| Lund University | |
|---|---|
| Lunds universitet | |
| Latin: Universitas Lundensis or Universitas Gothorum Carolina. Also the older Regia Academia Carolina lundensis, or Academia Carolina conciliatrix. | |
| Motto | Ad utrumque (Prepared for both)[1] |
| Established | 1666 |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | SEK 5.7 billion (2009)[2] |
| Rector magnificus and Vice Chancellor | Prof. Per Eriksson |
| Academic staff | 3,005[3] |
| Admin. staff | 2,169[3] |
| Undergraduates | 21,022 (FTE, 2010)[3] |
| Postgraduates | 6,711 (FTE, 2010)[3] |
| Doctoral students | 2,855 (total, 2010)[3] |
| Location | Lund, Scania, Sweden |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Dark blue and bronze |
| Affiliations | Universitas 21 LERU EUA ASAIHL |
| Website | http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se |
Lund University (Swedish: Lunds universitet), located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities[4] and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research,[5][6][7][8] frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities.[9][10][11][12] The university was founded in 1666 and is the second oldest Swedish university, but can arguably trace its roots back to 1438, when a studium generale was founded in Lund.[13]
Lund University has eight faculties,[14] with additional campuses in the cities of Malmö and Helsingborg, with 27,500 students in more than 274 different programmes and 2000 separate courses. It belongs to the League of European Research Universities as well as the global Universitas 21 network.[15]
The university traditionally centers on the Lundagård park adjacent to the Lund Cathedral, with various departments spread in different locations in town, but mostly concentrated in a belt stretching north from the park connecting to the university hospital area and continuing out to the northeastern periphery of the town, where one finds the large campus of the Faculty of Engineering.
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The city of Lund has a long history as a center for learning and was the ecclesiastical centre and seat of the archbishop of Denmark. A cathedral school (the Katedralskolan) for the training of clergy was established in 1085 and is today Scandinavia's oldest school.
A studium generale (a medieval university education) was founded in 1425, but had to close in 1536 in connection with the Danish reformation.
After the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, the Scanian lands came under the possession of the Swedish Crown, which quickly founded the Lund University in 1666 as a means of Swedification. It was the fifth university under the Swedish king, after Uppsala University (1477), the University of Tartu (1632, now in Estonia), the Academy of Åbo (1640, now in Finland), and the University of Greifswald (founded 1456; Swedish 1648–1815, now in Germany). It is the second-oldest university on Swedish ground today.
The university was named Academia Carolina after Charles X Gustav of Sweden. The name was in some formal use until the late 19th century, when Lund University became the widespread denomination.
The university was at its founding granted four faculties: law, theological, medicine and philosophy. They were the cornerstones, and for more than 200 years this system was in effect. Towards the end of the 17th century, the number of students hovered around 100. Some notable professors in the early days were Samuel Pufendorf, a juridical historian; and Canutus Hahn and Kristian Papke in philosophy.
The Scanian War in 1676 led to a shut-down, which lasted until 1682. The university was re-opened largely due to regional patriots, but the university was not to enjoy a high status until well into the 19th century. Lecturing rooms were few, and lectures were held in the Lund Cathedral and its adjacent chapel. The professors were underpaid.
In 1713, Charles XII of Sweden entered Lund. He stayed in Lund for three years, in between his warlike expeditions. The town of Lund and the university attracted a temporary attention boost. The most notable lecturer during this time was Andreas Rydelius.
Peace was finally restored with the death of Charles XII in 1718, and during the first half of the 18th century the university was granted added funds. The number of students was now well around 500. Despite not being on par with Uppsala University, it had still built a solid reputation and managed to attract prominent professors.
Around 1760 the university reputation dropped as the number of students fell below 200, most of whom hailed from around the province. However, by 1780 its reputation was largely restored, and continued to rise through the 1820s. This was largely owing to popular and well-educated lecturers particularly in philology; the prominent professor Esaias Tegnér was a particularly notable character with widespread authority. He, in turn, attracted others towards Lund. One of these was the young theological student C. G. Brunius, who studied ancient languages under Tegnér and were later to become professor of Greek. With time he was to devote himself to architectures and he redesigned several of Lund's buildings, as well as churches of the province.
The first woman to study in Lund was the medical student Hedda Andersson who entered the university in 1880 (two years before the next woman to do so).[16] Hilma Borelius was the first woman who finished a doctorate in Lund, in 1910. The first woman to be appointed to a professor's chair was the historian Birgitta Odén (1965). In 1992 Boel Flodgren, Professor of Business Law, was appointed rector magnificus (or, strictly speaking, rectrix magnifica) of Lund University. As such, she was the first woman to be the head of a European university.
The university's facilities are mainly located in the small city of Lund in Scania, about 15 km away from central Malmö and 50 km from Copenhagen. The university's prominence and large student population have much impact on the city, effectively making it a university town. Over a hundred university buildings[17] scatter around town, most of them in an area covering more than 1 km², stretching towards the north-east from Lundagård park in the very centre of town. Buildings in and around Lundagård include the main building, Kungshuset, the Historical Museum and the Academic Society's headquarters. The main library building is located in a park 400 meters to the north, followed by the large hospital complex.
Lund University has a satellite campus in nearby Malmö, Sweden's third largest city. The Faculty of Fine and Perforning Arts' three academies: Malmö Art Academy, Malmö Academy of Music and Malmö Theatre Academy, are all located in Malmö. The city is also the location of Skåne University Hospital, where Lund University performs a considerable amount of research and medical training.
Campus Helsingborg is, as the name suggests, located in the city of Helsingborg, almost 50 km from Lund. Opened in 2000, it consists of a building in the city centre, right next to the central train station and the harbour. Nearly 3,000 students are based on the campus.[18] The Department of Service Management and the Department of Communication and Media are among those located at the campus in Helsingborg.
