Internationality As A Way Of Life – Open-Minded & Open To The World
International Research
As an internationally renowned research centre, the University of Bamberg is committed to the academic exchange of knowledge and ideas, and it promotes networking and partnerships with numerous foreign universities and research institutions. For years, foreign exchange opportunities, special degree programmes and inter-university partnerships have drawn foreign students to Bamberg and led Bamberg students abroad.
At the University of Bamberg, internationality is more than a mere formality; it is desired, encouraged and is indeed a way of life. Following in the footsteps of the world-traveling Jesuits who founded the Academia Ottoniana in 1647, Bamberg's scholars share their knowledge and skills worldwide. In close cooperation with foreign partner universities, we have created joint master’s degree programmes in subjects like economics and political science. Degree programmes like the European Joint Master's Programme in English and American Studies promote cross-cultural competence and prepare graduates for positions of leadership both at home and abroad by providing the opportunity to acquire and share knowledge all over the world. And conversely, guest professorships facilitate the intensive transfer of knowledge and ideas from abroad to Bamberg.
Exchange Programmes, International Study Programmes, and International Cooperations
Exchange programmes and inter-university partnerships ease both the placement of Bamberg students abroad and the accommodation of foreign students in Bamberg. Our university’s Welcome Center, which was founded in 2010, provides support and assistance for our foreign guests. Numerous academic endeavours involving networking, exchange and cooperation are coordinated from Germany.
Each year, over 400 students take advantage of opportunities to pursue foreign studies, complete an internship or teach at a school abroad.
Looking only at the EU's popular Erasmus Programme, an average of approximately 25 percent of students in each year's class participate in an exchange, making the University of Bamberg the most active of Bavaria's universities. We offer a steadily increasing selection of international degree programmes, including the master’s degree programme in International Software Systems Science and the elite master’s programme in Cultural Studies of the Middle East.
The university's first international partnership, with the University of South Carolina in Columbia (USA) in 1983, has been followed by 300 similar programmes in 60 countries. With a view to tradition, a main focus has been placed on institutions in Southern and Eastern Europe, as even the original Academia welcomed 250 Bohemian students to Bamberg between 1648 and 1803.
Members of our university experience international culture as an integral part of academic life, and German and foreign-language theatre productions, literary readings and art exhibits are just a few examples of this. Both the International Office and Language Centre function as key facilitators of this cultural cooperation and exchange.