The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, , ), founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. BOKU combines expertise in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and biotechnology as well as social and economic sciences. In research and teaching, it focuses on * the conservation and development of protection for habitats, economy and living standards * the management of natural resources and environment * the protection of food and health BOKU sees itself as an innovation leader in the

green economy A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without environmental degradation, degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological econ ...

, with the goal of integrating sustainability into all processes in society. It is a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS), the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI), the European University Initiative (EPICUR), the Austrian-African Research Network (Africa UniNet) and numerous other international cooperations. There are currently 10,941 students from over 100 countries enrolled at BOKU.

Campus

After 27 years at ''Palais Schönborn'' the City of Vienna decided in 1896 to build a new campus at ''Türkenschanzpark'' in the 18th district. The departments of sustainable agriculture, soil science, horticulture, animal husbandry, economics and social sciences are still headquartered at this original campus. Another city campus, located at ''Muthgasse'' in the 19th district near the Heiligenstadt underground station, is the headquarters for the biotechnology, chemistry, plant sciences, water resource management, waste management and food sciences departments. There is also a research facility complex in

Tulln Tulln an der Donau () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, the administrative seat of Tulln District. Because of its abundance of parks and gardens, Tulln is often referred to as ''Blumenstadt'' ("City of Flowers"), and "The ...

, north of the city, with biotechnology and agricultural sciences laboratories and facilities. Other important locations and testing fields are Groß-Enzersdorf (

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

), Jedlersdorf (Vienna), Knödelhütte (Vienna), Heuberg/Rosalia (

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

) and the Water Cluster Lunz am See (Lower Austria). BOKU-1896.jpg, Hochschule für Bodenkultur, today's Gregor-Mendel-Haus (1896) Tuerkenschanzpark Wiese.jpg, Türkenschanzpark (original campus) Wien - Gregor-Mendel-Haus, Portal.JPG, Gregor-Mendel-Haus (original campus) Döbling - Wilhelm-Exner-Haus.JPG, Wilhelm-Exner-Haus (original campus) Armin Szilvinyi Haus.jpg, Armin-Szilvinyi-Haus (Muthgasse campus) Wien - Wasserbaulabor der BOKU.JPG, New River Laboratory

Departments and Research Units

15 Departments of BOKU
Department of Material Sciences and Process EngineeringDepartment of BiotechnologyDepartment of Water, Atmosphere and EnvironmentDepartment of NanobiotechnologyDepartment of ChemistryDepartment of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity ResearchDepartment of Food science and TechnologyDepartment of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure SciencesDepartment of Economics and Social SciencesDepartment of Sustainable Agricultural SystemsDepartment of Civil Engineering and Natural HazardsDepartment of Forest- and Soil SciencesDepartment of Crop SciencesDepartment of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-TullnDepartment of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology
Research Units and Initiatives
Center for Agricultural SciencesCenter for BioeconomyCenter for Global Change and Sustainability

Studies

BOKU offers 8 BSc programmes and 28 MSc programmes. Most of them allow various specialisations and possibilities for majors. The language of instruction is partly German, partly English. For many MSc programmes the language of instruction is English only. In general, programmes start each year in October and take three years for a BSc diploma with 180 ECTS credits and two years for a MSc diploma with 120 ECTS credits. Studies are in the field of natural resources management, life sciences & biotechnology, civil & environmental engineering, landscape planning, agriculture, forestry and winemaking. The PhD programme is a three-year programme with 180 ECTS credits which consists of a research component (conducting research under supervision and writing a thesis) and a smaller education component. In order to guarantee adequate supervision, the research subject must fit the research programme of BOKU and its institutes. Due to BOKU's extensive world-wide engagement, the university offers many international MSc programmes as joint or double degree. It is also a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences university network, partnering with

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

, Faculty of Science (SCIENCE),

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, or Swedish Agricultural University (, SLU) is a public research university in Sweden. Although its main campus and head office is located in Ultuna, Uppsala, the university has several campuses ...

(SLU),

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU; (), ČZU; also Czech University of Agriculture in Prague) is a university of agricultural education and research in Prague, the Czech Republic, established in 1906. History Studies of agricult ...

(CULS),

University of Hohenheim A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

(UHOH), Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW),

Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally important center fo ...

(WUR), China Agricultural University (CAU),

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment (HUJI), Lincoln University, New Zealand (LU) and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

Notable alumni

Leopold Figl Leopold Figl (2 October 1902 – 9 May 1965) was an Austrian politician of the Austrian People's Party (Christian Democrats) and the first Federal Chancellor after World War II. He was also the youngest Federal Chancellor of Austria after the w ...

– Federal Chancellor of Austria (1945–1953) *

Franz Fischler Franz Fischler (born 23 September 1946) is an Austrian politician from the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). He was the European Union's Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (1995–2004). He also was President of the Euro ...

– EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries (1995–2004) * Nikolaus Berlakovich – Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (2008–2013) * Luis Durnwalder –

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...

(1989–2014) * Günter Haiden – Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (1976–1986) * Sabine Herlitschka – CEO of Infineon Technologies Austria (2014–present) * Sixtus Lanner – Austrian MP (1934–2022) * Hans Lechner – Governor of the State of Salzburg (1961–1977) * Hermann Neubacher –

Mayor of Vienna This is a list of mayors and governors of Vienna since 1282. Vienna is the capital city of Austria. Since 1920, it has also been an States of Austria, Austrian state, with its mayor doubling as the ''Landeshauptmann'' (governor or minister-pres ...

(1938–1940) * Erwin Pröll – Governor of Lower Austria (1992–2017) * Josef Pröll – Federal Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor (2008–2011) * Dragutin Radimir – Forestry Engineer (1889-1983) *

Hans Tuppy Hans Tuppy (22 July 1924 – 24 April 2024) was an Austrian biochemist who participated in the sequencing of insulin, and became Austria's first university professor for biochemistry. He was Austrian Minister for Science and Research from 1987 t ...

– Biochemist and Federal Minister of Science (1987–1989) * Oskar Weihs – Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (1970–1976) * Andrä Rupprechter – Federal Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (2013–2017)

Notable scientists

* Walter Bitterlich - Forest Scientist and Inventor * Adolf Cieslar - Forest Scientist * Adolf Ritter von Guttenberg - Forest Scientist * Herbert Killian - Forest Historian * Josef Kisser - Botanist * Helga Kromp-Kolb – Meteorologist und Climate Scientist, Austrian Scientist of the Year 2005 * Wilhelm Neurath - Economist * Emil Perels - Land Planner * Karl Prachar - Mathematician * Karl E. Schedl - Zoologist and Forest Scientist * Franz Schwackhöfer - Chemist * Erich von Tschermak-Seysenegg - Plant researcher * Martin Wilckens - Animal researcher and Founding Rector of BOKU

Notes and references

External links

University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
(English version)
Prospectus
(English version) {{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Natural Resources And Life Sciences Vienna Universities and colleges in Vienna Forestry education Forestry in Austria 1872 establishments in Austria Universities and colleges established in 1872