Gothenburg University
Encyclopedia
The University of Gothenburg is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg
.
The University of Gothenburg is the third-oldest Swedish university, and with 24,900 full-time students it is also among the largest universities in the Nordic countries
. With its eight faculties and 57 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.
It is a major university in Europe. In the 2010 QS World University Rankings
the university was ranked 183rd in the world. In the 2008 ARWU ranking, Gothenburg University is ranked in the 201–302 range when compared to the top 500 universities in the world.
Gothenburg University has the highest number of applicants per study place in many of its subjects and courses, and is therefore one of the most popular universities in Sweden.
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. Over the course of time, it has merged with a number of previously independent academic institutions in the city. It was granted the rights of a full university by the Swedish government in 1954, following the merger of the Göteborgs högskola with the Medicinhögskolan i Göteborg (Gothenburg Medical School), thus becoming Sweden's third-oldest university.
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.
The Faculty of Fine Applied and Performing Arts (Konstnärliga fakulteten)
The Faculty of Education (Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten)
The Faculty of Arts (Humanistiska fakulteten)
The IT Faculty (IT fakulteten)
The Faculty of Science (Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten)
The Sahlgrenska Academy (Shalgrenska Akadamien)
The School of Business, Economics and Law (Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet)
The Faculty of Social Sciences (Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten)
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
.
Character
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
. With its eight faculties and 57 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.
It is a major university in Europe. In the 2010 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
the university was ranked 183rd in the world. In the 2008 ARWU ranking, Gothenburg University is ranked in the 201–302 range when compared to the top 500 universities in the world.
Gothenburg University has the highest number of applicants per study place in many of its subjects and courses, and is therefore one of the most popular universities in Sweden.
History
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
and Lund University
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
by the Swedish government. Over the course of time, it has merged with a number of previously independent academic institutions in the city. It was granted the rights of a full university by the Swedish government in 1954, following the merger of the Göteborgs högskola with the Medicinhögskolan i Göteborg (Gothenburg Medical School), thus becoming Sweden's third-oldest university.
In 1971, the originally separate Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law
Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law
The Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg is a business school in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded in 1923 as an independent business college and is situated in the centre of the city, between the districts Vasastaden and Haga...
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
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
. The main building as well as most faculties are located in the central part of Gothenburg.
Organization
The university is organised into several academic faculties.- Art educationArt educationArt education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...
- design and crafts
- film school
- literary composition
- photography
- scene and music
- Göteborg Organ Art Center
- Valand School of Fine ArtsValand School of Fine ArtsThe Valand School of Fine Arts , usually called Valand, is a School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded as the Gothenburg Drawing School in 1865 and has been part of the University of Gothenburg since 1977. The school is situated in central Gothenburg.Approximately 90 students study...
The Faculty of Education (Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten)
- Teacher training
- HumanitiesHumanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
- cultural studies
- history
- literature, history of ideas, religion
- modern languages
- philosophy, linguistics, theory of science
- Swedish
The IT Faculty (IT fakulteten)
- Computer sciencesComputer SciencesComputer Sciences can refer to:*The general field of computer science*Computer Sciences Corporation, the Fortune 500 Information Technology company...
- applied information technology
- computer science and engineering
The Faculty of Science (Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten)
- Natural scienceNatural scienceThe natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
and Formal scienceFormal scienceThe formal sciences are the branches of knowledge that are concerned with formal systems, such as logic, mathematics, theoretical computer science, information theory, systems theory, decision theory, statistics, and some aspects of linguistics....
- botany
- cell and molecular biology
- physics
- earth sciences
- chemistry
- kulturvård
- marine ecology
- mathematics
- environmental science
- zoology
The Sahlgrenska Academy (Shalgrenska Akadamien)
- Health science education and medical schoolMedical schoolA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
- Medicine
- Odontology
- Health and Care Sciences
- Business schoolBusiness schoolA business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
and law schoolLaw schoolA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
- economics
- business administration
- law
- cultural geography
- national economy and statistics
The Faculty of Social Sciences (Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten)
- Social SciencesSocial sciencesSocial science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
- peace and development studies
- public administration
- journalism and mass communication
- psychology
- social anthropology
- social work
- sociology
- political science
- European studies
Alumni
- Percy BarnevikPercy BarnevikPercy Nils Barnevik is a Swedish business executive, best known as CEO and later Chairman of Asea Brown Boveri 1988–2002, and for being the centre of a giant pension dispute that shook Sweden in 2003.-Background:...
