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University Profile

Mission Statement

Regionally rooted – academically distinguished – internationally connected

Our mission statement, which reflects the University of Bamberg’s distinguishing characteristics and goals, was developed in an open discussion setting. It was finalised by the extended university management on July 26, 2010 and adopted by the Board of Management on September 6, 2010.

Complete Mission Statement

"House of Wisdom"

Title plate from the festschrift commemorating the opening of the Academia Ottoniana

A brief look into history

The University of Bamberg is both the newest and one of the oldest universities in Bavaria.

On November 14, 1647, the Bamberg Prince Bishop Melchior Otto Voit von Salzburg expanded the town’s Jesuit college into the Academia Ottoniana by adding the Philosophy and Theology faculties. In the festschrift, it is referred to as the "Domus Sapientiae": the House of Wisdom. Prince Bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn continued the expansion of the Academia to a fully fledged university by adding a law school; with the later addition of a medical school, the transformation to the classical four-faculty university was complete. In 1773, it became known as Universitas Ottoniana Fridericiana.

During a tumultuous period of secularization and closure during the era of National Socialism, the "House of Wisdom" remained committed to its more than 350-yearold tradition. The "House of Wisdom," a fully fledged college since 1972, was re-designated a "university" in 1979. And since 1988, the university has once again borne the names of both of its main supporters.

Academic Profile

The University of Bamberg is a mid-size University with an academic profile clearly rooted in the humanities, social and economic sciences, human sciences and application-oriented computer sciences.

The Faculty of Humanities ( GuK) combines branches of linguistic and literary studies with subjects such as Archaeology, Building Construction Research and Heritage Conservation, European Ethnology, Geography, History, Communication Science, Art History and Philosophy. Since 1978, subjects in the Social Sciences, Economics, and Business Administration faculty ( SoWi) have represented the university’s largest areas of study and research focus; the Social Sciences department, with its focus on empirical research methods, is held in particularly high esteem throughout the German academic community. Human learning, experience, behavior and actions are at the center of the Faculty of Human Sciences and Education ( HuWi), in which Psychology and Educational Science are the primary subjects. The most recently added faculty, Information Systems and Applied Computer Sciences ( WIAI), has expanded the university’s subject spectrum to include modern, interdisciplinary computer science fields which round out the overall academic profile of the humanities and the social and economic sciences.

University Ambience

The University of Bamberg is mainly located in the more than 1000-year-old Old Town.

With more than 2,400 historically listed buildings, the Old Town was added to the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites in 1993. It is easy to feel at ease amidst Bamberg’s unique mixture of architectural styles from the Middle Ages to the present day. Bamberg, located in a fantastic area between the natural beauty of the Fränkische Schweiz, Steigerwald and the Hassberge, also has a tremendous amount of culture to offer – from the Bamberg Symphony, the E.T.A. Hoffmann Theater, the International Artist’s Villa Concordia, and a range of both large-scale and more intimate events. Summer is the time for outdoor gettogethers in Bamberg’s many beer gardens (called "Keller"), as well as at the Sandkerwa and the University’s Old Town Festival. Student life is key to the culture of this warm-hearted upper-Franconian town.

Studying within the World Heritage

Bamberg is a small, yet energetic university city with a sense of its history and a marked cultural life. Travelling or walking through the picturesque Old Town - which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 - is easy for the 12,400 students, and the quality of life is enhanced by the intimate nature of the city. Counseling and good organization are of great priority; the student-teacher ratio for the majority of subjects is favorable. This is why students can complete their studies more quickly here than at other universities. Thus, the university has been ranked as offering a "fast track for the determined." Aside from the historical ambience and the comfortable size of the urban university, the numerous charming apartments and the low cost of living also contribute to the quality of life. A lively student culture has developed in the Old Town with bookshops, restaurants, bistros, and cafes.

Cultural University Bamberg

The fact that the university is so prevalent in Bamberg and the region is due to its unique profile: On the one hand, its history stretches back to the 17th century, and on the other hand, Bavaria's oldest university is also young in spirit, and is very socially and culturally active.

This cultural dedication stems first and foremost from two of the four faculties; the humanities and social science faculties. Linguistics and literature, departments that present numerous literary events, readings and exhibits, as well as the musicology department, which has for years been organizing exciting concert series and orchestral performances, are all part of these faculties. Additionally, there are numerous opportunities for "hands-on science"; for example as part of the Bamberger Hegelwoche (Hegel Week) or the Nacht der Forschung (Night of Research).

Cultural University Bamberg