University of Cologne

The University of Cologne (German: Universität zu Köln) was the sixth university to be established in Central Europe,^[2] although after being closed in 1789, it was re-established in 1919. and, with more than 48,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. It is furthermore the German founding member of the Global Alliance in Management Education (CEMS). Since 2012 the university was awarded in the German Universities Excellence Initiative for its overall concept. As of 2015, the University of Cologne ranks 156th globally according to Times Higher Education,^[3] 305th according to QS World University Rankings^[4] and between 151st-200th according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.^[5]

History

1388–1798

The University of Cologne was established in 1388 as the fourth university in the Holy Roman Empire, after the Charles University of Prague (1348), the University of Vienna (1365) and the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (1386). The charter was signed by Pope Urban VI. The university began teaching on January 6, 1389. In 1798, the university was abolished by the French, who had invaded Cologne in 1794, because under the new French constitution, universities were abolished all over France.The last rector Ferdinand Franz Wallraf was able to preserve the university’s Great Seal, now once more in use.

1919–today

Main building, by architect Adolf Abel, 1934

In 1919, the Prussian government endorsed a decision by the Cologne City Council to re-establish the university. On May 19, 1919, the Cologne Mayor Konrad Adenauer signed the charter of the modern university.

At that point, the new university was located in Neustadt-Süd, but relocated to its current campus in Lindenthal on 2 November 1934. The old premises are now being used for the Cologne University of Applied Sciences.

Initially, the university was composed of the Faculty of Commerce, Economics and Social Sciences (successor to the Institutes of Commerce and of Communal and Social Administration) and the Faculty of Medicine (successor to the Academy of Medicine). In 1920, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts were added, from which latter the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences was split off in 1955 to form a separate Faculty. In 1980, the two Cologne departments of the Rhineland School of Education were attached to the university as the Faculties of Education and of Special Education. In 1988, the university became a founding member of the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies (CEMS), today's Global Alliance in Management Education.

The University is a leader in the area of economics and is regularly placed in top positions for law and commerce, both for national and international rankings.

Organization

University campus between main building and mensa (the university canteen)

The University of Cologne is a statutory corporation (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts), operated by the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Faculties

The university is divided into six faculties, which together offer 200 fields of study. The faculties are those of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, Law, Medicine (with the affiliated University clinic), Arts, Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Human Sciences.

faculty	students	website
Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences	ca. 10,000	German English
Faculty of Law	ca. 5,000	German
Faculty of Medicine with University Hospital of Cologne	ca. 3,200	German English
Faculty of Arts and Humanities	ca. 16,500	German
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences	ca. 7,500	German English
Faculty of Human Sciences	ca. 2,800	German

Rectors

Axel Freimuth, 2007

On November 24, 2004, Axel Freimuth was elected as the Rector of the University. His four-year term began on April 1, 2005. He succeeded Tassilo Küpper and is the 49th Rector since 1919. He was previously Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.

Students and faculty

In 2005, the University enrolled 47,203 students, including 3,718 graduate students. In 2003, the number of post-doctoral students was 670.

The number of international students was 6,157 in the Summer Semester of 2005. This amounts to approximately 13% of the total students. Those from developing countries made up about 60%, representing a total of 123 nations. The largest contingents came from Bulgaria (10.5%), Russia (8.8%), Poland (7.4%), China (6.2%) and Ukraine (5.7%).

There are 508 professors at the university, including 70 women. In addition, the university employs 1,549 research assistants, with an additional 765 at the clinic, and 1,462 other assistants (3,736 at the clinic).

Partner universities

Campus of the Cologne University Hospital in Lindenthal

The University of Cologne maintains twenty official partnerships^[6] with universities from ten countries. Of these, the partnerships with Clermont-Ferrand I and Pennsylvania State are the oldest partnerships. In addition, Cologne has further cooperations^[7] with more than 260 other universities.

Notable alumni and professors

Albertus Magnus Monument in front of the main building

Over the centuries, scholars from Cologne have been among the most prominent in their fields, beginning with Albertus Magnus and his pupil Thomas Aquinas (both 13th century). Notable alumni of the 20th century include among others Kurt Alder (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1950), Peter Grünberg (Nobel Prize in Physics 2007), Heinrich Böll (Nobel Prize for Literature), Karl Carstens (president of the Federal Republic of Germany 1979–1984), Gustav Heinemann (president of the Federal Republic of Germany 1969 to 1974), Karolos Papoulias (former president of the Hellenic Republic), and Erich Gutenberg (founder of modern German business studies).

See also

• List of medieval universities

References

Further reading

• Erich Meuthen: Kölner Universitätsgeschichte, Band I: Die alte Universität, 1988, ISBN 3-412-06287-1
• Bernd Heimbüchel und Klaus Pabst: Kölner Universitätsgeschichte, Band II: Das 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, 1988, ISBN 3-412-01588-1
• Erich Meuthen (Hrsg.): Kölner Universitätsgeschichte, Band III: Die neue Universität – Daten und Fakten, 1988, ISBN 3-412-01688-8
• David H. Stam, ed. (2001). "Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln". International Dictionary of Library Histories. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1579582443. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to University of Cologne.

• Website of the University of Cologne (English)
• Absolventennetzwerk der Universität zu Köln (German)

German U15 Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) Humboldt University Berlin (HU Berlin) University of Bonn University of Cologne University of Freiburg Goethe University of Frankfurt University of Göttingen University of Hamburg (UHH) Heidelberg University Leipzig University University of Mainz Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich) University of Münster University of Tübingen University of Würzburg

German Excellence Universities RWTH Aachen University Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) Humboldt University of Berlin (HU Berlin) University of Bremen University of Cologne Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) Heidelberg University University of Konstanz Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich) Technische Universität München (TUM) University of Tübingen

Coordinates: 50°55′41″N 6°55′43″E / 50.92806°N 6.92861°E / 50.92806; 6.92861