The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.
With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's fifth largest university and one of the foremost centers of German intellectual life. The university offers a wide range of subjects across the sciences, social sciences and the humanities. Several courses are also taught in English, including PhD programmes as well as postgraduate courses in geoinformatics, geospational technologies or information systems.
Professors and former students have won ten Leibniz Prizes, the most prestigious as well as the best-funded prize in Europe, one Fields Medal and two Nobel Prizes. The WWU has also been successful in the German government's Excellence Initiative.
History
The university has its roots in the Münster's Jesuit College (Jesuiten-Kolleg Münster), founded in 1588, and the convent of lay sisters Liebfrauen-Überwasser, founded in 1040, of which it took its seal. The convent was dissolved in 1773, so that its funds could be used to found the University of Münster on 16 April 1780.
In 1631, Pope Urban VIII and Emperor Ferdinand II issued privileges, allowing the establishment of a university in Münster. However, due to a lack of funding, they were only put to use in 1780, when the modern University of Münster was founded with four faculties: Law, Medicine, Philosophy and Theology.
In 1843, it was renamed to Royal Theological and Philosophical Academy (Königliche Theologische und Philosophische Akademie), informally Münster Academy (Akademie Münster).
The ceremony of constitution was performed by Franz Freiherr von Fürstenberg. The university received the name Westphalian Wilhelm University (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster), from Emperor Wilhelm II on 22 August 1907. In 2023 the university was renamed as the University of Münster (Universität Münster).
European degrees
1999 saw the beginning of the Bologna Process, which aimed to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher education qualifications. The Münster School of Business Administration and Economics was the first one to establish bachelor's and master's degrees.
In the winter semester 2006/2007 nearly all studies have been changed according to Bachelor/Master system. Exceptions are made in studies leading to the Staatsexamen in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and law.
Academics
Faculty of Protestant Theology
Faculty of Catholic Theology
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Economics (Muenster School of Business Administration and Economics) Faculty of Health Science (Medicine and Dental Medicine) Faculty of Educational and Social Science Institute of Communication Science (IfK) (PR, Journalism, Media Science) Faculty of Psychology and Sport Science Faculty of History/Philosophy Faculty of Philology Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science Faculty of Physics Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy Faculty of Biology Faculty of Earth Science Faculty of Music (Musikhochschule Münster)
Campus
The central library of the university is the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Münster (ULB), which is also the regional library of Westphalia. As of 2011, the library owns more than 6.2 million volumes of which 2.68 million volumes are held in the ULB, while 3.53 million volumes are held by the 146 faculty and department libraries. Of those, 47,350 are electronical articles and newspapers.