University of Basel
| University of Basel | |
|---|---|
| Universität Basel | |
 Old University Basel |
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| Latin: Universitas Basiliensis | |
| Established | 1460 |
| Type | Public |
| Students | 11,360 |
| Location | Basel, Basel-City, Switzerland 47°33′31″N 7°35′01″E / 47.55858°N 7.58360°ECoordinates: 47°33′31″N 7°35′01″E / 47.55858°N 7.58360°E |
| Website | www.unibas.ch |
The University of Basel (German: Universität Basel) is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of the leading universities in the country. In 2011, QS World University Rankings[1] ranked the university 151st overall in the world, while a year before it was ranked 96–98th worldwide according to the Russian based Global University Ranking.[2]
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History [edit]
Founded in 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university.
Erasmus, Paracelsus, Daniel Bernoulli, Jacob Burckhardt, Leonhard Euler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eugen Huber, Carl Jung, Karl Barth, Hermann Peter,[3] and Hans Urs von Balthasar are among those associated with the university.
The University of Basel was founded in connection with the Council of Basel. The deed of foundation given in the form of a Papal bull by Pope Pius II on November 12, 1459, and the official opening ceremony was held on April 4, 1460. Originally the University of Basel was decreed to have four faculties - arts, medicine, theology and jurisprudence. The faculty of arts served until 1818 as foundation for the other three academic subjects. In the eighteenth century as Basel became more commercial, the university, one of the centers of learning in the Renaissance, slipped into insignificance. Enrollment which had been over a thousand around 1600, dropped to sixty in 1785 with eighteen professors. The professors themselves were mostly sons of the elite.[4]
Over the course of centuries as many scholars came to the city, Basel became an early center of book printing and humanism. Around the same time as the university itself, the University Library of Basel was founded. Today it has over three million books and writings and is the largest library in Switzerland.
In 1830 the Canton of Basel split in two with the Federal Diet requiring that the canton's assets, including the books at the University library, be divided—two thirds going to the new half canton of Basel-Landschaft. The city, Basel-Stadt, had to buy back this share and the university became so impoverished that it drastically reduced its course offerings. Students were expected to continue their education after two years or so at a German university. In 1835 the enrollment at the university was forty students, mostly from the area.[4]
At the end of the 1990s the University entered a period of crisis; the management of the University was strongly criticized; Vice-Rector Gian-Reto Plattner wrote that "when no solution is found, the University must be closed. That would be more honest than allowing it to sink to the level of a simple college."[5]
Organization [edit]
Faculties [edit]
- Theology[6]
- Law[7]
- Medicine[8]
- Faculty of Humanities (Phil I)[9]
- Faculty of Science (Phil II)[10]
- Business and Economy[11]
- Psychology[12]
- Interdisciplinary institutions
- Associated institutes
- Swiss Tropical Institute [5]
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI)[15]
Student associations [edit]
- Fachgruppen
- Dings-Shop Dings Shop
- Shop for office materials for students
- Universitätssport Universitätssport Basel
- Organizing sport events and trainings for students
- SKUBA: Studentische Körperschaft der Universität Basel Skuba Home
- Calcutta Project Basel Calcutta Project Basel
- International co-operation by students from Basel in India, Kolkata
- GeZetera GeZetera
- Newspaper made by students for students
The Biozentrum [edit]
The Biozentrum is a Department of the university.[19] It is a research institute, covering the research areas of biochemistry, biophysical chemistry, microbiology, structural biology, and cell biology of the faculty of natural sciences, as well as the areas of pharmacology and neurobiology of the medical faculty. In 2001, the new fields of bioinformatics, genomics & proteomics, and a nanosciences branch were been introduced. A second building has been constructed next to the Biozentrum which was inaugurated in fall 2000, the “Pharmazentrum”. It hosts some Biozentrum research groups, including the bioinformatics unit and Applied Microbiology as well as the Zoological Institute of the Basel University.
