Everything about Ruprecht Karls University Of Heidelberg totally explained
The
Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (
University of Heidelberg,
Ruperto Carola, or simply
Heidelberg) is a
public research university located in
Heidelberg,
Baden-Württemberg,
Germany. Founded in
1386, it's the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the
Holy Roman Empire. A
coeducational institution since
1899, today Heidelberg consists of twelve
faculties and offers degree programs at
undergraduate,
graduate and
postdoctoral levels in some 100 disciplines. It is a
German Excellence University, as well as a founding member of the
League of European Research Universities, the
Coimbra Group, and the
European University Association.
Rupert I, Elector Palatine established the university when Heidelberg was the seat of the
Prince-Electors of the
Holy Roman Empire. Consequently, it served as a center for theologians and law experts from throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Matriculation rates declined with the
Thirty Years' War, and the university didn't overcame its fiscal and intellectual crises until the early 19th century. Subsequently, the institution once again became a hub for independent thinkers, and develeloped into a "stronghold of
humanism and
democracy". However, the university lost many of its dissident professors and was marked a
NSDAP cadre university during the
Nazi era between
1933 and
1945. It later underwent an extensive
denazification after
World War II—Heidelberg serving as one of the main scenes of the left-wing
student protests in Germany in the
1970s.
Today, the university continues to focus on research. It is consistently ranked among Europe's top overall universities, and is an international education venue for doctoral students, with approximately 1,000
doctorates successfully completed every year, and with more than one third of the doctoral students coming from abroad.
International students from some 130 countries account for more than 20 percent of the entire student body. The university comprises two campuses: one in
Heidelberg's Old Town and another in the Neuenheimer Feld quarter on the outskirts of the city.
History
Founding
The university was founded in
1386 at the behest of
Rupert I,
Count Palatine of the Rhine, in order to provide faculties for the study of
philosophy,
theology,
jurisprudence, and
medicine. On
October 19,
1386 the first lecture was held, making Heidelberg the
oldest university in Germany.
The
Great Schism in
1378, which split European
Christendom into two hostile groups, was initiated by the election of two
popes after the death of
Pope Gregory XI in the same year. One successor resided in
Avignon (elected by the French) and the other in
Rome (elected by the Italian cardinals). The German secular and spiritual leaders voiced their support for the successor in
Rome, which had far-reaching consequences for the German students and teachers in
Paris: they lost their stipends and had to leave.
Rupert I recognized the opportunity and initiated talks with the
Curia, which ultimately lead to the creation of the
Papal Bull Foundation.. On
October 18,
1386, a ceremonial fair in the
Heiliggeistkirche commemorated the opening of the doors of the university. As a motto for the seal,
Marsilius von Inghen, the first
rector of the university chose
semper apertus—for example, "the book of learning is always open." At this point in time, the city of
Heidelberg had approximately 3,500 inhabitants, including 600 students enrolled at the university.
Early development
The newly created university acted from the outset as an intellectual center for theology and jurisprudence scholars from throughout the
Holy Roman Empire.
Nominalism had been prevalent from the time of
Marsilius until after
1406, when
Jerome of Prague, the friend of
John Hus, introduced
realism at Heidelberg, on which account he was expelled by the faculty. Six years later, the teachings of
John Wycliffe were also condemned. Between
1414 and
1418, several distinguished professors of the University of Heidelberg took part in the
Council of Constance and acted as counselors for
Louis III, who attended this council as representative of the emperor and chief magistrate of the realm, and had
John Hus executed as a heretic. In
1432 the university, pursuant to papal and imperial requests, sent two delegates to the
Council of Basle who faithfully supported the legitimate pope.
The transition from
scholastic to
humanistic culture was effected by the chancellor and bishop
Johann von Dalberg in the late 15th century. Humanism was represented at the University of Heidelberg particularly by the founder of the older German Humanistic School
Rudolph Agricola,
Conrad Celtes,
Jakob Wimpfeling, and
Johann Reuchlin.
Æneas Silvius Piccolomini was chancellor of the university in his capacity of provost of
Worms, and later always favored it with his friendship and good-will as
Pope Pius II. In
1482,
Pope Sixtus IV permitted laymen and married men to be appointed professors in the ordinary of medicine through a papal dispensation. In
1553,
Pope Julius III sanctioned the allotment of ecclesiastical benefice to secular professors.
