The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a

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 Stat ...

in Sweden's second largest city,

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 staff members it is one of the largest universities in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

About

With its eight faculties and 38 departments, the University of Gothenburg is one of the most wide-ranging and versatile universities in Sweden. Its eight faculties offer training in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Education, Information Technology, Business, Economics and Law, and Health Sciences. The University of Gothenburg has the highest number of applicants per study place in many of its subjects and courses, making it one of the most popular universities in Sweden.

History

The University of Gothenburg was founded as ''Göteborgs högskola'' (Gothenburg University College) in 1891. In 1907 it was granted the same status as

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

and

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law became part of the University of Gothenburg.

Sahlgrenska University Hospital The Sahlgrenska University Hospital ( Swedish: ''Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhuset'') is a hospital network associated with the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. With 17,000 employees the hospital is the ...

is associated with the university as a teaching hospital. The Sahlgrenska Hospital was founded in 1772 following a donation by Niclas Sahlgren, and is the largest in Northern Europe. In the 1990s the ''School of Economics'' and the ''Academy of Music, Drama and Opera'' have moved to new buildings in the city centre. A new campus for the ''Faculty of Education'' (teacher training) was opened in central Gothenburg in 2006. The University of Gothenburg is a pronounced city university, that is most of its facilities are within the city centre of

. The main building as well as most faculties are located in the central part of Gothenburg. Gothenburg has a great academic excellence, originating from the University of Gothenburg,

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology ( sv, Chalmers tekniska högskola, often shortened to Chalmers) is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that conducts research and education in technology and natural sciences at a high international le ...

and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, to face these challenges. It has a strong tradition of innovation, resulting in for example Losec, the Brånemark implant, drugs against Parkinson's and most recently, the first ever completed pregnancy from a transplanted uterus. Together with Uppsala, Lund, and Stockholm universities, it is one of four large international research universities in Sweden.

Structure

Management

The University of Gothenburg is one of Sweden's largest universities. It is a comprehensive university, organised into eight faculties and 38 departments. The university is a public authority as well as a confederation of Faculty Boards. Each faculty/school has significant autonomy based on its attributed powers, and a distinct identity within the university. The ''University Board'' is the university's highest decision-making body. The board consists of 15 members and has "supervision over all the University’s affairs, and is responsible that its duties are fulfilled". The Swedish Government appoints seven of the members externally, based on their having experience in activities that have significance for the university's teaching and research functions. In addition, the vice-chancellor, three faculty members and three students, as well as union representatives are included as ordinary members. The day-to-day management is headed by the vice-chancellor, who is responsible for implementing the decisions of the board. She is supported by the central administration.

Faculties

The university is organised into eight academic faculties. Collaboration across faculty and subject boundaries is emphasised in the university's research and education strategies. All faculties takes advantage of this possibility and are active participants in a multitude of cross-disciplinary research and education activities within the framework of the university. The university closely cooperates with

, a fact that further increases the total scope of the academic environment in Gothenburg. * The Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts (''Konstnärliga fakulteten'') offers courses in the fields of design and crafts, film studies, photography, scene, music and fine arts. The Göteborg Organ Art Center, HDK, Högskolan för scen och musik, and

Valand Academy Valand Academy ( sv, Akademin Valand) is a school for film, photography, literary composition, and fine art at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was formed in 2012 through the merger of three formerly independent schools/de ...

are part of the faculty. * The Faculty of Education (''Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten'') is responsible for teacher training in various subjects. * The Faculty of Arts (''Humanistiska fakulteten'') comprises the humanities, for instance cultural studies, history, literature,

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual his ...

, religion, modern languages, philosophy, linguistics, theory of science and Swedish language and literature Göteborgs universitet - humanisten

* The IT Faculty (''IT fakulteten'') offers programmes in applied information technology, computer science and engineering. * The Faculty of Science (''Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten'') covers a number of science disciplines such as botany, cell and molecular biology, physics, earth sciences, chemistry, conservation, marine ecology, mathematics, environmental science, and zoology. * The Sahlgrenska Academy (''Sahlgrenska Akadamin'') is part of the University of Gothenburg and functions as a separate academy with the prestigious

. * The

School of Business, Economics and Law The Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg ( sv, Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet) is one of Sweden's leading business schools, located in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1923 as an independen ...

