University of Passau

University of Passau

Universität Passau
Latin:Universitas Pataviensis
Type	Public
Established	1622 1 January 1973 – as University of Passau
Budget	€ 53.7 million[1]
President	Ulrich Bartosch
Academic staff	683[2]
Administrative staff	462[2]
Students	12,631[2]
Location	Passau , Bavaria , Germany 48°34′06″N13°27′12″E / 48.56833°N 13.45333°E /48.56833; 13.45333
Campus	Urban
Colours	Orange and grey
Website	www.uni-passau.de

TheUniversity of Passau(Universität PassauinGerman) is a public researchuniversitylocated inPassau,Lower Bavaria,Germany. Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and consequently has the most modern campus in the state. Nevertheless, its roots as theInstitute for Catholic Studiesdates back to the early 17th century.

Today it is home to four faculties and 39 different undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.^[3]

The university was established on 1 January 1973 by a resolution of the Bayerischer Landtag (Bavarian State Parliament). However its history goes back to 1622 when an Institute for Catholic Studies was incorporated into theGymnasiumfounded byFürstLeopold in 1612. In 1773, the school was renamedfürstbischöfliche Akademie, highlighting its relationship to thebishop. Nevertheless, in 1803 it was downgraded to akurfürstliches Lyzeum, which meant a loss of status. After a period of abandonment, it was re-established asPassauer Lyzeum.

This lyceum grew over the years until it became a philosophical-theological university in 1923. Under the Nazi regime the university was forced to change its logo, but in 1950 a new seal was introduced, representingMarywith The Child Jesus vanquishing evil. The strong religious symbolism of this logo was considered inappropriate for the new university and replaced with a neutral logo. In 1969, the city council initiated negotiations to establish a university out of the old Faculty.

The campus of the University of Passau is probably unique in Germany. With the exception of the Department of Catholic Theology, which is in the Old Town, and a number of offices in the city centre, all faculties are situated on a single campus along a single street. This is advantageous for the internal communication of students and staff, particularly because the university offers many interdisciplinary courses. Hence, it is not uncommon for law courses to be held in the Philosophicum (Arts and Humanities building) and vice versa. The campus is stretched out along the left bank of theInn river, making it an idyllic place to study. The gardens and meadows are very popular with students in the summer.

The Nikolakloster building is the oldest building on campus, existing long before the university was established. It is also the only building that breaks with the university's otherwise modern architecture. Today, this formerconventis home to the language centre. On the opposite end of the campus are the IT Centre (ITZ) building and the sports grounds. The latest addition to the campus, inaugurated in 2014, is the Centre for Media and Communication, which houses a state-of-the-art newsroom.

The university's sports facilities include four gymnasiums, a football pitch and an athletics field with a race track.

A wide range of sports courses are offered throughout the semester and are free to staff and students, including football, volleyball, basketball, rowing, martial arts and aerobics.^[4]

The University of Passau has an award-winning refectory with a seating capacity of 560. The campus additionally has four cafeterias, which offer sandwiches, confectionery, coffee, soft drinks and – this being Bavaria – beer.

The university'scrècheis open to children of students and staff. It is unusual for a German university to haveday carefacilities, but the reasonably-priced service is well used by students with toddlers aged 1 to 3.

The library was established together with the university in 1978 and opened its doors to students and citizens of Passau the same year. The central library is the main library of the university and, together with the five faculty and institute libraries, constitutes the university's library system. Its Director is Dr Steffen Wawra. The university library currently has two million books and 3,050 journals.^[5]There are a total of 1,000 desk spaces for library users in the reading rooms, which are open 16 hours a day.

The University Executive consists of the President, Professor Ulrich Bartosch, four Vice Presidents – Professors Christina Hansen (International Affairs and Diversity), Robert Obermaier (Research), Bettina Noltenius (Studies, Teaching and Ethics), Harald Kosch (Academic Infrastructure and IT Facilities) – as well as the Commissioner for System Accreditation and Internal Integration with the Cross-Functional Task of Sustainability, Professor Werner Gamerith, Head of Administration, Dr Achim Dilling and the Deputy Head of Administration, Mr Thomas Werrlein.^[6]

The Senate is the legislative branch of the university. The president and vice presidents are senatorsex officio, as are the deans of the faculties and the university's gender equality officer.

The University of Passau has four faculties: Law; Business, Economics and Information Systems; Arts and Humanities; and Computer Science and Mathematics.

In 2010 the Department of Catholic Theology and the Chair of Philosophy became inactive for a planned 15 years, a highly controversial decision, as the academic staff of the faculty had received numerous awards in recognition of their research achievements. The Department of Catholic Theology now offers catholic religious education as a specialisation for students enrolled in one of the teacher training programmes or the M.A. programme inCaritasScience.