Martin Luther's disputation at Heidelberg in April
1518 made a lasting impact, and his adherents among the masters and scholars soon became leading
Reformationists in Southwest Germany. With the
Palatinate's turn to the Reformed faith,
Otto Henry, Elector Palatine, converted the university into a
calvinsitic institution. In
1563, the
Heidelberg Catechism was created under collaboration of members of the university's divinity school. As the 16th century was passing, the late
humanism stepped beside
Calvinism as a predominant school of thought; and figures like
Paul Schede,
Jan Gruter,
Martin Opitz, and
Matthäus Merian taught at the university. It attracted
scholars from all over the continent and developed into a
cultural and
academic center. However, with the beginning of the
Thirty Years' War in
1618, the intellectual and
fiscal wealth of the university declined. In
1622, the then-world-famous
Bibliotheca Palatina (the
library of the university) was stolen from the
University Cathedral and taken to
Rome. The reconstruction efforts thereafter were defeated by the troops of King
Louis XIV, who destroyed Heidelberg in
1693 almost completely.
As a consequence of the late
Counter-Reformation, the university lost its Protestant character, and was channeled by
Jesuits. In
1735, the Old University was constructed at University Square, then known as Domus Wilhelmina. Through the efforts of the
Jesuits a preparatory seminary was established, the Seminarium ad Carolum Borromæum, whose pupils were also registered in the university. After the suppression of the Jesuit Order, most of the schools they'd conducted passed into the hands of the
French Congregation of Lazarists in
1773. They deteriorated from that time forward, and the university itself continued to lose in prestige until the reign of the last elector
Charles Theodore, Elector Palatine, who established new chairs for all the faculties, founded scientific institutes such as the Electoral Academy of Science, and transferred the school of
political economy from Kaiserslautern to Heidelberg, where it was combined with the university as the faculty of political economy. He also founded an
observatory in the neighboring city of
Mannheim, where Jesuit
Christian Meyer labored as director. In connection with the commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the university, a revised statute book, which several of the professors had been commissioned to prepare, was approved by the elector. The financial affairs of the university, its receipts and expenditures, were put in order. At that period, the number of students varied from three to four hundred; in the jubilee year, 133 matriculated. As a consequence of the disturbances caused by the
French Revolution and particularly because of the Peace of Lunéeville, the university lost all its property on the left bank of the
Rhine, so that its complete dissolution was expected.
19th and early 20th century
It wasn't until
1803 that this decline stopped. In this year, the university was reestablished as a state-owned institution by
Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden, to whom the part of the Palatinate situated on the right bank of the Rhine was allotted. Since then, the university bears his name together with the one of
Ruprecht I. Karl Friedrich divided the university into five faculties and placed himself at its head as rector, as did also his successors. During this decade
Romanticism found expression in Heidelberg through
Clemens Brentano,
Achim von Arnim,
Ludwig Tieck,
Joseph Görres, and
Joseph von Eichendorff, and there went forth a revival of the German
Middle Ages in speech, poetry, and art.
The German
Students Association exerted great influence, which was at first patriotic and later political. After Romanticism had eventually died out, Heidelberg became a center of
Liberalism and the movement in favor of German national unity. The historians
Friedrich Christoph Schlosser and
Georg Gottfried Gervinus were the guides of the nation in
political history. The modern scientific schools of
medicine and
natural science, particularly
astronomy, were models in point of construction and equipment, and the University of Heidelberg was especially noted for its influential law school. Heidelberg’s professors were important supporters of the
Vormärz revolution and many of them were members of the revolutionary
Frankfurt Parliament of 1848. During the late 19th century, the university housed a very liberal and open-minded spirit, which was deliberately fostered by
Max Weber,
Ernst Troeltsch and a circle of colleagues around them. In the
Weimar Republic, the university was widely recognized as a center of
democratic thinking, coined by
professors like
Karl Jaspers,
Gustav Radbruch,
Martin Dibelius and
Alfred Weber. Unfortunately, there were also dark forces working within the university:
Nazi physicist
Philipp Lenard was head of the physical institute during that time. Following the assassination of
Walther Rathenau, he refused to
half mast the national flag on the institute, thereby provoking its storming by
communist students.
