Ranking for Computer Science & Electronics in Heidelberg University

Facts About Heidelberg University

Heidelberg University (Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg) is a public research university based in Heidelberg, Germany, with roots that date back to the Holy Roman Empire. Although the language of instruction is German, several graduate programs are taught in English with some courses even in French.

Heidelberg is the country’s oldest university having been established by a papal bull during Pope Urban VI’s reign. It is, in fact, one of the world’s oldest universities that are still operational to this day.

Today, the university confers degrees in undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels across around a hundred fields. It has 12 faculties, many of which are regarded for their high academic performance in various world rankings.

The main campuses are divided among the departments of humanities, natural sciences and medicine, and social sciences. Furthermore, Heidelber enjoys a high foreign student population at 20% of the entire student body.

In 1386, the ground for the university was set with a papal charter modeling Heidelberg after the University of Paris. It originally consisted of four faculties: theology, philosophy, medicine, and law. History would see the university’s theology and law professors taking part in the Council of Constance that split the Catholic world in various sectarian divisions, also referred in history as the Western Schism. The university would also be impacted by the Reformation Era, as it transitioned from scholastic to humanistic culture and, eventually, converted into a Calvinist university in the sixteenth century.

In 1803, Heidelberg would be reinstituted as a state university and would grow into a recognized university for democratic thinking. It would, however, be caught in the Nazi propaganda machine during the tumultous events leading to the Second World War. Eventually, the university survived the war intact and would expand in the postwar years.

A reputable institution throughout history, Heidelberg produced notable individuals, particularly no less than 29 Nobel Peace laureates among its alumni and faculty. Specifically, the latter would introduce modern scientific disciplines to the university, such as psychopharmacology, psychiatric genetics, and environmental physics.

Students today have a wide range of disciplines to pursue in Heidelberg at both undergraduate and graduate levels. These include chemistry and earth sciences, biosciences, behavioral and empirical cultural sciences, modern languages, philosophy and history, physics and astronomy and theology. Students are, in general, required to go through six semesters for a bachelor’s degree and four semesters for a master’s degree. Doctoral degrees are usually conferred after completing six semesters.

The University of Heidelberg does not fall short in research accomplishments, the most notable being: the invention of spectroscopy, the Bunsen burner, the discovery of Caesium and Rubidium, the isolation of nicotine from tobacco and the discovery of nearly 800 dwarf planets and the return of Halley’s Comet. To this day, the university actively pursues research with emphasis on natural sciences and medicine.