Witten/Herdecke University

Welcome to Witten! For centuries, the Ruhr basin, where Witten/Herdecke is situated, has been a meeting point and melting pot of cultures and people from various international backgrounds. Originally, it was the industrial revolution and the golden age of coal and steel production and trade that attracted people from all over Europe and the world to come to the Ruhr basin. Nowadays, the Ruhr metropolitan area with one of the highest densities of universities, research institutes and cultural institutions in Europe is the driving force of internationalisation. Witten/Herdecke is proud to play its part in this recent development of the international tradition.

Crossing borders has been a crucial part of the Witten DNA since its foundation: crossing the borders of academic disciplines, but also actual state borders through a permanently increasing network of partner universities, research co-operations, student and faculty exchange. On the following pages you will find all relevant information for degree seeking students, visiting and non-degree seeking students, research co-operations and (potential) partner universities.

Knowledge and competence being reflected in practice and developed further. Enough freedom for students to develop their own personality. Values combining curiosity, dedication and humanity. This is what UW/H has always been standing for.

Our students are free to organize their curriculum. We explicitly encourage them to set their own priorities in terms of content and to gain intensive practical experience. Moreover, UW/H offers ample scope for testing one’s skills and abilities and for progressing in other fields of study as well.

The question of truth goes beyond the question of feasibility. UW/H encourages students to gather and reflect personal experiences, to methodically change perspectives and to enter into open interdisciplinary discourse. Such refined discernment allows dedication to become effective.

It is our objective to educate professionally and personally competent graduates being able and willing to assume social responsibility – long before graduating. About 50 student initiatives at UW/H show that Witten works.

Since its foundation in 1983, crossing borders has played a vital role in the vision and mission of UW/H. Borders between theory and practice, between disciplines and faculties, but also actual physical borders between national states. UW/H is a proud member of an international research network spanning over all five continents; it permanently extends its network of partnerships on student and faculty exchange as well as research co-operation with universities world-wide. Furthermore, education at UW/H does not stop at merely studying a subject, it is a simultaneous process of personal and intellectual development. Hardly anything is as formative as international experience. Hence, we strongly encourage our students – and our staff as well – to gather experience abroad during the studies, but also through practical experience and border-crossing student initiatives. It makes us proud that many of our alumni have taken up international careers and serve as UW/H ambassadors abroad. By the same token, we cordially invite the world to Witten: Join us for studying, teaching, research, intercultural learning and the crossing of borders!

The Faculty of Health combines the four disciplines “Medicine”, “Dentistry”, “Nursing Science” and “Psychology” under one roof – thus being the only institution of this kind in Germany.

We are convinced that a joint academic environment shared by various disciplines and professions will lead to a more intensive and convincing work on future topics of modern health care. It is our passion to create and foster this academic environment.

Here is more information (in German) on what this faculty is standing for – on what we aim to achieve – on who is responsible – on who co-operates with us – on how we have organized the faculty.

The Faculty of Humanities and Arts – Studium fundamentale – teaches and researches in the fields of philosophy, cultural studies, politics and arts. The faculty’s special interest focuses on the comparison of old and new media: language, image, sound, script, print and digital media. We foster practice-oriented teaching and research and facilitate the access to professions such as curator or dramaturge, literary agent or cultural manager. Here is more information on our profile. More on our profile (in German)

All students have the opportunity to learn activities in the arts depending on their own preferences and interests. The faculty offers much space for gathering creative experiences and going through design processes step by step. In addition to gaining expertise, the faculty’s primary educational objective is to train reflectivity and develop one’s personality. Both are especially fostered by activities in the arts. Presenting the achievements publicly is an important practice at Witten/Herdecke University. More information (in German).

Our Bachelor’s and Master’s degree courses deal with current key issues in culture and society. The aim of the programmes is to impart academic and social skills: The students shall be able to act responsibly. The Faculty offers a two-semester “Culture and Society” orientation course for beginners.

The three core values proclaimed in the mission statement of Witten/Herdecke University are freedom, truth and responsibility. Transferred to the Faculty of Management and Economics, this means that we offer excellent academic education with a focus on the conveyance of subject-specific expertise and the training of judgment and responsibility.

Our graduates are the leaders of tomorrow, critical thinkers who assume entrepreneurial responsibility – be it in the private sector with a Bachelor or Master in “Management”, or at the interface between politics, business and society as graduates in “Philosophy, Politics and Economics”.