The University of Regensburg () 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university located in the city of

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, Germany. The university was founded on 18 July 1962 by the

Landtag of Bavaria The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich. Elections to the Landtag are held every ...

as the fourth full-fledged university in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Following groundbreaking in 1965, the university officially opened to students during the 1967–1968 winter semester, initially housing faculties in Law and Business Sciences and Philosophy. During the summer semester of 1968 the faculty of Theology was created. Currently, the University of Regensburg houses eleven faculties. The university actively participates in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

SOCRATES programme The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part. The initial Socrates programme ran from 1994 until 31 December 1999 when it was replaced by the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, whi ...

as well as part of the Compostela-Group. Its most famous academic,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, served as a professor there until 1977 and formally retained his chair in theology.

History

Attempts to establish a university in Regensburg had been advocated since the late 15th century. In 1487, Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria and the Regensburg city council sent a petition to

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

to establish a university within the city. The idea was rejected, failing for economic reasons. In 1562, Croatian

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

reformer

Matthias Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; ) or Francovich () (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strongly with his fellow Lutherans, and as a sch ...

again advocated the creation of a university in the city, arguing that a university in Regensburg would spread the ideas of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

lands. Protestant intellectuals again tried to establish a university in 1633, though their attempts were blocked by the arrival of imperial troops from orders of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Ferdinand II. Following the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a group of concerned intellectuals and academics in Eastern Bavaria established the Association of the Friends of the University (Verein der Freunde der Universität Regensburg e. V.) in 1948, advocating the creation of a university for Regensburg and the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

region. The association's advocacy proved successful in 1962 when the

Bavarian Landtag The Landtag of Bavaria, officially known in English as the Bavarian State Parliament, is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Bavaria. The parliament meets in the Maximilianeum in Munich. Elections to the Landtag are held ever ...

authorized the creation of the university. Uni-r Campus und Bibliothek 2

Construction began with the official groundbreaking ceremony on 20 November 1965. The first lectures began during the 1967 winter semester, with the faculties of Law and Business Sciences and Philosophy as the first schools for students. The following year, the faculty of Catholic Theology opened to students. Since 1967, the university has expanded to twelve faculties, including medicine, biology, psychology, and chemistry. The German Research Association has deeply supported a number of research projects in the university, including the fields of biochemistry and microbiology. The university's most famous faculty member is Pope Benedict XVI, who taught from 1969 until he was appointed

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and

Archbishop of Munich The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria: Bishops of Freising * St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...

in 1977. In 2006, one year following his election to the papacy, Benedict XVI returned to the University of Regensburg to make a highly controversial lecture that garnered the university international attention. The Pope is still listed as a professor of the university. Another famous former faculty member,

Karl Stetter Karl Otto Stetter (born 16 July 1941) is a German microbiologist and authority on astrobiology. Stetter is an expert on microbial life at high temperatures. Career Stetter was born in Munich and studied biology at the Technical University of M ...

, worked as head of the Archaea Center and the Department of Microbiology between 1980 and 2002. Among his discoveries were ''

Pyrococcus furiosus ''Pyrococcus furiosus'' is a heterotrophic, strictly anaerobic, extremophilic, model species of archaea. It is classified as a hyperthermophile because it thrives best under extremely high temperatures, and is notable for having an optimum gr ...

'' in 1986, ''

Aquifex aeolicus ''Aquifex'' is a bacterial genus, belonging to phylum Aquificota. There is one species of ''Aquifex'' with a validly published name – '' A. pyrophilus'' – but "'' A. aeolicus''" is sometimes considered as species though it has no standing as ...

'', ''

Aquifex pyrophilus ''Aquifex pyrophilus'' is a gram-negative, non-spore forming, rod-shaped bacteria. It is one of a handful of species in the Aquificota phylum, which are a group of thermophilic bacteria that are found near underwater volcanoes or hot springs. ...

'', and ''

Nanoarchaeum equitans ''Nanoarchaeum equitans'' is a species of marine archaea that was discovered in 2002 in a hydrothermal vent off the coast of Iceland on the Kolbeinsey Ridge by Karl Stetter. It has been proposed as the first species in a new phylum, and is th ...

'', discovered in 2002.

Location and staff

Situated almost entirely on one central campus, the university is located south of Regensburg's inner city on a small incline south of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

River, and directly adjacent to the Regensburg University of Applied Sciences and the A 3

autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

. The university itself consists of 150 hectares (280 acres) of land, encompassing a botanical garden and a stadium. Including the affiliated university hospital, the University of Regensburg has approximately 4,200 employees including 312 professors, and teaches more than 20,000 students (summer term 2015). The university's reputation and attractiveness is enhanced by the 2,000-year-old town of Regensburg, its scenic countryside, the Donautal (

Valley), a high density of bars and the nearby heights of the

Bavarian Forest image:Zell-bayerischer-wald.jpg, The village of Zell in the Bavarian Forest The Bavarian Forest ( or ''Bayerwald'' ; ) is a wooded, low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany, that is about 100 kilometres long. It runs along the Czech Republic, C ...