Nazi era and Federal Republic
With the advent of the
Third Reich in
1933, the university supported the
Nazis like all other German universities at the time. It dismissed a large number of lecturers and expelled many students for political and racist reasons. Many dissident fellows had to emigrate, some
Jewish and
Communist professors were deported, and two professors directly fell victim to Nazi terror. Particularly members of the university took part in a
book burning at University Square, and Heidelberg was eventually ill-famed as a
NSDAP cadre university. The inscription above the main entrance of the New University was changed from "The Living Spirit" to "The German Spirit", and many professors paid homage to the new motto. After the end of
World War II, the university underwent an extensive
denazification. Since Heidelberg was for the most part spared from destruction during the war, the reconstruction of the university was realized rather quickly. With the foundation of the Collegium Academicum, the University of Heidelberg became the home of Germany's first and, until today, only self-governed student hall. Newly laid statutes obliged the university to "The Living Spirit of Truth, Justice and Humanity".
During the Sixties and Seventies, the university grew dramatically in size. At this time, it developed into one of the main scenes of the left-wing
student protests in Germany. In
1975, a massive police force arrested the entire student parliament
AStA. Shortly thereafter, the building of the Collegium Academicum, a progressive college in immediate vicinity to the universities main grounds, was stormed by over 700 police officers and closed once and for all. On the outskirts of the city, in the Neuenheimer Feld area, a large campus for
medicine and
natural sciences was constructed.
Today, about 26,500 students are enrolled for studies at the University of Heidelberg. There are 2,897 full time faculty, including 476 university professors. In
2007, the university was appointed
University of Excellence within the scope of an initiative started by the
Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the
German Research Foundation in order to enhance the German university system by establishing a small network of exceptionally well-funded universities, which are expected to generate a strong international appeal.
Campuses
| "I saw Heidelberg on a perfectly clear morning, with a pleasant air both cool and invigorating. The city, just so, with the totality of its ambiance was, one might say, something ideal."
|
| — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe |
Heidelberg is a city with approximately 140,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the
Rhine Neckar Triangle, a
European metropolitan area with approximately 2.4 million people living there, comprising the neighboring cities of
Heidelberg,
Mannheim,
Ludwigshafen, and a number of smaller towns in the perimeter. Heidelberg is known as the cradle of
Romanticism, and its old town and
castle are among the most frequented tourist destinations in Germany. Its pedestrian zone is a shopping and night life magnet for the surrounding area and beyond. Heidelberg is about 40 minutes by train away from
Frankfurt International Airport.
The University of Heidelberg’s facilities are, generally speaking, separated in two parts. The faculties and institutes of humanities and social sciences are embedded in the Old Town Campus. The sciences faculties and the medical school, including three large university hospitals, are located on the New Campus in the Neuenheimer Feld on the outskirts of Heidelberg.
Old Town Campus
The so-called New University is regarded as the center of the Old Town Campus. It is situated in the pedestrian zone at University Square in direct neighborhood to the University Library and to the main administration buildings. The New University was officially opened in
1931. Its erection was largely financed by donations of American tycoon families, such as Goldman, Sachs, Morgan, Chrysler, Ford, and many others, in line with a fundraising campaign of
Jacob Gould Schurman, an alumnus of the University of Heidelberg and former
U.S. Ambassador to Germany. It houses the new assembly hall, the largest lecture halls, and a number of smaller seminar rooms, mostly used by faculties of humanities and social sciences. Education in humanities and social sciences takes place to a great extent in the respective faculty buildings which are spread all over the ancient part of town, though, they're mostly a maximum of ten minutes walk away from University Square. The faculties maintain own extensive libraries, and working places for their students. Seminars and tutorials are usually held in the faculty buildings.
New Campus
The New Campus is located in the newest district of the town called Neuenheimer Feld. It is the larger part of the university, and the largest campus for natural sciences and life science in Germany. Almost all science faculties and institutes, the medical school, the university hospitals, and the science branch of the University Library are situated at the New Campus. Most of the dormitories and the athletic facilities of the university can be found there as well. Several independent research institutes, such as the
German Cancer Research Center,
Max-Planck-Institutes, and the
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, have settled there. The New Campus is also seat of several biomedical spin-off companies. The ancient part of the town can be reached by streetcar in about ten minutes. The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy isn't located at either campus, but on the
Philosophers' Walk, separated from the Old Town by River Neckar, and some two kilometers away from the New Campus.
