University of Gothenburg

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
University of Gothenburg
Göteborgs universitet
150px
Latin: Universitas Gothoburgensis
Motto Tradita innovare innovata tradere
Motto in English
Renew our heritage and pass it on renewed
Type Public
Established 1954 (1891)
Endowment SEK 4.785 billion (total income, 2009)[1]
Academic staff
3,230 [2]
Students 37 000 [2]
1,920[2]
Location ,
Campus urban
Colours           blue, white
Website www.gu.se

Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".

The University of Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg.

The University of Gothenburg is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities, and with 37 000 students and 6000 staff members,[3] it is also among the largest universities in the Nordic countries.

About

With its eight faculties and 38 departments, the University of Gothenburg is also one of the most wide-ranging and versatile universities in Sweden. Its eight faculties offer training in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Education, Information Technology, Business, Economics and Law, and Health Sciences.

The University of Gothenburg has the highest number of applicants per study place in many of its subjects and courses. University of Gothenburg</ref> and is therefore one of the most popular universities in Sweden.

Rankings

Gothenburg University places well in many rankings, usually among the world's best 150-200 universities:

Ranking (year) World Rank
Academic Ranking of World Universities (2014)[4] # 151-200
Web Ranking of European Universities (2013)[5] # 163
QS World University Rankings[6] (2013) # 205
Times Higher Education (2012/2013)[7] # 201-225

History

Library (Swedish: Kurs- och tidningsbibliotek)

The University of Gothenburg was founded as Göteborgs högskola (Gothenburg University College) in 1891. In 1907 it was granted the same status as Uppsala University and Lund University by the Swedish government, thus creating Sweden's third university.

Over the course of time, it has merged with a number of previously independent higher education institutions in the city and has continuously expanded its study profile. It was granted the rights of a full university by the Swedish Government in 1954, following the merger of the Göteborgs högskola (Gothenburg College) with the Medicinhögskolan i Göteborg (Gothenburg Medical School)[citation needed].

In 1971, the originally separate Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law became part of the University of Gothenburg.

Sahlgrenska University Hospital is associated with the university as a teaching hospital.

In the 1990s the School of Economics and the Academy of Music, Drama and Opera have moved to new buildings in the city centre. A new campus for the Faculty of Education (teacher training) was opened in central Gothenburg in 2006.

The University of Gothenburg is a pronounced city university, that is most of its facilities are within the city centre of Gothenburg. The main building as well as most faculties are located in the central part of Gothenburg.

Together with Uppsala, Lund, and Stockholm universities, it is one of four large international research universities in Sweden.

Structure

Management

The entrance (left) to and the auditorium (right) of the main administrative building of the university.

The University of Gothenburg is one of Sweden’s largest universities. It is a comprehensive university, organised into eight faculties and 38 departments. The University is a public authority as well as a confederation of Faculty Boards. Each faculty/school has significant autonomy based on its attributed powers, and a distinct identity within the University.

The University Board is the University’s highest decision-making body.[8] The board consists of 15 members and has "supervision over all the University’s affairs, and is responsible that its duties are fulfilled". The Swedish Government appoints seven of the members externally, based on their having experience in activities that have significance for the university’s teaching and research functions. In addition, the Vice-Chancellor, three faculty members and three students, as well as union representatives are included as ordinary members.

The day-to-day management is headed by the Vice-Chancellor, who is responsible for implementing the decisions of the board.[9] She is supported by the central administration.

Faculties

Modern architecture: Sahlgrenska Academy (left) and the reading hall of the School of Business and Law (right).
GU offers a large variety of academic disciplines, e.g. Department of Geosciences (left) and Department of Swedish Studies (right).

The university is organised into eight academic faculties.[10] Collaboration across faculty and subject boundaries is emphasised in the university's research and education strategies. All faculties takes advantage of this possibility and are active participants in a multitude of cross-disciplinary research and education activities within the framework of the university. It should also be noted that the university closely cooperates with Chalmers University of Technology, a fact that further increases the total scope of the academic environment in Gothenburg.

  • The Faculty of Education (Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten) is responsible for teacher training in various subjects.
  • The Faculty of Arts (Humanistiska fakulteten) comprises the humanities, for instance cultural studies, history, literature, history of ideas, religion, modern languages, philosophy, linguistics, theory of science and Swedish language and literature
  • The IT Faculty (IT fakulteten) offers programmes in applied information technology, computer science and engineering.
  • The Faculty of Science (Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten) covers a number of science disciplines such as botany, cell and molecular biology, physics, earth sciences, chemistry, conservation, marine ecology, mathematics, environmental science, and zoology.
  • The Sahlgrenska Academy (Sahlgrenska Akadamin) is part of the University of Gothenburg and functions as a medical school and university hospital.
  • The Faculty of Social Sciences (Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten) offers courses in peace and development studies, public administration, journalism, psychology, social anthropology, social work, sociology, political science, and European studies.

Noted people

Alumni

File:GU - Artisten.JPG
Artisten – Academy of Music and Drama
File:Lotass.jpg
Lotta Lotass, writer and member of the Swedish Academy.

Honorary degrees

The University of Gothenburg has awarded numerous honorary doctorates to public figures and excellent academics, including:

Past rectors

  • 1891 Axel Kock
  • 1891–1893 Hjalmar Edgren
  • 1893–1899 Johannes Paulson
  • 1899–1909 Johan Vising
  • 1909–1914 Ludvig Stavenow
  • 1914–1931 Otto Sylwan
  • 1931–1936 Bernhard Karlgren
  • 1936–1951 Curt Weibull
  • 1951–1966 Hjalmar Frisk
  • 1966–1972 Bo Eric Ingelmark
  • 1972–1982 Georg Lundgren
  • 1982–1986 Kjell Härnqvist
  • 1986–1992 Jan S. Nilsson
  • 1992–1997 Jan Ling
  • 1997–2003 Bo Samuelsson
  • 2003–2006 Gunnar Svedberg
  • 2006– Pam Fredman

See also

References

  1. Swedish Higher Education Authority (Högskoleverket) – Annual report 2010 (Swedish), page 106ff
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Göteborgs universitet i siffror (English). University of Gothenburg
  3. facts and figures University of Gothenburg
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.