution was moved to the capital
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
– nowadays the
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
München (LMU) by King
Ludwig I
en, Louis Charles Augustus
, image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg
, caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825
, succession=King of Bavaria
, reign =
, coronation ...
in 1826. One of the most famous rectors of the old University of Ingolstadt was the Jesuit
Petrus Canisius
Peter Canisius ( nl, Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Swit ...
.
Today's university came into existence in 1980, after a fusion of Eichstätt's School of Education and the School of Philosophy and Theology in 1972. A major role in the formation of the university was played by the former archbishop of Munich-Freising,
Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
, who later got an honorary
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
from the university. Among others receiving honorary doctorates from the university are the philosopher
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the cl ...
, and the former bishop of
Eichstätt
Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese ...
Alois Brems. In 1990, the Catholic University established the
WFI – Ingolstadt School of Management
The WFI – Ingolstadt School of Management (or WFI Ingolstadt) is a leading German business school and the faculty of business administration and economics of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. The WFI (meaning "Wirtschaftswissens ...
, one of Germany's foremost business schools. Since 1998 the
Collegium Orientale, an academic institution associated with the university, hosts young theologians and priests from eastern European and Oriental churches who are pursuing their post-graduate studies in Eichstätt.
Catholic context
The university is largely funded by the state but is run by a self-governing public church
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
(''Stiftung Katholische Universität Eichstätt, Kirchliche Stiftung des Öffentlichen Rechts'') set up by Bavarian Catholic bishops on the basis of a
concordat
A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Edi ...
between the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
and the Free State of Bavaria. The ethos of Catholic universities was defined in Pope
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
's ''Apostolic Constitution of Catholic Churches''.
The CU at a glance
The 8 faculties of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt offer 40 different subjects. The CU is fully accredited by the Free State of Bavaria, and is thus equated to German state universities in all respects. For students, personal faith does not play any part in the admission process. The university library has a stock of books exceeding 1.5 million volumes, thus offering students and teaching staff immediate access to books of all areas via an electronic inventory accessible from almost anywhere.
The CU has a teacher-student ratio of 1:15. In a Germany-wide ranking by
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
in 1999 the CU was amongst Germany's top universities. In subsequent years the CU received high rankings for the learning environment it offers to its students. Especially, the Faculty of Business in
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
was and continues to be one of the most competitive business schools in Germany. In 2005, the CU's journalism program was ranked among the five best media and communication programs in Germany.
The portion of international students from Europe and all over the world is very high compared to state universities. Russian, Spanish, French and English are thus very common languages in Eichstätt, many students being fluent in at least 2 of them.
One of the biggest changes currently affecting the CU is the shift from the old German academic system to the new European bachelor's and master's degrees based on credit points by 2010. This change should help to allow students to spend time abroad easily, and transfer their grades easily for their degrees at the CU.
In addition, more and more BA and MA integrated degrees are being offered, where the students spend only part of their time at the CU, the rest at one of the partner universities. These double or triple degrees offer a possibility to experience the academic environment of more than one country, and are an increasingly popular choice for freshmen at the CU.
The university has the following faculties:
* Faculty of
Catholic Theology
* Faculty of
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
* Faculty of
Language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
s and
Literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
s
* Faculty of
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and
Social Sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
* Faculty of
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and
Geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
*
Faculty of Business Administration and Economics (in Ingolstadt)
There are also two integrated institutes of Higher Education for:
*
Religious Education and Church Educational Work
*
Social Work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
There are also:
* an Institute for Marriage and the Family in society
* an Institute for Latin American Studies
* an Institute for Central and Eastern European Studies
* a Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Sciencesl
* a language teaching centre
Library
![Eichstaett 2007 april ub 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Eichstaett_2007_april_ub_1.jpg)
In February 2007 it was revealed that the university library had recycled 80 tons of books and journals, of which 68.4 tons had been donated from the central library in
Altötting
Altötting (, Bavarian: ; ''Oidäding'') is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by Pope John Paul II i ...
of the Bavarian
Capuchin monasteries.
This is about one quarter of the 300,000 volumes of philosophy and theology donated for the purpose of being included in university library's collections.
An inquest ordered by the Government of the
Free State of Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total la ...
concluded that no valuable books had been destroyed.
References
University's English language booklet
External links
*
*
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070623181129/http://www.ku-polis.de/ Portal of the Political Science Students' Association at the CU (Fachschaft Politik) *
Francis of Assisi Academy for the Protection of Earth, Eichstätt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Educational institutions established in 1980
Eichstätt
1980 establishments in West Germany
Universities and colleges in Bavaria