University of Erfurt
Universität Erfurt
Established	1379/1994 (closed 1815—1993)
Type	Public
President	Kai Brodersen
Admin. staff	538
Students	5,100
Location	Erfurt, Germany
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	EUniCult
Website	http://www.uni-erfurt.de
Data as of May 2009[update]

The University of Erfurt (German: Universität Erfurt) is a public university located in Erfurt, Germany. Originally founded in 1379, the university was closed in 1816 for the next 177 years. The university was re-established in 1994, three years after Thuringia reunified with the Federal Republic.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1379—1816 1.2 1994—today 2 Faculties and institutions 3 University maxim 4 Program, courses and research 4.1 B.A., Masters and PhD 4.2 Diplom courses 4.3 Promotion/PhD courses 4.4 Sommerkurse/Summer course courses 5 Research groups 6 Academic priorities 7 Islamic studies at Erfurt 8 Projects 9 International students 10 Well-known alumni 11 See also 12 External links

  History

  1379—1816

The University of Erfurt was founded in 1379 as the first university in the territory which is now Germany; for some time, it was the largest university in the country. When the town of Erfurt became part of Prussia in 1816, the government closed the university after its more than 400 years of operation.

  1994—today

In December 1993, the Landtag of Thuringia voted to re-establish the university. The university was officially re-founded on January 1, 1994. Lectures began in the winter term from 1999 to 2000. Shortly afterwards, the rector who had overseen the founding, Peter Glotz, a politician in the SPD party, left the university. The position was taken over by Wolfgang Bergsdorf, a friend of Bernhard Vogel, Thuringia's Minister-president.

In 2001, the Erfurt Teachers' Training College (Pädagogische Hochschule Erfurt), founded in 1953, became part of the university.

On January 1, 2003, a fourth faculty was added to the university in the form of the Roman Catholic Theological Faculty, previously the Erfurt Philosophical and Theological Centre, Philosophisch-Theologisches Studium Erfurt.

In 2003, a chronic lack of financing meant that there were many redundancies and that vacancies were left unfilled: this led to student protests all over Thuringia. The university administration and committees were reformed and the situation was stabilized.

The University of Erfurt is a liberal arts university with reform and socio-cultural profile. The close networking of the Philosophical, Educational Research, Governmental Studies and Catholic Theological Faculty, as well as the Max Weber Kolleg, continue to be innovative in their approach to teaching and research.

Forward-study programs, the technical competence and professionalism combine modern forms of teacher training studies and the interdisciplinary "Fundamental Studies draw" the University of Erfurt in particular. A mentor program and the very good relationship between teachers and students guarantee quality in teaching and training. Research groups and graduate schools allow "at the University of Erfurt excellent research, the discipline of scientific cooperation on the international borders and is marked.

As one of the oldest and the youngest public universities in Germany, the University of Erfurt still has no tuition fees (as is the case in Thuringia) and is the first institution of higher education to receive the family-friendly certificate for employers. The suburban campus makes it a living part of the country's capital, with its low cost of living and its extensive cultural and leisure offer.

  Faculties and institutions

There are five faculties available in Erfurt University:

• Faculty of Education
• Catholic Theology
• Faculty of Arts/Philosophy
• Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Science
• Max Weber

Institutions of particular note are the Max Weber College for Cultural and Social Sciences and the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, the former Erfurt School of Public Policy (ESPP), named after the former Chancellor of Germany, Willy Brandt, in November 2009, which is partly financed by tuition fees. The Erfurt-Gotha Research Library houses the famous Amploniana collection of scripts from the Middle Ages.

  University maxim

The University of Erfurt is sometimes thought of as a reformist university. Martin Luther once attended it in 1502, receiving his bachelor's degree. Its main focuses are multidisciplinarity, internationality and a strong mentoring system, although in fact the student body is largely regional. All new courses lead to the new Bachelor of Arts or Master's degree rather than the traditional German Diplom, which makes Erfurt one of the first German universities to completely implement the Bologna process.