Libraries
The University Library is the main library of the university, and constitutes together with the decentralized libraries of the faculties and institutes, the integral university library system, headed by the director of the University Library. Besides the usual tasks of a library for research and teaching, the University Library contains special collections in the following concentration areas: literature concerning the
Palatinate and
Baden,
Egyptology,
archeology,
history of art, and
South Asia. The University Library's stocks exceeded one million in
1934. Today it holds about 3.2 million books, about 500,000 other media such as microfilms and video tapes, as well as 10,732 scientific periodicals. It holds 6,600
manuscripts, most notably the
Codex Manesse, 1,800
incunabula, 110,500
autographs, and a collection of old maps, paintings, and photographs. The further 83 decentralized libraries of the faculties and institutes hold another 3.5 million printed books. In
2005, 34,500 active users of the University Library accessed 1.4 million books a year. The conventional book supply is complemented by numerous electronic services. Around 3,000 commercial scientific journals can be accessed via
e-journal. The University Library of today traces its roots back to the purchase of a chest of documents by the first Rector
Marsilius von Inghen in
1388, which was stored in the
Heiliggeistkirche, then the University Cathedral. Additional foundations of the library were laid by means of donations from the bishops, chancellors, and early professors.
Louis III willed his large and valuable collection to the university, as did also the
Fugger of
Augsburg.
Otto Henry, Elector Palatine, combined the university's libraries in the
16th century, thus creating the
Bibliotheca Palatina. In the
17th century, the greatest part of the Bibliotheca Palatina was donated to the
Vatican in
Rome as a loot of the
Thirty Years War. Several manusripts from the
10th to
18th century from the libraries of the secularized monasteries
Salem and
Petershausen constituted the basis for the reconstruction. From
1901 to
1905, a richly ornamented four-wing red sandstone building was constructed for the library across from the Church of St. Peter. It was designed by Josef Durm, who adapted the
Renaissance style of
Heidelberg Castle and added numerous elements of
Art Noveau. The building was expanded several times, lately by enlarged basements under the courtyard of the neighboring New University. The frontage is punctuated with many windows for the sake of natural illumination. Since
1978, the science branch of the University Library serves the institutes of natural sciences and medicine on the New Campus.
Facilities abroad
The University of Heidelberg has founded a Center for
Latin America in
Santiago, Chile in 2001. It has the task of organizing, managing, and marketing the courses of study maintained either independently by the University of Heidelberg or in cooperation with the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the
University of Chile. The University of Heidelberg has arranged cooperation agreements with both of these universities. The center has responsibility for programs of
postgraduate education. It also coordinates the activities of the University of Heidelberg in Latin America, and provides a platform for scientific cooperation. In addition, the university is currently about to set up a Heidelberg Center for
North America, with similar tasks, in
Amherst,
Massachusetts.
Organization
Governance
The
Rectorate is the '
executive body' of the university, headed by rector
Bernhard Eitel. The rectorate consists of the
chancellor, Marina Frost, who is the head of the central administration and responsible for the university's budgeting, and three pro-rectors, who are responsible for international relations, teaching and communication, and research and structure respectively.
The
Senate is the '
legislative branch' of the university. The rector and the members of the rectorate are senators
ex officio, as are also the
deans of the faculties, as well as the medical and managing directors of the
University Hospital, and the university's
equal opportunities officer. Another 20 senators are elected for four year terms, whithin the following quotas: eight university professors; four academic staff; four delegates of the
student body; and four employees of the university administration.
The
University Council is the advisory board to the aforementioned entities and encompasses, among others, the former
Israeli
Ambassador to Germany Avi Primor, as well as
CEOs of German industries.
Faculties
After a structural reformation in 2003, the university consists of twelve
faculties which in turn comprise several disciplines, departments, and institutes. As a consequence of the
Bologna process, most faculties now offer
Bachelor's,
Master's, and
Ph.D. degrees in order to comply with the new European degree standard. Notable exceptions are the undergraduate programs in
law,
medicine,
dentistry and
pharmacy, from which students still graduate with the State Examination, a central examination at Master's level held by the State of Baden-Württemberg.
Associated institutions
The university is organizationally and personally interlinked with the following independent and semi-independent institutions. Besides joint research, they take also part in the educational tasks at undergraduate and graduate level.