. Brisk cultural life both in the city and on campus provide great recreational opportunities, enhanced by a number of nearby lakes.

Faculties

The university is structured into twelve

faculties Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

: *Faculty of Catholic Theology *Faculty of Law *Faculty of Business and Economics *Faculty of Medicine *Faculty of Informatics and Data Science *Faculty of Philosophy, Art History, History, and Humanities *Faculty of Psychology, Education, and Sport Science *Faculty of Languages, Literature, and Cultures *Faculty of Mathematics *Faculty of Physics *Faculty of Biology and Pre-Clinical Medicine *Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy File:Forum der Universität Regensburg.jpg, The campus in 2009 File:Sammelgebaeude uni regensburg.jpg, The old administration File:Uni-regensburg2.jpg, University canteen File:Studentenprotest, Universität Regensburg 2009-12 (3).JPG, A student protest occupies a lecture theater, December 2009 File:PT Uni-R.JPG, Library Philosophicum 2 File:Uni-r Eingangshalle der Bibliothek.jpg, Library entrance hall File:Universität Regensburg Leichtathletik.JPG, Athletics track and stand File:Uni-r Kugel auf dem Campus.jpg, Ball sculpture File:Vielberth-Gebäude, Uni Regensburg.JPG, Vielberth building, faculty of business

Degree Courses

With its twelve faculties, the university employs a wide variety of traditional programmes of study. The university was one of the first German universities to introduce modularized study programs following the Bologna model. Since 2000, most study programs have introduced bachelor's as well as master's degrees in recent years.

Doctoral degrees A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

can be obtained in most subjects as well. Cross-disciplinary co-operation, the strengthening of key competences, project orientation, and a flexible study programme are the hallmarks of these new degree programmes, preparing students for many modern career options. For international students of law, the university offers an LL.M. course in

German Law The law of Germany (), that being the modern German legal system (), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, though many of the most important laws, for example ...

. All students, irrespective of their specialisation, are offered a number of programmes which can be taken to complement their main field of study. Among these are data processing, general language courses, specialised language courses (business, law etc.), courses in oral presentation and communication, and a programme in

intercultural communication Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and problems that naturally appear w ...

Research

Key fields of activity include the Natural Sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Bio-Sciences, Chemistry and Pharmacy), the Humanities (History, Philologies) and Medicine. The German Research Association (DFG) currently sponsors two collaborative research centres (the SFB 1085 "Higher Invariants -interactions between Arithmetic Geometry and Global Analysis" of the Faculty of Mathematics and the CRC/Transregio 55 "Hadron Physics from Lattice QCD" of the Faculty of Physics), four research units and five interdisciplinary graduate colleges. The university participates in well over 30 EU projects. In detail: according to a recent documentation of the DFG, the physics faculty of the university in 2009 held the first place in Bavaria, and the third one in Germany, concerning the financial support. Moreover, the high-energy physicists of the faculty form the center of a large international cooperation on a basic theory in the field, the

Quantum Chromodynamics In theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the study of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type of ...

, with a large special computer, called QPACE. Due to its geographical location near the former

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

border of the Czech Republic, the university considers itself a ''bridge''. between

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, institutionalised in a Leibniz-Institute for East- and Southeast European Studies. Working with partners in

Europaeum The Europaeum is a network of leading universities in Europe, founded in 1992 by three universities: University of Bologna, Leiden University, and University of Oxford. It currently has 17 member universities operating in 15 countries. The Euro ...

, the University of Regensburg has set up an interdisciplinary centre for research and teaching on all aspects pertaining to Central,

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and Southeastern European countries. As part of the focus on Eastern Europe the University of Regensburg offers degrees like Southeastern-European Studies and Eastern European studies. The university is also home for the Bavarian University Centre for Central, East and Southeastern Europe (BAYHOST) which works on deepening cooperation between universities of the region and the state of Bavaria. The university closely cooperates with other institutions focusing on Eastern Europe in the city like the Institute for Eastern and Southeastern European studies, the Ostrecht institute (institute for Easteuropean legal studies) and the Hungarian institute among others. These institutions are all part of the centre for competence on Eastern Europe Regensburg.

Rankings

The University of Regensburg has been featured in various international

university rankings College and university rankings order higher education institutions based on various criteria, with factors differing depending on the specific ranking system. These rankings can be conducted at the national or international level, assessing inst ...

. According to the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

of 2024, it is ranked in the 741–750 range globally and holds the 38th position within Germany. Additionally, in the

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

(ARWU) of 2023, the University of Regensburg placed in the 401–500 category worldwide, and secured a position between 25 and 31 in the national rankings. 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 ...

Ranking 2014, one of the most relevant rankings for

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

in Germany, ranked the university's Department of Business Administration among the best 25 in

German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the Germanosphere () in Europe, German-speaking minority languag ...