An especially important faculty is that of Staatswissenschaften (Government Studies), the only one in Germany to offer integrated courses in economics, social sciences and law.

  Program, courses and research

  B.A., Masters and PhD

Faculty of Education

• General Education and Empirical Research
• Professional education / vocational training / adult education
• Evangelical Theology
• Elementary School Education / Childhood Research
• Art
• Music
• Psychology
• School Education
• Special and Social Education
• Sport and Exercise Sciences
• Technical Sciences and Occupational Development

Faculty of Arts

• History
• Communication Studies
• Literature
• Philosophy
• Religious Studies
• Linguistics
• Knowledge cultures of the European Modern

Faculty of Catholic Theology

• Early Church History
• Modern Church History
• Old Testament
• New Testament
• Christian
• Fundamental
• dogmatics
• Moral Theology
• Liturgy
• Pastoral Theology
• Religious Education
• Canon
• Christian Worldview
• Religious and Cultural Theory
• Ancient languages

Faculty of Political Science

• Political Science
• Law
• Sociology
• Economics

The Max Weber Center for Cultural and Social Studies

It is a research institute which combines an Institute for Advanced Study. Internationally renowned scholars from different disciplines (sociology, history, philosophy, theology, religion, law and economics) are participated in a long-term Weber's research program and to supervise the fellows (graduate students and postdoctoral students). The Max Weber Weber's pursuing a research program that can be characterized briefly as an interdisciplinary and comparative social sciences, with great historical depth and an interest in normative issues. It addresses the following issues:

• Religion, science and law as interpretation and control powers;
• Interactions between cultures, social systems and mentalities in radical change;
• action-theoretical foundations of cultural and social sciences and their relation to normative, especially ethical issues.

  Diplom courses

• Roman Catholic Theology
• Islamic Studies
• Public Policy

  Promotion/PhD courses

Erfurt University has opened PhD application for various disciplines as well as has invited many researcher from all over the world. Such fields that are possible to be conducted as a PhD topic like economics, law, communication and Islamic studies.

  Sommerkurse/Summer course courses

• International Summer Course for German Language, Literature and Culture
• Summer School "Muslims in the West"
• Summer Program in Communications Erfurt (SPICE)
• International Spring School

  Research groups

Currently following colleges and research teams are part of the Erfurt doctoral and postdoctoral program (EPPP):

• The research group "Communication and Digital Media (COMDIGMED) is an interdisciplinary and international scale embedded and association of researchers. This project will combine to support the research activities of its members on the field of communication science, educational science, psychology and social science and networking of research and teaching help. COMDIGMED is co-creator of university education focus.
• In the Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavior "(Cereb) scientists working together of economic and behavioral sciences. Focus on the theoretical modeling of human decision behavior, the design of social institutions and educational and career choices as long-term Selbststeuerungsprozesse. Cereb The university is involved in the specialization.
• The Graduate School "Religion in modernization processes" religion-related research projects from the religious, social, literary, media and history of science, theology and philosophy. engage young scientists, the problems in this area, are at the Graduate School offer attractive conditions for their work to develop new understandings of religion in modernization processes.
• The research program of Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies directed to the problems of religion, science and law as interpretation and control powers, interactions between cultures, social systems and mentalities in radical change, and action-bases of cultural and social sciences and their relation to normative, especially ethical issues.
• In the DFG-Graduiertenkolleg "Human Dignity and Human Rights" to employ young researchers at the Max-Weber-Kolleg of the Ethics Center and the University of Jena with creation, development and application of a central value of Modernity: the human dignity, including consideration of less history of violence.
• The projects of the Research "Proficiency" deal with the theory-based coverage and promotion of linguistic competence. These are all language modalities (reading, listening, writing, speaking), both at the primary are taken as well in second language acquisition in the eye. The research group is actively involved in the design of the gravity profile the Education of the University of Erfurt.
• The Research Training Group of the Forum "Texte.Zeichen.Medien." her profile is not covered by the thematic orientation, but by the transphilologische and interdisciplinary nature of their access to their objects - texts, symbols and media.
• The DFG Research Training Group "Media historiographies" deals with the mutual relationship between history and media. The question of a "history of the media 'with the question of" media history "intertwined: how different media to determine the encoding of historical situations and processes? And how media and media techniques to bring out their own particular history?
• the Platform regions of the world & Interactions