(''Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet'') is a business school and a law school. * The Faculty of Social Sciences (''Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten'') offers courses in peace and development studies, public administration, journalism, psychology, social anthropology, social work, sociology, political science, and European studies.

Other

* The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research is a unit of about 30 staff which was formed in 1998.

World ranking

University of Gothenburg places well in local and global rankings and is usually positioned among the world's best for life sciences and medicine. It was ranked 2nd in Sweden, 11th in Europe and 31st in the world in the subjects of biological and life sciences by AWRU-Shanghai 2018 world ranking.

Noted people

Alumni

Percy Barnevik Percy Nils Barnevik HonFREng (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish business executive, best known as CEO and later Chairman of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) 1988–2002, and for being the centre of a giant pension dispute that shook Sweden in 2003. He ...

, industry leader, former CEO of

Asea Brown Boveri ABB Ltd. is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to cre ...

Nick Bostrom Nick Bostrom ( ; sv, Niklas Boström ; born 10 March 1973) is a Swedish-born philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, superintelligence risks, and the ...

, philosopher and futurist, and Director of the

Future of Humanity Institute The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford investigating big-picture questions about humanity and its prospects. It was founded in 2005 as part of the Faculty of Philosophy and t ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

* Malin Byström, operatic soprano * Magnus Carlsson, singer * Martin Wallström, actor * Jan Eliasson, diplomat and politician (former President of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden) *

Hans Hagnell Hans Hagnell (December 15, 1919 – June 16, 2006) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician, governor and economist. Hagnell was born in Gothenburg, Sweden on December 15, 1919, to Axel Hagnell, an author and illustrator, and Maria Hagnell. ...

, politician *

Carl Henrik Fredriksson Carl Henrik Fredriksson (born 1 October 1965 in Jönköping, Sweden) is a Swedish literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator living in Vienna, Austria. For fifteen years, until March 2015, he was the editor-in-chief of the European cult ...

, literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator *

Cecilia Malmström Anna Cecilia Malmström (born 15 May 1968) is a Swedish politician who served as European Commissioner for Trade from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as European Commissioner for Home Affairs from 2010 to 2014 and Minister for European U ...

, politician (

European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...

) * Aleksandra Mir, visual artist * Njuguna Ndungu, economist, Governor and Chairman of the Board of the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ( sw, Banki Kuu ya Kenya) is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge ...

* Susanna Roxman, Anglophone poet and critic * Juri Kurol, Swedish Orthodontist *

Maria Wetterstrand Ingrid Maria Wetterstrand (born 2 October 1973) is a Swedish politician. She was one of the spokespersons of the Green Party alongside Peter Eriksson between 2002 and 2011. Between 2001 and 2011 she was a member of the Riksdag. Wetterstrand ...

, politician (

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

) *

Muhammad al-Yaqoubi Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi ( ar, محمد أبو الهدى اليعقوبي; born 7 May 1963) is a Syrian Islamic scholar and religious leader. He has opposed both Bashar al-Assad and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Early life and background Al-Yaq ...

, Syrian Islamic scholar * Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor and former Head of Design for H&M *

Jonas Jonasson Pär-Ola Jonas Jonasson (born Per Ola Jonasson; 6 July 1961) is a Swedish journalist and writer, best known as the author of the best-seller ''The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared''. Biography The son of an ambul ...

, author of ''

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared ''The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared'' ( sv, Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann), also known as ''The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared'' in the US, is a 2009 comi ...

''.

Sture Allén Sture Allén (31 December 1928 – 20 June 2022) was a Swedish professor of computational linguistics at the University of Gothenburg, who was the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy between 1986 and 1999. Born in Gothenburg, he was elect ...

, computer linguist, former permanent secretary of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...

* Jens Allwood, linguist *

Arvid Carlsson Arvid Carlsson (25 January 1923 – 29 June 2018) was a Swedish neuropharmacologist who is best known for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson's disease. For his work on dopamine, Carlsson was awarded the Nob ...

, Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine, 2000 *

Ernst Cassirer Ernst Alfred Cassirer ( , ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic philosophy of science. A ...