• Centre for European Law (CEP)
• Institute for the Didactics of Law
• Institute of International and Comparative Law
• Institute of Market and Economic Research, including:

the Centre for Market-Oriented Research in Tourism (CenTouris)

the Centre for Market Research

• Institute of Private Financial Planning (IFP)
• Institute of Applied Ethics in Business, Professional Training and in Continuing Education (ethik WAW)
• Institute of Eastern Bavaria Area Studies (IKON)
• Institute of Intercultural Communication (ink.up)
• Institute of Interdisciplinary Media Science (IFIM)
• Institute of Information Systems and Software Engineering (IFIS)
• Institute of IT Security and Security Law (ISL)
• Institute of Software Systems in Technical Applications of Computer Science (FORWISS Passau)
• Passau Institute of Digital Security (PIDS)

• Research Centre for Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings
• Research Centre for IT Law and Internet Policy
• Research Centre for Basic Research in Cultural Studies
• Research Centre for Early Modern German Literature
• Centre for Pedagogical Research
• Mathematics and Informatics Education Unit

The University of Passau is well-known beyond the borders of Bavaria and Germany for its international orientation and atmosphere. The university maintains co-operative partnerships with some 236 foreign universities in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, enabling students enrolled at the university to spend part of their studies abroad. The partner universities includeKing's Collegeand theUniversity of Stirlingin theUK, theAutonomous University of BarcelonaandAutonomous University of MadridinSpain,Lund UniversityinSweden,Texas A&M UniversityandAugustana Collegein theUnited States, theUniversidad del SalvadorinArgentina, theUniversity of Santiago, Chile, theUniversité LavalinCanada,Kyoto Sangyo UniversityinJapan,Zhejiang International Studies UniversityandBeijing Foreign Studies UniversityinChina, Thammasat University and University Chiang Mai in Thailand, Universitas Indonesia in Indonesia as well as the National University of Vietnam, theLahore University of Management SciencesinPakistan, theIndian Institute of Technology MadrasinIndiaandAmirkabir University of TechnologyinIran.

University rankings
Overall – Global & National
QSWorld[citation needed] THEWorld2024[7] 401-500 37-41 ARWUWorld[citation needed] QSEurope[citation needed] QSEmployability[citation needed] THEEmployability[citation needed]

In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankingsof 2024, the university is placed at 401-500th globally and 37-41st within the country.^[7]

The university supports a number of student groups in various fields of interest.^[8]Among them are eight political groups, two drama societies, three university orchestras, two choirs, several NGO’s groups such asAmnesty International,UnicefandAIESEC, several departments of specialised European student organisations such asYoung European Federalists,AEGEEandELSA, five societies dedicated to fostering international relations and cultural exchange, several subject-orientated groups, an association of cultural studies students, a debating society, a student-run management consulting group, and three religious student groups.

Despite the wide range of sports offered in the Sports Center of the university, there are only two teams that play at a competitive level. However, it should be kept in mind that unlike other countries, Germany does not have a long tradition of inter-university sporting competitions.^{[citation needed]}

• American Football – Passau Red Wolves
• Lacrosse Passau

Fraternitieshave a long-standing tradition in Germany's student life, although the usage of the word carries very different connotations from that in the United States. German student fraternities are traditionally linked to nationalism, sometimes combined with old-fashioned social and religious views. Such societies are usually male and involve dressing up in traditional 19th Century outfits, as well as drinking and fighting with swords.^[9]Due to controversies around some fraternities' attitudes to race, history and German identity, fraternities are a contentious issue among students.^[10]There are five fraternities in Passau:

• CorpsBudissa Leipzig
• K.St.V. Boiotro (affiliated with theKartellverband katholischer deutscher Studentenvereine)
• BurschenschaftHanseatia
• Akad. Burschenschaft Markomannia Wien (affiliated with theDeutsche Burschenschaft)
• K.D.St.V. Oeno-Danubia im (affiliated with theCartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen)

A tradition for first-year students in Passau is a welcome reception in the refectory with typical Bavarian foods:Leberkäse, BavarianPretzels(which are different from the American ones) andbeer. The welcome speeches are held by the president of the university and the mayor of Passau.

Another traditional part of Passau's student life are the Orientation Weeks, intended to acquaint new students with Passau and its university. During those weeks students are offered guided tours of the university, libraries, the city and of course the bars and clubs.

• University of Passau website(in English)
• University of Passau campus tour(in English)