  Academic priorities

• University focus Religion
• Focus of university education

  Islamic studies at Erfurt

The Islamic Studies at the University of Erfurt rely on Interdisciplinary and internationality. This is reflected on the one reflected in their involvement in religious studies, which will provide a broad knowledge of European religious landscape. Secondly, common interests with other disciplines, such as the historical sciences, literature or theology sought. An expression of this cooperation between the faculties is the compulsory Fundamental Studies. In addition, there will be in teaching and research cooperation with European and American institutions. In turn, the study program and study visits, field trips and internships from abroad.

Cultural and social sciences in general and religious studies in particular need to focus more than ever to practice. Already now there is a considerable demand for specialists with a sound understanding of religious minority communities in Europe. It is therefore the declared objective of Erfurt Department of Islamic Studies, already in six-semester bachelor's degree such cultural skills to mediate, which should enable the graduates, they in social sectors such as economy, politics, education, or even in the journalistic profession participate and to contribute in these areas, inclusive rather than exclusionary.

About the bachelor's degree, there is also in the Islamic studies the possibility of a subsequent three-semester Master's degree. Next to it is at the University of Erfurt - also for career changers - the promotion possible in this specialization.

To the necessary tools for a thorough study of Islamic cultures in addition to the substantive focus of the Department related courses are offered, optional for students in bachelor-degree program for students in master's degree program will however be required.

This program is chaired by:

Jamal Malik, born 1956;

High school in Bonn, M.A. Islamic Studies and Political Science, Univ. Bonn (1982); Ph.D. in History of South Asia, Univ. Heidelberg (1989); Venia legendi in Islamic Studies, Univ. Bamberg (1994). Visiting Professor in Islamic Studies at Univ. Bonn (1996–97); Professor for Religious Studies, University of Derby (1998–99); since February 1999 Department of Religious Studies - Islamic Studies (Islam in Europe) at the University of Erfurt. 2000-2001 Visiting Professor and Religious Studies, University of Derby.

Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, full member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Vienna;

  Projects

In the summer semester of 2003, a project group was formed at the university to take part in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York City in April 2004. The pilot project has become a regular, student-organized seminar at the university. The various groups received several awards for their participation at the conference in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

  International students

There are many good reasons to come to study in Erfurt.

• BA and MA programs with studienbegleitendem examination system
• no tuition fees (except for Continuing Studies)
• Campus university with student dormitories, canteens and cafeterias
• modern, well equipped library, six computer labs, language and self-study
• broad range of courses in German as a foreign language and three-week preparatory course for exchange students
• "Semester ticket" can use the student ID card get free public transport in and around Erfurt
• a mentoring program that brings you with German and international students and with people outside the university in touch
• manageable cost of living in a centrally located, culturally attractive and historically interesting city
• close proximity to the places of Johann Sebastian Bach and Martin Luther, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, and many other personalities

  Well-known alumni

• Martin Luther, theologist
• Ulrich von Hutten, Lutherna supporter
• Johannes Gutenberg, printer: attendance debated
• Christoph Martin Wieland, poet

  See also

• List of medieval universities
• List of universities in Germany
• Education in Germany

  External links

• Official website
• Official website of the MUN project
• Islamic Studies at the University of Erfurt

Coordinates: 50°59′26″N 11°00′39″E / 50.99056°N 11.01083°E / 50.99056; 11.01083