University of Copenhagen

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University of Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Latin: Universitas Hafniensis
Motto: Coelestem adspicit lucem (Latin)
Motto in English: It looks at the celestial light
Established: 1479
Type: Public university
Rector: Ralf Hemmingsen
Staff: App. 7,000 persons/app. 5,500 full-time equivalents
Students: 37,986 as per 1 October 2007
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Affiliations: IARU, EUA, LAOTSE
Website: www.ku.dk/english/
Main campus on Frue Plads.
Main campus on Frue Plads.
Annex in Fiolstræde.
Annex in Fiolstræde.

The University of Copenhagen (Danish: Københavns Universitet) is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, a majority of whom are female (59%), and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the oldest located in central Copenhagen. Most courses are taught in Danish; however, some courses (mostly aimed at exchange students) are offered in English and German. The university is a member of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU).

Contents

[edit] Faculties

The University of Copenhagen currently has eight faculties, although the composition and number of faculties has changed over time.

[edit] History

The Rundetårn (round tower) was used in the 17th century as an observatory by Ole Rømer.
The Rundetårn (round tower) was used in the 17th century as an observatory by Ole Rømer.

The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the oldest university in Denmark. Between the closing of the Studium Generale in Lund in 1536 and the establishment of the University of Aarhus in the late 1920s, it was the only university in Denmark. The university became a centre of Roman Catholic theological learning, but also had faculties for the study of law, medicine, and philosophy.

The university was re-established in 1537 after Martin Luther's reformation and transformed into an evangelical-Lutheran seminary. Between 1675 and 1788, the university introduced the concept of degree examinations. An examination for theology was added in 1675, followed by law in 1736. By 1788, all faculties required an examination before they would issue a degree.

In 1801, under the command of Admiral Horatio Nelson, the British fleet bombarded Copenhagen during the Battle of Copenhagen, destroying most of the university's buildings. By 1836, however, the new main building of the university was inaugurated amid extensive building that continued until the end of the century. The university library, the Zoological Museum, the Geological Museum, the Botanic Garden with greenhouses, and the Technical College were also established during this period.

Interior of the old university library at Fiolstræde around 1920.
Interior of the old university library at Fiolstræde around 1920.

Between 1842 and 1850, the faculties at the university were restructured. Starting in 1842, the University Faculty of Medicine and the Academy of Surgeons merged to form the Faculty of Medical Science, while in 1848 the Faculty of Law was reorganised and became the Faculty of Jurisprudence and Political Science. In 1850, the Faculty of Mathematics and Science was separated from the Faculty of Philosophy.

The first female student was enrolled at the university in 1877. The university underwent explosive growth between 1960 and 1980. The number of students rose from around 6,000 in 1960 to about 26,000 in 1980, with a correspondingly large growth in the number of employees. Buildings built during this time period include the new Zoological Museum, the Hans Christian Ørsted and August Krogh Institutes, the campus centre on Amager Island, and the Panum Institute.

The Geological Museum.
The Geological Museum.

The new university statute instituted in 1970 involved democratisation of the management of the university. It was modified in 1973 and subsequently applied to all higher education institutions in Denmark. Further change in the structure of the university from 1990 to 1993 made a Bachelor's degree programme mandatory in virtually all subjects.

Also in 1993, the law departments broke off from the Faculty of Social Sciences to form a separate Faculty of Law. In 1994, the University of Copenhagen designated environmental studies, north-south relations, and biotechnology as areas of special priority according to its new long-term plan. Starting in 1996 and continuing to the present, the university planned new buildings, including for the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Humanities at Amager (Ørestaden), along with a Biotechnology Centre. By 1999, the student population had grown to exceed 35,000, resulting in the university appointing additional professors and other personnel.

The Faculty of Humanities.
The Faculty of Humanities.

In 2005, the Center for Health and Society (Center for Sundhed og Samfund - CSS) opened in central Copenhagen, housing the Faculty of Social Sciences and Institute of Public Health, which until then had been located in various places throughout the city. In May 2006, the university announced further plans to leave many of its old buildings in the inner city of Copenhagen, an area that has been home to the university for more than 500 years. The purpose of this has been to gather the university's many departments and faculties on three larger campuses in order to create a bigger, more concentrated and modern student environment with better teaching facilities, as well as to save money on rent and maintenance of the old buildings. The concentration of facilities on larger campuses also allows for more inter-disciplinary cooperation; for example, the Departments of Political Science and Sociology are now located in the same facilities at CSS and can pool resources more easily.

In January 2007, the University of Copenhagen merged with the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Science. The two universities are now faculties under the University of Copenhagen, and are now known as the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

[edit] Student housing

Tietgenkollegiet.
Tietgenkollegiet.

Although many privately owned dormitories (kollegier in Danish) exist in Copenhagen, there are also five which are partially administered by the university. Only students who have passed at least two years of studies are considered for admission. These are normally referred to as the old dormitories, and they consist of Regensen, Elers Kollegium, Borchs Kollegium, Hassagers Kollegium, and Valkendorfs Kollegium.

Contrary to the tradition of most American dormitories, Danish dormitories in general, and the old dormitories in particular, only offer single rooms for rent, meaning no student has to share their room with others. Many Danish students live in dormitories throughout their studies.

[edit] The seal

The oldest seal only exists on a letter from 1531 and it depicts Saint Peter with a key and a book. In a circle around him is the text

Sigillum universitatis studii haffnensis.

When the university was re-established by Christian III in 1537 after the Protestant Reformation, it received a new seal. The seal shows the king with crown, sceptre, and globus cruciger sitting above a coat of arms that contains the Danish coat of arms in the upper right part and the Norwegian coat in the left. The text is

Sigillum Universitatis Hafniensis A Christiano III Rege Restauravit
Seal of the University of Copenhagen, reestablished by King Christian III.

The 1537 seal is very similar to the current seal, shown at the top of this page. The text is different and there is only the national coat of arms of Denmark on the seal. The coat of arms has a crown and contains three lions and nine hearts. The text is

Sigillum Universitatis Hafniensis
Fundatæ 1479
Reformatæ 1537
Seal of the University of Copenhagen.
Founded 1479
Reformed 1537

In addition to the university seal, each of the university's eight faculties have a seal of their own.

The seal of 1531 (1) and the seal of 1537 (2)
The seal of 1531 (1) and the seal of 1537 (2)

[edit] International reputation

The THES/QS [1]ranking of 2007 places University of Copenhagen as number 93 in the world.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities[2] published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University 2007 ranks the University of Copenhagen as the best university in Denmark and Scandinavia, the 8th best university in Europe, and is #46 in Top 500 World Universities

The University of Copenhagen is ranked number 56 on a top 100 of the world's best universities published by Times Higher Education Supplement. It is the only Scandinavian university in the top 100.

The university cooperates with universities around the world. In January 2006, the University of Copenhagen entered into a partnership of ten universities, along with the Australian National University, ETH Zürich, National University of Singapore, Peking University, University of California Berkeley, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Tokyo, and Yale University. The partnership is referred to as the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). [3]

[edit] Notable Alumni

The oldest surviving lecture plan from the university is from 1537.
The oldest surviving lecture plan from the university is from 1537.

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 55°40′47″N, 12°34′21″E

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