Academic profile
School stats
The university currently employs more than 15,000 academic staff, the most of which are engaged in the
University Hospital. As of 2007, the faculty encompasses 2,897 full time staff, excluding
visiting professors as well as
graduate research and
teaching assistants. 318 faculty members have been drawn from abroad. Heidelberg currently enrolls a total of 26,582 students; including 5,455 international students. In addition there are currently 1,467 international
exchange students at Heidelberg. Currently, 23,130 students pursue taught degrees, 4,597 of whom are international students, and 1,453 are international exchange students. 2,473 students currently pursue a
doctoral degree, including 881 international doctoral students and 14 international
exchange students. In 2007, the university awarded 962
Ph.D. degrees.
Rankings
The
THES - QS World University Rankings ranked the University of Heidelberg overall between 12th and 15th in Europe, between 45th and 60th in the world, and consistently as the foremost German university. Based on the overall academic peer review score of 2005, Heidelberg ranked 6th in Europe and 28th in the world. In the separate THES - QS rankings of broad subject areas, Heidelberg ranked globally between 17th and 43rd in life science and biomedicine, between 22nd and 45th in science, between 41st and 61st in arts and humanities, and between 54th and 78th in social sciences.
The Shanghai Jiao Tong University's
Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Heidelberg between 2nd and 3rd nationally, between 12th and 18th in Europe, and between 58th and 66th in the world.
The 2007
Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, issued by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan, placed Heidelberg 2nd in Germany, 12th in Europe, and 61st globally.
The
Scientometrics Journal Gatekeepers Indicator Ranking, created by
Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest in 2007, ranks the University of Heidelberg at the top of German universities, 12th in Europe, and 73rd globally.
According to the
Ranking of Scientific Impact of Leading European Research Universities compiled by the
European Commission, Heidelberg ranks 4th nationally and 9th in Europe.
The German
Center for Higher Education Development Excellence Ranking, which measures academic performance of European graduate programs in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics, placed Heidelberg in the excellence group for physics and chemistry, and in the top group for mathematics and biology, which is overall a 2nd place in Germany, and a joint 9th place in Europe.
Ranked by the number of
Nobel Laureates affiliated with the university at the time of
Nobel Prize announcement, Heidelberg is placed 1st in Germany, 4th in Europe and 13th in the world by 2007.
The Times of London referred to the University of Heidelberg as "the oldest and most eminent in the country of Luther and Einstein" and as "the jewel of German learning".
Organization and length of courses
The academic year is divided into two semesters. The winter semester runs from 1st of October - 31st of March and the summer semester from 1st of April - 30th of September. Classes are held from mid-October to mid-February and mid-April to mid-July. Students can generally begin their studies either in the winter or the summer semester. However, there are several subjects students can begin only in the winter semester. The standard time required to finish a
Bachelor's degree is principally 6 semesters, and a further 4 semesters for consecutive
Master's degrees. The normal duration of
Ph.D. programs for full-time students is 6 semesters. The overall period of study for an undergraduate degree is divided into two parts: a period of basic study, lasting at least 4 semesters, at the end of which students must sit a formal examination, and a period of advanced study, lasting at least 2 semesters, after which students take their final examinations.
Admission
In the winter-semester 2006/2007 the university offered 3,926 places in undergraduate programs restricted by
numerus clausus, with an overall acceptance rate of 16.3 percent. Most selective are the undergraduate programs in clinical medicine, molecular cell biology, political science, and law, with acceptance rates of 3.6 percent, 3.8 percent, 7.6 percent and 9.1 percent respectively. The selection is exercised by allocating the best qualified applicants to a given number of places available in the respective discipline, thus depending primarily on the chosen subjects and the grade point average of the high school degree equivalent. For some majors and minors in humanities, particularly for those which are conceptually non-vocational like classics, philosophy, and ancient history, unrestricted admission is granted if certain criteria (for example relevant language proficiency) are fulfilled, as applications regularly don't exceed the number of places available. For prospective international undergraduate students a language test for German, such as the
DSH, is required. Admission to consecutive Master's programs always requires at least an undergraduate degree equivalent to the German grade "good" (for example, normally B+ in American, or 2:1 in British terms). Except for the Master's programs taught in English, a language test for German must be passed as well. Ph.D. admission prerequisite is normally a strong Master's-level degree, but specific admission procedures vary and can't be generalized. International applicants usually make up considerably more than 20 percent of the applicant pool and are considered individually by the merits achieved in their respective country of origin.
