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The University of Erfurt (german: Universität Erfurt) is a public university located in
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, the capital city of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
state of
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
. Therefore it claims to be both the oldest and youngest university in Germany. The institution identifies itself as a reform university, due to its most famous alumnus
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
, the instigator of the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, who studied there from 1501 to 1505. Today, the main foci centre on multidisciplinarity, internationality, and
mentor Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
ing. The university is home to the
Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies The Max Weber Center for Advanced Studies (''Max-Weber-Kolleg für kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien'') is an international and interdisciplinary "high-ranking research centre which forms an avant-garde institution of the University of E ...
, the Gotha Research Center for Cultural and Social Scientific Studies, and the
Willy Brandt School of Public Policy The Willy Brandt School of Public Policy is a public institute for research and education in the field of public policy at the University of Erfurt. It was established in 2002, offering the first German study program leading to a ''Master of Pub ...
. The Gotha Research Library, which has one of Germany's largest collections of early modern manuscripts, is part of the university. The University Library is also the keeper of the ''Bibliotheca Amploniana'', a collection of nearly 1000 medieval manuscripts collected by the scholar Amplonius Rating de Berka (c.1363–1435), who was a former
Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of the university.


History


1379–1816

The University of Erfurt was founded in 1379 in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, in territory which is now modern day Germany. When the town of Erfurt became part of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
in 1816, the government closed the university after more than 400 years of operation.


1994–present

Erfurt was in the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(East Germany) from 1949 to 1990. In December 1993, the State Government of Thuringia in reunified Germany,
Landtag of Thuringia The Landtag of Thuringia is the parliament of the German federal state of Thuringia. It convenes in Erfurt and currently consists of 90 members from six parties. According to the free state's constitution, the primary functions of the Landtag ...
, voted to re-establish the university. The university was re-founded on 1 January 1994. Lectures began in the winter term of 1999/2000. Shortly afterwards, the Rector who had overseen the founding,
Peter Glotz Peter Glotz (6 March 1939 – 25 August 2005) was a German social democratic politician ( Social Democratic Party) and social scientist. Peter Glotz was born in Cheb, Czechoslovakia, to a German father and a Czech mother. His father, an insuranc ...
, a politician in the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
, left the university. The position was taken over by Wolfgang Bergsdorf. In 2001, the Erfurt Teachers' Training College (''Pädagogische Hochschule Erfurt''), founded in 1953, became part of the university. On 1 January 2003, a fourth faculty was added to the university: the Roman Catholic Theological Faculty, which had belonged to Erfurt's Philosophical and Theological Centre (''Philosophisch-Theologisches Studium Erfurt''). The University of Erfurt is a liberal arts university with reform and socio-cultural profile. The close integration of the Philosophical, Educational Research, Governmental Studies, the Catholic Theological Faculty, and the Max Weber Center, promotes interdisciplinary alongside innovative approaches to research and teaching through a mentoring program. The University of Erfurt has no tuition fees and represents the first institution of higher education to receive th
family-friendly certificate
for employers.


Faculties and institutions

The University of Erfurt has five faculties and three academic institutes: * Faculty of Education * Faculty of Catholic Theology * Faculty of Philosophy * Faculty of Governance (Law, Economics and Social Science), the only one in Germany *
Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies The Max Weber Center for Advanced Studies (''Max-Weber-Kolleg für kultur- und sozialwissenschaftliche Studien'') is an international and interdisciplinary "high-ranking research centre which forms an avant-garde institution of the University of E ...
The academic institutes are: * Erfurt School of Education * Research Centre for Social and Cultural Studies in Gotha * The
Willy Brandt School of Public Policy The Willy Brandt School of Public Policy is a public institute for research and education in the field of public policy at the University of Erfurt. It was established in 2002, offering the first German study program leading to a ''Master of Pub ...
, the former Erfurt School of Public Policy (ESPP), which is partly financed by tuition fees.


Academic programs and priorities


Academic priorities

* Religious studies * Sociology * Governance (Law and economics) * Education


Regular summer schools

* International Summer Course for German Language, Literature and Culture * Summer School "Muslims in the West" * Summer Program in Communications Erfurt (SPICE) * International Spring School