Service

On campus, students are provided with a large central cafeteria (Mensa) and several smaller ones, a pizzeria, a bank, a bookshop as well as various other shops. The open-access

University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

, with its modern online catalogue and loan system, holds over 3.15 million books and periodicals. All students receive a

PIN A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body: *a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...

code for the computers, which grants free access to e-mail services and the Internet in all computer rooms throughout the campus. Students also have access to the services provided by the university's Computer Centre in any one of the more than 20 computer pools on campus and in most of the student dormitories. Student residences, a number of which cater to students with special needs, are located in close proximity to the campus as well as in the city centre itself. In addition to its academic function, the University of Regensburg encourages numerous extracurricular activities on campus. Various choirs, musical ensembles and art exhibitions (drawings, prints, sculpture and photography) testify to a dynamic cultural life on campus. Every year, more than ten student drama groups stage their productions in the theatre on campus. Well equipped audiovisual studios cater to students with an interest in film and music production. The Sports Centre provides recreational courses for students. The choice of courses ranges from aikido to capoeira, and from kayaking to volleyball. The university's International Office offers international students well developed orientation and integration programmes.

Points of interest

Botanischer Garten der Universität Regensburg The Botanischer Garten der Universität Regensburg is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Regensburg on campus at Universitätsstraße 31, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. It comprises . The garden is open daily except Saturday in the ...

, the university's

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. is ...

Partner Universities

The university currently maintains links with over 130 European academic institutions. The number of partner universities in countries of Central and

Europe,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and the

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

has steadily grown ever since the initiation of the programme for associated countries. The university now has over 20 partners in these countries. Favourite destinations for students are and have always been Great Britain, followed by France, Italy and Spain. Universities of

Kanazawa is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Etymology The name "Kanazaw ...

, Japan and

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

provide opportunities for Regensburg students to partake in teaching programs in English language and, depending on their level of language training, as teachers themselves. Two Latin American universities, the Universidad de los Andes, Mérida,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and the

Universidad de Guanajuato The Universidad de Guanajuato (in English language, English, the University of Guanajuato) is a university based in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, made up of about 47,108 students in programs ranging from high school level to the doctorate l ...

, Mexico, provide several university places.

Notable people

Benjamin Appl Benjamin Appl (born 26 June 1982) is a German-British lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in opera houses and concert halls, particularly known as a Lieder singer. Early life and education Born in Regensburg, Appl ha ...

(born 1982), German-British lyric baritone *

May Ayim May Ayim (3 May 1960 – 9 August 1996) is the pen name of May Opitz (born Brigitte Sylvia Andler); she was an Afro-German poet, educator, and activist. The child of a German dancer and Ghanaian medical student, she lived with a white German fos ...

, alumna: psychology and education, 1986 *

, faculty member, theology, 1969–1977 *

Markus Brunnermeier Markus Konrad Brunnermeier (born March 22, 1969) is an economist, who is the Princeton University Department of Economics, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Economics at Princeton University. Brunnermeier is a faculty member of Princeton's Princet ...

, alumnus, economics, 1993 *

Felix Brych Felix Brych (born 3 August 1975) is a German football referee. He referees for SV Am Hart München of the Bavarian Football Association. He is a former FIFA referee and was ranked as a UEFA elite category referee. Refereeing career Brych starte ...

, alumus, public law 2004 * Elli Erl, alumna, sports and medicine, 2005 *

Claudia Fischbach Claudia Fischbach is a German bioengineer who serves as the James M. and Marsha McCormick Director of Biomedical Engineering and the Stanley Bryer 1946 Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. She is Director of the Cornell Phy ...

, alumnus, pharmaceutical technology * Wolfgang A. Herrmann, alumnus, chemistry, 1973 *

Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens Ieronymos II (, ; born 30 March 1938) is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. He was elected on 7 February 2008. Ieronymos served as Protosyncellus of the Metropolis of ...

, alumnus, theology, 1978 * Werner Jeanrond, alumnus, theology, 1979 * Stefan Laufer, alumnus, pharmacy, 1984 * Theophilos Kuriakose, Bishop of

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, also known as the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodo ...

, alumnus, theology, 2001 * Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, alumnus, theoretical physics, 1980 * Sarah Straub, alumna, psychology (also for her work as a singer, songwriter, and musician), 2011 * Udo Steiner, faculty member, public law *

, faculty member, microbiology, 2002 *

Edmund Stoiber Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber (born 28 September 1941) is a German politician who served as the 16th minister-president of the state of Bavaria between 1993 and 2007 and chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) between 1999 and 2007. In 2002, he ...

, alumnus, criminal law, 1971 * Wolfgang Wiegard, faculty, economics, 1999 * Thomas F.A. Whitfield, scientist, inventor * Otto S. Wolfbeis, faculty member, chemistry * Micael Kalu Ukpong, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Roman Catholic Diocese of Umua

References

External links

*
City of Regensburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regensburg, University Of 1962 establishments in West Germany Universities and colleges established in 1962 Public universities and colleges in Germany

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg () is a public research university located in the city of Regensburg, Germany. The university was founded on 18 July 1962 by the Landtag of Bavaria as the fourth full-fledged university in Bavaria. Following groundbr ...