Finances
Studying at German universities is heavily subsidized by the state in order to keep higher education affordable regardless of socio-economic background.
Since 2007, Heidelberg charges tuition fees of approximately € 1,200 p.a., including
student union fees, for undergraduate, consecutive Master's, and doctoral programs, for both
EU and non-EU citizens, and for any subject area. The usual housing costs for on-campus dormitories range from € 2,200 to € 3,000 p.a.
In the fiscal year 2005, the University of Heidelberg had an overall
operating budget of approximately € 856 M (approximately € 218 M non-medical); consisting of approximately € 413 M government funds (approximately € 10 M non-medical);approximately € 311 M basic budget (approximately € 160 M non-medical); and approximately € 132 M from external grants (approximately € 48 M non-medical). The university spent approximately € 529 M in payroll costs (approximately € 162 M non-medical) and approximately € 326 M (approximately € 56 M non-medical) in other expenditures. Additionally, the university will receive another € 150 M in research grants, distributed over 5 years from 2007 onwards, due to the
German Universities Excellence Initiative. In the fiscal year 2007, the university for the first time raised approximately € 19 M through tuition fees. Only approximately € 9.5 M of these were spent at the end of the year and the rectorate had to urge the faculties to make use of their monies.
Research
The university puts an emphasis on natural sciences and medicine, but it retains its traditions with strong faculties of humanities and social sciences. The
Marsilius Kolleg, named after
Marsilius of Inghen, was established in
2007 as a Center for Advanced Study to promote interdisciplinary dialogue and research especially between the sciences and the humanities. Other institutes such as the
Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, the
Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, the
Heidelberg Center for American Studies, and the
South Asia Institute also build a bridge between faculties and thus emphasize the concept of a comprehensive university.
Noted regular publications of the
Center for Astronomy include the
Gliese catalog of nearby stars, the fundamental catalogues
FK5 and
FK6 and the annual published
Apparent places, a high precision catalog with pre-calculated positions for over 3 thousand stars for each day. The
Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research publishes the annual
Conflict Barometer, which describes the recent trends in global conflict developments, escalations, de-escalations, and settlements. Regular publications by the
Max Planck Institute for International Law include the "Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law"; the "Journal of the History of International Law"; the "Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law"; and the semi-annual bibliography "Public International Law".
The
German Research Foundation (DFG) currently funds twelve long-term
Collaborative Research Centers (SFB) with a duration of up to 12 years at Heidelberg, four Priority Programs (SPP) with a duration of 6 years, two Research Units (FOR) with a duration of up to 6 years, as well as numerous individual projects at the university's faculties and institutes. As a result of the
German Universities Excellence Initiative, two Clusters of Excellence are funded with € 6.5 M each - "
Cellular Networks: From Molecular Mechanisms to Quantitative Understanding of Complex Functions", and "
Asia and Europe in a Global Context: Shifting Asymmetries in Cultural Flows"
International cooperations
Heidelberg is a founding member of the
League of European Research Universities, the
Coimbra Group, and the
European University Association, and it participates in 7
European exchange schemes for researchers and students, such as
ERASMUS. Furthermore it's actively involved in the development of the German-speaking
Andrássy University of Budapest, and co-runs the school of German law at the
Jagiellonian University of Krakow. Beyond Europe, the university and its faculties maintain specific agreements with 58 partner universities in
Africa, the
Americas,
Asia,
Australia and the
Russian Federation. In total, the Higher Education Compass of the German Rector's Conference lists staff and student exchange agreements as well as research cooperations with 236 universities world-wide. Some of the most notable include
Cornell University,
Duke University,
Georgetown University,
Harvard University,
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris,
Pantheon Sorbonne University,
University of Cambridge,
University of Oxford,
Tsinghua University, and
Yale University
Student life
The university offers a broad variety of athletics, such as teams in 16 different court sports from
American football to
volleyball, courses in 11 different
martial arts, 26 courses in
fitness and
body building, 9 courses in health sports from aquapower to
yoga, and groups in 12 different dance styles. Moreover
equestrian sports,
sailing,
rowing,
skiing in the French alps,
track and field,
swimming,
fencing,
cycling,
acrobatics,
gymnastics, and much more. Most of the sports are free of charge. Heidelberg’s competition teams are particularly successful in soccer, volleyball, equestrian sports, judo, karate, track and field, and basketball. The track and field team regularly achieves best placings at the German university championships. The University Sports Club men's basketball team,
USC Heidelberg, is the championship record holder, won 13 national championships, and is the only university team playing at a professional level in the second division of
Germany's national league.
