University of Bamberg

The University of Bamberg profits from its location in a world cultural heritage site and acts as the region’s academic hub. It fulfills an academic mandate which extends far beyond its local roots. Short distances, both literally and figuratively, facilitate good advisory services, personal communication and interdisciplinary research, teaching and learning.

The University has made it a goal to offer all its members equal opportunities. Success can be seen in the university’s family-friendly certification and in the high number of appointments for female professors. The University bears a societal responsibility and is committed to the concept of life-long learning.

Bamberg’s historic old city offers exceptional living and working conditions, and the university itself contributes to the diversity of cultural and social life in the city.

The University of Bamberg is a middle-sized University with an academic focus on the humanities, social and economic sciences, as well as human sciences rounded out by application-oriented computer sciences. Interdisciplinary research activity and the ability to combine degree programmes contribute to the university’s distinguished status in Germany’s academic community.

At the University of Bamberg, research and teaching are treated as one entity; service facilities and administration foster innovation and productivity. Success can be seen not only in exceptional individual research projects, but also in larger-scale cooperative research.

The university is committed to quality teaching, and the high rankings that the university has received are an incentive to continue to strive toward that goal.

The University of Bamberg, with its tight network of partnerships with foreign universities, facilitates internationally oriented degree programmes and research. The University is a leader in international student mobility. The promotion and development of young academic talent is of particular importance to the university. With services like the Trimberg Research Academy (TRAc), and with its well structured doctoral programmes, the university is able to provide the next generation of academics with valuable support networks.

The University’s internationalization concept is not limited only to research and foreign studies, but rather encompasses all aspects of research and teaching, for both university members and their foreign guests.

An alumni network has established a bond to the university that extends beyond time spent as a student, and it also provides opportunities for cooperation with regional and trans-regional business.

The mandate to diligently and dutifully address and engage "the intellectual currents of the day" was laid down for us in the university's foundational
charter of 1647.

The social responsibility implied in this philosophy has characterised our self-conception throughout the years and is expressed today as much in family-friendly working structures and our commitment to equal opportunity as in a course offering that is carefullytailored to ever-changing, ever more diverse academic developments and the increasing demands placed on continuing education.

Establishing and maintaining values like comprehensive equal opportunity and sustainable family-friendly policies for employees and students demands a great deal of effort, but we are happy to put in the time to make them a reality. Our commitment to family issues has been rewarded since 2005 with certification as a family-friendly university. The initial steps towards this distinction were a series of structural improvements including the deregulation of core working hours, the expansion of childcare availability, and the establishment of the Family Services Office.

The most recent re-certification (2012) specifically honours the increased flexibility of study programmes: it is currently possible to pursue almost every degree off ered in Bamberg either as a part-time student or in modular study programmes, and the availability of online courses has been greatly expanded.

It is our belief that quality university education is defined by qualification programmes and opportunities that motivate and inspire students to individually pursue their interests. For this reason, students in our more than 100 predominantly accredited bachelor's, master's and teaching degree programmes are encouraged to work as independently as possible. The application of theoretical knowledge to practical experience is ensured by curricula featuring practice-based seminars, training courses and degree-related internships.

Comprehensive education, as we understand it, takes time. Our flexible course offering allows for the necessary individual freedom and is our answer to both changing living conditions in a globalised world and to increasingly flexible life and career paths. Nearly every degree off ered in Bamberg can be pursued part-time, and our multi-subject bachelor's programmes invite students to take advantage of unique subject combinations in order to create an academic profile based on individual interests.

Furthermore, we provide an environment in which the humanistic notion of man's place in the world can be experienced and explored holistically. This includes numerous literary readings, concerts, theatre productions, exhibits, or the university's poetics professorship, which was established in 1986.

We see it as our responsibility to encourage our students to play an active role in moulding both their own living environments and society itself. Opportunities are provided by university clubs and organizations dedicated to social, political, journalistic or religious involvement, and by our numerous student committees, societies and working groups.