Teaching and training at the School of Aviation (LUSA) takes place at an airfield next to the town of Ljungbyhed, about 40 km away from Lund.
Lund University library was established in 1666 at the same time as the university and is one of Sweden's oldest and largest. Since 1698 it has received legal deposit copies of everything printed in the country. Today six Swedish libraries receive legal deposit copies, but only Lund and the Royal Library in Stockholm are required to keep everything for posterity. Swedish imprints make up half of the collections, which amount to 170,000 linear metres of shelving (2006). The library serves 620,000 loans per year, the staff is 200 full-time equivalents, and the 33 branch libraries house 2600 reading room desks.[19]
The current main building at Helgonabacken opened in 1907. Before that, the old building was Liberiet close to the city's cathedral. Liberiet was built as a library in the 15th century, but now serves as a cafe.
Education and research in the health sciences at the university is operated in cooperation with Skåne University Hospital, located in both Lund and Malmö. Medical education takes place in the Biomedical Centre, next to the hospital in lund. Nursing and occupational therapy are taught in the Health Sciences Centre nearby. The university also operates the Clinical Research Centre in Malmö, featuring many specialized laboratories.
The University Board is the University's highest decision-making body. The Board comprises the Vice-Chancellor, representatives of the teaching staff and students, and representatives of the community and business sector.[20] Executive power lies with the Vice-Chancellor and the University Management Group, to which most other administrative bodies are subordinate.[21]
Lund University is divided into eight faculties[21]:
The university is also organised into more than 20 institutes and research centres,[22] such as:
Lund University is internationally known as Scandinavia's largest research university.[5][6][7] The university has eight faculties and many research centres and specialized institutes. Approximately 27,700 students study within one of the 274 educational programs, the eightyfive international master's programmes or the 2000 free-standing courses. Around five hundred courses are, or can be, held in English for the benefit of international exchange students. There are several programs allowing foreign students to study abroad at the University. Notable exchangees include United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who spent time at Lund University in the 1960s conducting research.[23]
| ARWU World[24] | 101-150 |
|---|---|
| ARWU National[25] | 4 |
| QS World[26] | 86 |
| THE World[27] | 80 |
| THE Europe[28] | 23 |
Lund University is among the most renowned institutions of higher learning in the Nordic countries and is rarely ranked below 100 in the world by the most influential ranking agencies. In 2011, it ranked 1st among comprehensive universities in Scandinavia and 80th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, it was in the 101-150 category. Lund was ranked 86th in the world in the 2011 QS World University Rankings[29] and the University Ranking by Academic Performance Research Laboratory ranked Lund 60th in the world and second in Sweden in 2010.[30]
In 2011, Times Higher Education compiled a special world ranking based exclusively on reputation for teaching and research, where Lund University appeared in the 71-80 category.[31] In the same year, QS issued world university rankings by subject,[32] placing Lund within the top 50 in environmental sciences, geography and area studies, physical sciences and civil and structural engineering.
Lund student life is based on three central structures: the student nations, the Academic Society (AF) and the student unions. Before July 1, 2010, students were required to enroll in a student union, nation or AF in order to receive grades at the university, but this is no longer compulsory.[33] Students may still enroll in these organizations if they wish.
The nations in Lund are a central part of the university's history, initially serving as residential colleges for students, organized by geographic origin. Östgöta Nation, the oldest nation, was established in 1668, two years after the university was founded. While the nations still offer limited housing, today they are best described as student societies.
Today students may enroll in any nation, although the nations still preserve their geographic names. In most cases it does not matter what nation one enrolls in, but different nations offer different activities for interested students.
Each nation has student housing, but the accommodations in no way meet demand, and they are usually appointed according to a queue system. Each nation has at least one pub evening per week, with a following night club. The solemn peak event in the course of an activity year is the organization of student balls once a year. Most well known of the nation balls (as opposed to balls organized by student unions) is the ball hosted by Göteborgs Nation - called the "Gustaf II Adolf Ball" (also known as the "GA-Ball"). Most nations also host at least one banquet per week, where a three course dinner is served. Each nation also has different activities for students interested in sports, arts, or partying. All activities within the nations are voluntary.
In 1830, Professor Carl Adolph Agardh formed Akademiska Föreningen (The Academic Society), commonly referred to as AF, with the goal of "developing and cultivating the academic life" by bringing students and faculty from all departments and student nations together in one organization. Prince Oscar I, then Sweden's Chancellor of Education, donated 2000 Kronor to help found the society. In 1848, construction began on AF-Borgen (the AF Fortress), which is located opposite the Main Building in Lundagård. To this day, AF is the center of student life in Lund, featuring many theater companies, a prize-winning student radio (Radio AF), and organizing the enormous Lundakarnevalen (the Lund Carnival) every four years. "AF Bostäder", an independent foundation with close ties to Akademiska Föreningen, maintains over 5,700 student residences in Lund.[34]
The student unions represent students in various decision-making boards within the university and council students regarding their rights, housing and career options. There are nine student unions, one for each faculty and an additional union for doctoral students. Lund's Doctoral Student Union is further divided into councils, one for each faculty except for the faculties of engineering and fine and performing arts.[35]
The unions are incorporated into the Association of Lund University Student Unions (LUS). It has two full-time representatives who go to weakly meetings with the vice-chancellor and other organizational university bodies. The student union association runs services such as loan institute, a day-care centre and a website with housing information. It also publishes the monthly Lundagård magazine.
The following is a select list of some of the most notable people who have been affiliated with Lund University as students or academics, please refer to the main article for more information.
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