University research groups and projects


Current research groups

Currently following colleges and research teams are part of the Erfurt doctoral and postdoctoral program (EPPP): * The research group Communication and Digital Media (COMDIGMED) is an interdisciplinary and international scale embedded and association of researchers. This project will combine to support the research activities of its members on the field of communication science, educational science, psychology and social science and networking of research and teaching help. COMDIGMED is co-creator of university education focus. * In the Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavior (Cereb) scientists work together on economic and behavioral sciences, focusing on the theoretical modeling of human decision behavior, the design of social institutions and educational and career choices as long-term Selbststeuerungsprozesse. The university is involved in this specialization. * The Graduate School "Religion in modernization processes" engages religion-related research projects from the religious, social, literary, media, and history of science, theology and philosophy. It engages young scientists with the problems in this area, and offers attractive conditions for their work to develop new understandings of religion in modernization processes. * The research program of Max Weber Center is directed to the problems of religion, science and law as interpretation and control powers, interactions between cultures, social systems and mentalities in radical change, and action-bases of cultural and social sciences and their relation to normative, especially ethical issues. * The DFG-Graduiertenkolleg "Human Dignity and Human Rights" employs young researchers at the Max Weber Center and the University of Jena with creation, development and application of a central value of Modernity: the human dignity, including consideration of less history of violence. * The projects of the Research "Proficiency" deal with the theory-based coverage and promotion of linguistic competence. These are all language modalities (reading, listening, writing, speaking), both at the primary are taken as well in second language acquisition in the eye. The research group is actively involved in the design of the gravity profile the Education of the University of Erfurt. * The Research Training Group of the Forum "Texte.Zeichen.Medien." her profile is not covered by the thematic orientation, but by the transphilologische and interdisciplinary nature of their access to their objects – texts, symbols and media. * The DFG Research Training Group "Media historiographies" deals with the mutual relationship between history and media. The question of a "history of the media 'with the question of" media history "intertwined: how different media to determine the encoding of historical situations and processes? And how media and media techniques to bring out their own particular history? * The Platform regions of the world & Interactions


University projects

In the summer semester of 2003, a project group was formed at the university to take part in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in April 2004. The pilot project has become a regular, student-organized seminar at the university. The various groups received several awards for their participation at the conference in 2006, 2007, and 2008.


People


Original foundation (1392–1816)

*
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
, theologian *
Ulrich von Hutten Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer. By 1519, he was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church. Hu ...
, Lutheran supporter *
Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...
, printer (attendance debated) * Christoph Martin Wieland, poet *
Konrad of Megenberg Conrad of Megenberg (german: Konrad von Megenberg, la, Conradus Megenbergensis; 1309–1374) was a German Catholic scholar, and a writer. Biography Conrad was born in either Mainberg or Mebenburg, both in Bavaria. He was born on 2 February 1 ...
, historian *
Johannes de Indagine Johannes de Indagine, also known as Johannes Indaginis, John of Hagen, otherwise Johannes Bremer von Hagen (c. 1415–1475) was a German Carthusian monk, Catholic theologian and theological author. Life Johannes de Indagine was born in around 14 ...
, Carthusian monk and theologian *
Johann Hieronymus Kniphof Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (24 February 1704 in Erfurt – 23 January 1763) was a German physician and botanist. He studied medicine at the Universities of Jena and Erfurt, becoming a professor of medicine at the latter institution in 1737. In ...
, physician and botanist


Re-establishment (since 1996)


Presidents

*
Peter Glotz Peter Glotz (6 March 1939 – 25 August 2005) was a German social democratic politician ( Social Democratic Party) and social scientist. Peter Glotz was born in Cheb, Czechoslovakia, to a German father and a Czech mother. His father, an insuranc ...
, politician and social scientist (1996–1999) * Wolfgang Bergsdorf, political scientist(2000–2007) *
Kai Brodersen Kai Brodersen (born 6 June 1958) is a contemporary ancient historian and classicist on the faculty of the University of Erfurt. He has edited, and translated, both ancient works and modern classical studies. His research focuses on "Applied Scie ...
, ancient historian (2008–2014) * Walter Bauer-Wabnegg, narratologist (2014 -)


Faculty

* Cornelia Betsch, psychologist * Beate Hampe, linguist * Martin Mulsow, historian * Susanne Rau, historian *
Jörg Rüpke Jörg Rüpke (born 27 December 1962 in Herford, West Germany) is a German scholar of comparative religion and classical philology, recipient of the Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize in 2008, and of the Advanced Grant of the European Research Council in 2011 ...
, classicist and historian of religions * Gila Schauer, linguist


Alumni

* Andreas Bausewein, politician


See also

*
List of medieval universities The list of medieval universities comprises universities (more precisely, '' studia generalia'') which existed in Europe during the Middle Ages.Rüegg 1992, pp. XIX–XX It also includes short-lived foundations and European educational ins ...
*
List of universities in Germany This is a list of the universities in Germany, of which there are about seventy. The list also includes German ''Technische Universitäten'' (universities of technology), which have official and full university status, but usually focus on engine ...
*
Education in Germany Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all children between one and six years o ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Erfurt Martin Luther
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
1390s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1392 establishments in Europe Educational institutions disestablished in 1816 1816 disestablishments in Germany Educational institutions established in 1994 1994 establishments in Germany Universities and colleges in Thuringia