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History, Affiliations and Rankings
Heidelberg University, officially known as the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, is an open research university that was established in 1386 and is known to be one of the oldest universities in Germany and Europe too. It is also the 3rd in the Roman Empire. It was only in 1899 that it became a co-educational institute. The classes began in the same year of establishment. In the 19th century, Natural Science, Medicine, and Astronomy were added to the academic structure of the university. Heidelberg is a founding member of the League of European Research Universities, the Coimbra Group, and the European University Association. The university is also affiliated with institutions like Confucius Institute at Heidelberg University, European Center for Linguistics, German-American Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University Hospital Heidelberg, University Hospital Mannheim and more. Globally, the university ranks #63 in the latest QS World University Rankings 2022 and #=42 in the latest THE World University Rankings 2022. Furthermore, the U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings 2022 ranks Heidelberg University at #54.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
The university has three campuses, namely Old Town Campus, Neuenheimer Feld Campus, and Bergheim Campus. The Old Town Campus consists of assembly halls, lecture halls, seminar rooms and the faculties of Social Science and Humanities. Neuenheimer Feld is the new campus that was built in 1960. It is known to be the largest campus among the three and includes the faculties of Natural Science and Life Sciences. Initially, HU had four faculties, namely Theology, Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and Medicine. By the year 1390, around 185 students enrolled on the undergraduate degree program at the university. The third campus, i.e. the Bergheim Campus houses the departments of Sociology, Political Science, and Economics. Heidelberg University offers undergraduate degree programs, postgraduate degree programs and doctoral level programs. The university consists of 12 faculties; some of them are the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Biosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Modern Languages, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Chemistry, Faculty of History and the Faculty of Mathematics.
Accomplishments and Alumni
Heidelberg University's strong reputation and leadership role in the scientific community is well merited, as evidenced by its victories in both rounds of the Excellence Initiative and in globally recognised rankings. Heidelberg focuses on research-based teaching and an exceptional, well-structured training programme for doctorate candidates when it comes to educating students and nurturing bright early-career academics. As of 2021, 57 Nobel Laureates were associated with the city of Heidelberg, and 33 with Heidelberg University. Heidelberg's faculty established contemporary scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology, psychiatric genetics, environmental physics, and modern sociology as scientific subjects. The university has a notable list of alumni. Some of the notable names include Dmitri Mendeleev (Creator of the periodic table), Alfred Wegener (Discoverer of the Continental drift), Karl Mannheim (Sociologist), and Max Weber (Father of Modern Sociology).
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
Presently, there are 15,289 students in the undergraduate program, 11,871 in the postgraduate program, and 3,024 in the doctoral course program. Moreover, about 500 international scholars visit the university to deliver guest lectures every year. 18.6% of the total student population of the university comprises international students. Hence, the university promotes rich cultural diversity on its campus. Through its courses, it ensures the development of transferable skills to ensure the placement of students after graduation.