Moreover, the university supports a number of student groups in various fields of interest. Among them are the student parliament
AStA, the student councils of the twelve faculties, four drama clubs, the university orchestra
Collegium Musicum, four choirs, six student media groups, six groups of international students, nine groups of political parties and NGO’s, several departments of European organizations of students in certain disciplines, four clubs dedicated to fostering international relations and cultural exchange, a chess club, a literature club, a debate society, two student management consulting groups, and four religious student groups.
Heidelberg’s student newspaper “ruprecht” is, with editions of more than 10,000 copies, one of Germany’s largest student-run newspapers. It was recently distinguished by the
MLP Pro Campus Press Award as Germany’s best student newspaper. The jury, consisting of journalists of major newspapers, commended its “well balanced, though critical attitude”, and its “simply great” layout which “suffices highest professional demands”. The ruprecht is financed entirely by advertising revenues, thus retaining its independence from the university's management. Some very renowned journalists emerged from ruprecht’s editorial board.
However, the critical online student newspaper "UNiMUT", which is run by the joint student council of the faculties, criticized the ruprecht often for being conformed, and exceedingly layout-oriented.
Heidelberg is also home of Germany’s oldest student
law review “StudZR”. The journal is published quarterly, at the beginning and end of each semester break, and is circulated throughout all of Germany.
Heidelberg hosts 34 student
corporations, which have a long tradition as most of them were founded in the 19th century. Corporations are to some extent comparable to the
fraternities in the US. As traditional symbols (
couleur) corporation members wear colored caps and ribbons at ceremonial occasions (Kommers) and some still practice the traditional
academic fencing, a kind of duel, in order to "shape their members for the challenges of life". In the 19th and early 20th century, corporations played an important role in Germany's student life. Today, however, corporations include only a relatively small number of students. Their self-declared mission is to keep academic traditions alive and to create friendships for life. The corporations' often representative 19th century mansions are present throughout the Old Town.
Heidelberg isn't least famous for its student night life. Besides the various parties regularly organized by the student councils of the faculties, the semester opening and closing parties of the university, the dormitory parties, and the soirées of Heidelberg's 34 student fraternities, the city, and the
metropolitan area even more, offers night life for any taste and budget. Adjacent to University Square is Heidelberg's major night life district, where one pub is placed next to each other. From Thursday on, it's all night very crowded and full of atmosphere. Moreover, Heidelberg has four major clubs playing black music, house, rock, and all time classics. The largest of them, having three floors, is located at the New Campus. The city of
Mannheim, which is about triple as large as Heidelberg, is 15 minutes by train away, and offers an even more diverse night life, having a broad variety of clubs and bars well-frequented by Heidelberg's and Mannheim's student community.
Noted people
Alumni and faculty of the university include many founders and pioneers of
academic disciplines, and a large number of internationally acclaimed
philosophers,
poets,
jurisprudents,
theologians,
natural and
social scientists. 29
Nobel Laureates and at least 18
Leibniz Laureates have been associated with the University of Heidelberg.
Five
Chancellors of Germany attended the university, as did also
Heads of State or
Government of
Belgium,
Bulgaria,
Greece,
Nicaragua,
Thailand, and a
Secretary General of NATO. At least 16
Justices of the
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany studied or taught at Heidelberg. Former university affiliates in the field of religion include a
Pope,
Cardinals,
Bishops, and two key leaders of
Protestant Reformation. In business, Heidelberg alumni and faculty notably (co-)founded or presided over
ABB Group;
Astor corporate enterprises;
BASF;
Daimler AG;
Deutsche Bank;
EADS;
Krupp AG;
Siemens AG; and
Thyssen AG.
Current professors in ordinary include a
Medicine Nobel Laureate, 7
Leibniz Laureates, a former Justice of the
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, and the acting President of the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
References in fiction and popular culture
In
1880,
Mark Twain wrote as detailed as humorously about his impressions of Heidelberg's student life in
A Tramp Abroad. He painted a picture of the university as a genuinely aristocratic university, whose students pursued a dandy-like lifestyle, and described the great influence the student corporations exerted on the whole Heidelberg student life.