, philosopher * Östen Dahl, linguist (member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA ( sv, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien Historie och Antikvitets Akademien or or ) is the Swedish roy ...

and

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

) * Åke Edwardson, author (used to teach Journalism) * Gunnar D Hansson, author * Tore Janson, linguist. *

Bernhard Karlgren Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conducte ...

, sinologist *

Nils Kock Nils G. Kock (January 29, 1924 – August 24, 2011) was a professor of surgery who taught and practiced at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Kock was noted for his research, experimentation, and colorectal surgical techniques. Th ...

, developer of the

Kock pouch A Kock pouch is a continent pouch formed by the terminal ileum after colectomy. The procedure was detailed and first performed in 1969 by Dr Nils Kock. __TOC__ Indications Kock pouch ileostomy is indicated for patients who are unfit for ileal po ...

surgical procedure *

Lotta Lotass Britt Inger Liselott "Lotta" Lotass Hagström (born 28 February 1964) is a Swedish writer. She holds a PhD of Comparative literature from the University of Gothenburg, and lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. Lotass made her literary debut in 2000, and ...

, writer and literary scholar (former Member of the

) *

Erik Lönnroth Erik Lönnroth (1 August 1910 in Gothenburg – 10 March 2002) was one of the most notable Swedish historians of the 20th century. He was a life member of the Swedish Academy from 1962 and member of various faculties.Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is bes ...

) * Joakim Norbeck, scientist in molecular biotechnology at Chalmers University *

Bo Ralph Bo Rune Ingemar Ralph (born 4 October 1945) is a Swedish linguist, member of the Swedish Academy, and professor of Nordic Languages at the Department of Swedish Language at Gothenburg University. He was elected to the Swedish Academy on 15 April ...

, linguist (Member of the

) *

Bo Rothstein Bo Abraham Mendel Rothstein (born 12 June 1954) is a Swedish political scientist. He is a former Professor of Government and Public Policy at University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. Rothstein is a contributor to Swedish public de ...

, political scientist * Gudrun Slettengren-Fernholm, artist * Anna Wåhlin, Antarctic researcher, oceanographer * Agnes Wold,

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of clinical

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

* José González, singer

Honorary degrees

The University of Gothenburg has awarded numerous

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s to public figures and excellent academics, including: *

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (; born 15 April 1930) is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. She was the world's first woman who was democratically elected as president. With a presidency of exactl ...

, President of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

1980–1996 (honorary doctorate 1990) *

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, politician (honorary doctorate, 2007) * David Cox, statistician (honorary doctorate 2007) * Linda Haas, sociologist

Past rectors

* 1891 Axel Kock * 1891–1893 Hjalmar Edgren * 1893–1899 Johannes Paulson * 1899–1909 Johan Vising * 1909–1914 Ludvig Stavenow * 1914–1931 Otto Sylwan * 1931–1936

* 1936–1951

Curt Weibull Curt Weibull (19 August 1886 – 10 November 1991) was a Swedish historian, educator and author. Biography Curt Hugo Johannes Weibull was born in Lund, Sweden. He was a member of the noted Swedish Weibull family. He was the son of professo ...

* 1951–1966

Hjalmar Frisk Hjalmar Frisk (4 August 1900, in Gothenburg – 1 August 1984, in Gothenburg) was a Swedish linguist and etymologist in Indo-European studies. He was also rector of the University of Göteborg from 1951 to 1966.

* 1966–1972 Bo Eric Ingelmark * 1972–1982 Georg Lundgren * 1982–1986 Kjell Härnqvist * 1986–1992 Jan S. Nilsson * 1992–1997 Jan Ling * 1997–2003 Bo Samuelsson * 2003–2006

Gunnar Svedberg Professor Gunnar Svedberg (born 12 August 1947 in Annefors, Bollnäs Municipality) was the Rector of the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden. Svedberg studied at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm and received a PhD in chemica ...

* 2006–2017 Pam Fredman * 2017– Eva Wiberg

References

External links

University of Gothenburg
– Official site
University of Gothenburg alumni network

{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Gothenburg

Educational institutions established in 1891 1891 establishments in Sweden Universities established in the 20th century