At the end of the 1990s the Biozentrum entered a period of crisis; it was criticized for a lack of disciplinary variety (although that had been one of the founding inspirations), the lack of collegiality, and a desire to follow the mainstream rather than pioneering new directions.[20]
The staff [edit]
About 430 people are employed at the Biozentrum. More than half of them stay between one and five years only, for different reasons: about 120 are postdocs, independent scientists, grant holders and assistant professors (1 – 5 years), about 80 are PhD students (3 – 4 years) and 50 are diploma students (undergraduate students in their 4th year of studies). More than 80 persons occupy technical positions or work in the administration, about 70 are laboratory technicians, and about 30 tenured professors work in groups with up to 20 members. The institute has about 40 new students every year.
Notable alumni [edit]
- Emil Abderhalden (1877–1950), Swiss biochemist and physiologist
- Paul Erdman (1932–2007), American business and financial writer
- Carl Jung (1875–1961), Swiss psychiatrist, and founder of Analytical Psychology
- Michael Landmann (1913–84), Swiss philosopher
- Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903–94), Israeli public intellectual and polymath
- Alice Miller, psychologist and author
- William Theilheimer (1914–2005), German scientist
- Paul van Buren (1924–98), American Christian theologian and author
- Iona Yakir (1896–1937), Red Army commander
Teaching and education – studying at the Biozentrum [edit]
The special aspect of the Biozentrum is that the studies in biology at the university are passed "live" in a research institute. The advantage is that from the beginning on, the students are involved in an authentic research environment. From their first day on, they experience the every day life of a research scientist. They gain theoretical knowledge, but at the same time learn how to set up experimental methods, and gather practical experience through active research work. The biological research studies are split up into three steps:
- Basic studies: With the establishment of the new bachelor/master-concept ("Bologna-model"), the university joins an internationally accepted model. Studies leading to the diploma last about 4 years. The last year consists of practical diploma work in a research group.
- PhD studies require original research that normally takes 3 – 4 years. Each year, about 25 students graduate with a doctorate. Roughly the same number carry out their PhD work at other Basel institutions, mentored by Biozentrum scientists. These institutions can be the Friedrich Miescher Institute, the Research Department of the Kantonsspital (cantonal hospital) or a research laboratory in the industry.
- Postdoctoral studies: After graduation, young scientists usually spend some years in research groups in foreign countries to enlarge their knowledge and expand their horizons. In turn, many postdocs from all over the world spend time at the Biozentrum.
See also [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: University of Basel |
- List of largest universities by enrollment in Switzerland
- List of medieval universities
- Basel University Library
- myScience.ch – The Swiss Portal for Research and Innovation
- Bonjour, Edgar, Die Universität Basel von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart 1460-1960 (Basel : Helbing und Lichtenhahn, 1971)
References [edit]
- ^ "QS World University Rankings". Topuniversities. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "globaluniversitiesranking.org". globaluniversitiesranking.org. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ Borchardt, Frank L. (1966). "The Topos of Critical Rejection in the Renaissance". Modern Language Notes 81 (4): 476–88.
- ^ a b Grossman, Lionel, Basel in the age of Burckhardt (Chicago, 2000) p.35, and note 20; p.118
- ^ Plattner, Gian-Reto. Basler Zeitung, 29 August 2000, pp. 3–4
- ^ "Theologische Fakultät". Pages.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Juristische Fakultät Universität Basel". Ius.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Webseite der Medizinischen Fakultät Basel". Medizin.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät". Philhist.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Philosophisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät". Philnat.unibas.ch. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "WWZ: Home". Wwz.unibas.ch. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Fakultät für Psychologie". Psycho.unibas.ch. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ Europainstitut der Universitat Basel
- ^ "MGU - home". Programm-mgu.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.fmi.ch/
- ^ "Willkommen auf der Homepage der FG Informatik". Fg-informatik.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Fachgruppe 14 – Uni Basel". Pages.unibas.ch. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "FG Computational Sciences". Fg-cosci.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Biozentrum, University of Basel". Biozentrum.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ Ramsden, Jeremy. Ist die biologische Forschung an der Uni Basel zu retten? Basler Zeitung, 29 August 2000, p. 4
External links [edit]
- Official Website of the university
- History website of the university
- Swiss Tropical Institute – an associated institute of the university – travel and tropical medicine, international health, medical parasitology and the biology of infection, public health and epidemiology.
- Information about the university
- Studierendenstatistik der Universität Basel
- University Rankings – University of Basel(2008)
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