The
1927 silent film
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, based on a novel by
Wilhelm Meyer-Förster and starring
Ramon Novarro and
Norma Shearer, continued this image of Heidelberg, showing the story of a German prince who comes to Heidelberg to study there, but falls in love with his innkeeper's daughter. Having been very popular in the in the first half of the 20th century, it presents the typical student life of the 19th and early 20th century, and it's today considered a masterpiece of the late silent film era.
MGM's
1954 color remake
The Student Prince, featuring
Mario Lanza, is based on
Sigmund Romberg's operetta version of the story.
In
2000, the university was the main scene of the successful German horror film
Anatomy. The medical student Paula Henning (played by
Franka Potente) wins a place in a summer course at the prestigious
Heidelberg Medical School. When the body of a young man she met on the train turns up on her dissection table, she begins to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, uncovering a gruesome conspiracy perpetrated by an antihippocratic secret society operating within the university.
Non-fictional literature
Steven P. Remy: The Heidelberg Myth: The Nazification and Denazification of a German University. Cambridge, Harvard University Press 2002. ISBN 0-674-00933-9
Andreas Cser: Kleine Geschichte der Stadt Heidelberg und ihrer Universität. Verlag G. Braun, Karlsruhe 2007, ISBN 978-3-7650-8337-2
Dagmar Drüll: Heidelberger Gelehrtenlexikon, Bd. 1: 1803-1932, Bd. 2: 1652-1802, Bd. 3: 1386-1651. Heidelberg 1986, 1991, 2002. (Bd. 4: 1933-1986 in Vorbereitung)
Sabine Happ, Werner Moritz: Die Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Ansichten - Einblicke - Rückblicke. Erfurt 2003.
Wolfgang U. Eckart, Volker Sellin, [Eike Wolgast (Hrsg.): Die Universität Heidelberg im Nationalsozialismus. Springer Verlag, Berlin 2006. ISBN 3540214429
H. Krabusch: Das Archiv der Universität Heidelberg. Geschichte und Bedeutung, in: Aus der Geschichte der Universität Heidelberg und ihrer Fakultäten. Sonderbd. der Ruperto Carola, hrsg. von G. Hinz (1961), S. 82-111;
Die Rektorbücher der Universität Heidelberg, Bd. I-II, bearb. von Heiner Lutzmann u. a. hrsg. v. Jürgen Miethke. (Bd. 1: 1386-1410, Heft 1-3, Heidelberg 1986/1990/1999. Bd. 2: 1421-1451, Heft 1, Heidelberg 2001)
Peter Moraw: Heidelberg: Universität, Hof und Stadt im ausgehenden Mittelalter, in: Studien zum städtischen Bidlungswesen des späten Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit, hrsg. von Bernd Moeller, Hans Patze, Karl Stackmann, Redaktion Ludger Grenzmann (Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Philol.-hist. Klasse, III.137), Göttingen 1983, S. 524-552.
Werner Moritz: Die Aberkennung des Doktortitels an der Universität Heidelberg während der NS- Zeit, In: Armin Kohnle/ Frank Engehausen: Zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik. Studien zur deutschen Universitätsgeschichte. Festschrift für Eike Wolgast zum 65. Geburtstag, Stuttgart 2001, S. 540-562
Gerhard Ritter: Die Heidelberger Universität im Mittelalter (1386-1508), Ein Stück deutscher Geschichte, Heidelberg 1936, Neudruck 1986.
Gotthard Schettler (Hrsg.): Das Klinikum der Universität Heidelberg und seine Institute. Berlin-Heidelberg, Springer 1986. ISBN 3540160337
Wilhelm Doerr u.a. (Hrsg.): ‚Semper apertus', Sechshundert Jahre Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg 1386-1986, Festschrift in sechs Bänden. Berlin-Heidelberg, Springer 1985
Eduard Winkelmann (Hrsg.): Urkundenbuch der Universität Heidelberg, Bd. I-II, Heidelberg 1886.
Eike Wolgast: Die Universität Heidelberg, 1386-1986, Berlin-Heidelberg, Springer 1986.
Notes and References
Further Information
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