Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany’s oldest university and one of the strongest research institutions in Europe. Its successes in the Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments and in international rankings prove Heidelberg’s excellent reputation and leading role in the scientific community.
In terms of educating students and promoting promising early-career academics, Heidelberg relies on research-based teaching and an outstanding, well-structured doctoral training. Heidelberg University is a comprehensive university, offering the full spectrum of disciplines in the humanities, the social sciences and law alongside the natural and life sciences, including medicine.
It aims to strengthen the individual disciplines, to further interdisciplinary cooperation and to carry research results over into society and industry. The university has over 30,000 students enrolled at twelve faculties. With over 160 degree programmes, Heidelberg offers a spectrum of subject combinations nearly unparalleled in Germany.
This unique range creates an optimal setting for individualised and interdisciplinary studies. Heidelberg University also draws its strength from its cooperation with numerous local non-university research institutions and is tied into a worldwide network of research and teaching collaborations. Exchange programmes with more than 400 universities worldwide and 19 university partnerships give evidence to Heidelberg’s marked global interconnectedness.