Saarland University

The Saarland University (German Universität des Saarlandes) is a university located in Saarbrücken, Germany. It was founded in 1948 in co-operation with France and is organized in 8 Faculties. Saarland University is among the top 3 German universities in Computer Science.

History

Saarland University, the first to be established after the Second World War, was founded in November 1948 with the support of the French Government and under the auspices of the University of Nancy.

At the time the Saarland found itself in the special situation of being partly autonomous and linked to France by economic and monetary union. With its combination of the German and French educational traditions and the dual languages of instruction, the University had a European perspective right from the start. Prior to the foundation of the University, clinical training courses for medical students at the state hospital in Homburg/Saar had been introduced in January 1946 and the "Centre Universitaire d'Etudes Supérieures de Hombourg" established on 8 May 1947 under the patronage of the University of Nancy.

Organization

These are the 8 faculties in which the university is divided into:

Faculty 1 of Law and Economics
Faculty 2 of Medicine, Theoretical Medicine and Biosciences - Homburg
Faculty 3 of Humanities I
Faculty 4 of Humanities II
Faculty 5 of Humanities III
Faculty 6 of Natural Sciences and Technology I
Faculty 7 of Natural Sciences and Technology II
Faculty 8 of Natural Sciences and Technology III

With its numerous degree programmes and the variety of final qualifications offered (Diplom, Magister, state examinations and, increasingly, bachelor and master qualifications), Saarland University provides the broad spectrum of disciplines typical of a classical universitas litterarum. The more traditional subjects such as business administration and economics, law and medicine are just as much a part of Saarland University as the new degree programmes that have developed from modern interdisciplinary collaborations and which reflect the increasing demand for such qualifications in today's job market. Examples of these new courses include 'Biology with Special Focus on Human Biology and Molecular Biology', 'Bioinformatics /Computational Biology', 'Mechatronics Engineering', 'Micro- and Nanostructured Materials', 'Computer and Communications Technology', 'Historically-oriented Cultural Studies' and 'French Cultural Science and Intercultural Communication'.

Integrated degree courses, which can lead to the award of a joint degree, are organized by Saarland University and foreign partner universities in the fields of business administration, physics, chemistry, materials science and in the interdisciplinary programme 'Cross-border Franco-German Studies'. In the area of teacher training, Saarland University offers an integrated bilingual (French-German) course for prospective teachers of geography and history. A further distinctive feature of Saarland University is the fact that the University is able to award French degrees in subjects such as Droit, Allemand und Lettres modernes. Additional qualifications may also be obtained in numerous postgraduate courses. The postgraduate courses in law and economics at the Europa-Institut enjoy an excellent reputation around the world.

Governing Bodies

The University is headed by a University Board which includes a President and three vice presidents, responsible for planning and strategy, research and technology transfer, education and administration and finance. There are two commities on research policy and education.

Further, the University has senate and a number of councils dealing with problems ranging from distance learning to women's issues.

Research

Computer science established itself early as a particularly distinctive element in Saarland University's research profile. The expertise in computer science found within the University is complemented by a range of top-class research institutes including the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max Planck Institute for Softwaresystems and the International Conference and Research Centre for Computer Science at Dagstuhl Castle. Computer science in Saarbrücken has also proved extremely successful in combination with other disciplines. Examples of such fruitful interdisciplinary co-operations include business information technology, law and informatics, computational biology, computational linguistics and cognitive science, the latter being the subject of a nationally funded collaborative research centre.

Other collaborative research centres at Saarland University have been established in the areas of biomedicine and materials research. New research centres, one for language research and language technology and one for nanobiotechnology are presently under construction.

The skills and expertise at the University in the field of new technologies have led to the creation of numerous spin-off companies. With its specialist young enterprise seminars and a successful start-up centre for spin-off companies, the University is actively promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. To encourage and develop contacts to both the academic and the industrial and commercial sectors, the University has established the Contact Centre for Technology Transfer, and the Centre for Innovative Production, which it runs jointly with Saarland University of Applied Sciences (HTW).

Education

Saarland University now provides Bacherlor and Master courses of study in addition to the older Diplom. Saarland University is entitled to confer Ph.D. degrees from all 8 faculties. The University also confers honorary titles.

The University is responsible for conducting Computer Science related courses for students enrolled in the graduate programmes of the MPI for Informatics and MPI for Softwate Systems.

External links

Universities and colleges in Germany | Saarland

Universität des Saarlandes | Université de la Sarre