The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

located in the city of

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s of

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

which go back to 1525, and a new 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 ...

. Currently, the university has seven faculties:

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 ...

Human Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

Economic Sciences Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

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

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

Veterinary Medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

. The university offers the widest range of subjects and courses of any Swiss higher education institution.

History

The University of Zurich was founded on April 29, 1833, when the existing colleges of theology, the ''Carolinum'' founded by

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...

in 1525, law and medicine were merged with a new faculty of Philosophy. It was the first university in Europe to be founded by the state rather than a monarch or church. In the university's early years, the 1839 appointment of the German theologian

David Friedrich Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (german: link=no, Strauß ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he ...

to its Chair of Theology caused a major controversy, since Strauss argued that the miracles in the Christian

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

were mythical retellings of normal events as supernatural happenings.''Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth'' by Michael J. McClymond (March 22, 2004) page 82 Eventually, the authorities offered Strauss a pension before he had a chance to start his duties. The university allowed women to attend philosophy lectures from 1847, and admitted the first female doctoral student in 1866. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was added in 1901, the second-oldest such faculty in the world. In 1914, the university moved to new premises designed by the architect

Karl Moser Karl Moser (August 10, 1860 – February 28, 1936) was an architect from Switzerland. Between 1887 and 1915 he worked together with Robert Curjel in Karlsruhe, setting up the architecture firm Curjel and Moser. Some of their works are: ...

on Rämistrasse 71.

Campus

The university is scattered all over the city of Zürich. The main campuses are located in the city centre, Irchelpark and Oerlikon. Members of the university can use several libraries, including the

ETH (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , a ...

-library, and the Zurich Central Library, with over 5 million volumes. In 1962, the faculty of science proposed to establish the

Irchelpark Irchelpark is the biggest public park in the city of Zürich in Switzerland, and claims to be the most spacious park in Switzerland. Location Irchelpark is situated mainly in Zürich- Unterstrass, a district of the city of Zürich. The area al ...

campus on the ''Strickhofareal''. The first stage the construction of the university buildings was begun in 1973, and the campus was inaugurated in 1979. The construction of the second stage lasted from 1978 to 1983. The campus also houses the anthropological museum ''Anthropologisches Museum'', and the cantonal

Staatsarchiv Zürich Staatsarchiv Zürich, formally the Staatsarchiv des Kantons Zürich, are the state archives of the Swiss Canton of Zürich and its legal predecessors, in particular the former city republic of Zürich. History The state archives host the ad ...

Museums

The Institute and Museum for the History of Medicine is part of the university. The university includes 13 museums: the Anatomical Collection, the

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

Collection, the Botanical Museum, the Museum of Wax Moulages, the Science Exploratorium, the Museum of Veterinary History, the Zürich Herbaria, the Museum of

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

, the

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, the

Ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

Museum, the

Paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

Museum, the Veterinary Anatomy Collection and the Zoological Museum.

Academics

In the fields of bioscience and finance, there is a close-knit collaboration between the University of Zurich and the

(Federal Institute for Technology, just across the road).

Rankings

* Shanghai Jiao Tong University Ranking (heavy emphasis on research output – citations, Nobel prizes etc.) :54th globally and 15th in Europe. * THES – QS World University Rankings (heavy emphasis on peer review) :61st globally and 14th in Europe. *

QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...

2020 :76th globally. * Professional Ranking of World Universities (Based on the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies.) :32nd globally and 10th in Europe. *

University Ranking by Academic Performance The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) is a university ranking developed by the Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. Since 2010, it has been publishing annual national and global college and university rankin ...

(URAP) 2010 :52nd globally and 1st in Switzerland. * Round University Ranking: 36th globally in 2020 33rd globally in 2017 29th globally in 2013 14th globally in 2011 * USNWR Global: 58th globally in 2018 * According to GWTS Leiden Ranking, University of Zurich ranked 37th in the world in social sciences and humanities. According to URAP Center Ranking, which has been publishing rankings since 2010 for each subject, political science at the University of Zurich was placed 16th best in the world. According to ARWU, the University of Zurich was placed 31st globally in political sciences in 2019 and 27th globally in political sciences in 2020. The university's Department of Economics is especially strong and was ranked first in the German-speaking area by the

Handelsblatt The ''Handelsblatt'' (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. History and profile ''Handelsblatt'' was es ...

in 2017. In 2009, the faculty of Business Administration was ranked third in the German-speaking area.

Language policy

Bachelor courses are taught in

Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...

("Hochdeutsch"), but use of English is increasing in many faculties. The only bachelors program taught entirely in English is the
English Language and Literature
program. All Master courses at the Faculty of Science are held in English. Master courses in Economics and Finance are mainly held in English, while the Master of Science in Quantitative Finance is held completely in English.

Student life

The university's Academic Sports Association (ASVZ) offers a wide range of sports facilities to students of the university. The student body is represented through the Verband der Studierenden der Universität Zürich VSUZH which organizes events and is involved in the university administration.

Notable alumni and faculty

Politics, law and society

Economics, business and management

Science

Philosophy and theology

* Eberhard Jüngel (1934–2021), German Lutheran theologian

Arts and music

Luzia von Wyl Luzia von Wyl (born 1985) is a Swiss jazz pianist, composer, and music educator. She first studied classical piano before switching to jazz piano and music composition, earning degrees from University of the Arts Bern, Zurich University of the A ...

(born 1985), Swiss composer and pianist

Nobel Prize laureates

Associated with the university are 12

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

recipients, primarily in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

Associated institutions

* Corpus Córporum, digital library created and maintained by the university's Institute for Greek and Latin Philology. * Swiss National Supercomputing Centre

Notes and references

External links

Union of students' associations of the University of Zurich

The Ranking Forum of Swiss Universities
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Zurich 1833 establishments in Switzerland Chiropractic schools Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zürich Culture of Zürich Educational institutions established in 1833 Hochschulen Zurich Schools in Zürich Zurich