, industry leader, former CEO of Asea Brown BoveriAsea Brown BoveriABB is a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, and best known for its robotics. ABB operates mainly in the power and automation technology areas. It ranked 143rd in Forbes Ranking .... - Nick BostromNick BostromNick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
, eminent philosopher and futurist and Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University - Magnus CarlssonMagnus CarlssonLars Magnus Carlsson is a Swedish singer and former member of the bands Alcazar and Barbados.- Early life :Magnus Carlsson grew up in Fristad, outside Borås...
, singer - Jan EliassonJan EliassonJan Kenneth Eliasson is a Swedish diplomat and Social Democratic politician.- Biography :Jan Eliasson was born in a working-class family in Gothenburg. He was an AFS exchange student in Indiana, United States, from 1957 to 1958 and was commissioned reserve officer after military training at the...
, diplomat and politician (former President of the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden) - Carl Henrik FredrikssonCarl Henrik FredrikssonCarl Henrik Fredriksson is a Swedish literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator living in Vienna, Austria. He is the editor-in-chief of the European cultural journals network Eurozine, which he co-founded in 1998...
, Swedish literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator - Håkan HellströmHåkan HellströmHåkan Hellström is a Swedish musician. He got his Swedish breakthrough in the year 2000 with the song "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg"...
, Swedish singer and musician. - Cecilia MalmströmCecilia MalmströmAnna Cecilia Malmström is a Swedish politician currently serving as European Commissioner for Home Affairs in the Barroso Commission...
, politician (European CommissionerEuropean CommissionerA European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each Member within the college holds a specific portfolio and are led by the President of the European Commission...
) - Njuguna NdunguNjuguna NdunguProf. Njuguna S. Ndung'u is the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya. Prof Ndung'u is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Nairobi and holds a PhD in economics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and master's and bachelor's degrees in economics from the University of...
, economist, Governor and Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of KenyaCentral Bank of KenyaThe Central Bank of Kenya is Kenya's central bank. The bank is located in Nairobi. The current governor of the bank is Professor Njuguna Ndungu whose appointment took effect from March 4, 2007... - Susanna RoxmanSusanna RoxmanSusanna Roxman Susanna Roxman is an Anglophone writer, poet and critic born in Stockholm; her father’s family is Scottish. She was considered a gifted child. Her first few books were written in Swedish, but she switched over to English as her professional language...
, Anglophone poet and critic. - Maria WetterstrandMaria WetterstrandIngrid Maria Wetterstrand is a Swedish politician. Between 2002-2011 she was one of the spokespersons of the Green Party alongside with Peter Eriksson...
, politician (Green PartyGreen Party (Sweden)-External links:**...
) - Shaykh Muhammad al-Ya’qoubiMuhammad al-Ya’qoubiSayyid Muhammad Abul Huda al-Ya’qoubi is an Islamic scholar and murshid.-Background:Muhammad al-Ya’qoubi was born in Damascus, Syria. He is the son of Ibrahim al-Ya’qoubi a scholar and former Imam of Grand Omayyad Mosque. He is also a sayyid where his family lineage can be traced back to Islamic...
, a well-renowned Syrian islamic scholar.
Staff
- Sture AllénSture AllénSture Allén is a Swedish retired professor of computational linguistics at the University of Gothenburg, who was the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy between 1986 and 1999. He was elected to chair 3 of the Swedish Academy in 1980. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and...
, computer linguist, former permanent secretary of the Swedish AcademySwedish AcademyThe Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"... - Arvid CarlssonArvid CarlssonArvid Carlsson is a Swedish scientist who is best known for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson's disease...
, Nobel Prize laureateLaureateIn English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary or military glory. It is also used for winners of the Nobel Prize.-History:...
in Medicine, 2000 - Ernst CassirerErnst CassirerErnst Cassirer was a German philosopher. He was one of the major figures in the development of philosophical idealism in the first half of the 20th century...
, philosopher - Åke EdwardsonÅke EdwardsonÅke Edwardson is a Swedish author of detective fiction, and was previously a lecturer in journalism at Gothenburg University, the city where many of his Inspector Winter novels are set...
, author (used to teach Journalism) - Gunnar D Hansson, Swedish author
- Bernhard KarlgrenBernhard KarlgrenKlas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods...
, sinologist - Lotta LotassLotta LotassBritt Inger Liselott Lotass, better known as Lotta Lotass, is a Swedish writer. She holds a PhD of Comparative literature from the University of Gothenburg, and lives in Gothenburg, Sweden....
, writer and literary scholar (Member of the Swedish AcademySwedish AcademyThe Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
) - Erik LönnrothErik LönnrothErik Lönnroth was one of the most notable Swedish historians of the 20th century. He was a life member of the Swedish Academy from 1962 and member of various faculties.-Background:...
, historian (Member of the Swedish AcademySwedish AcademyThe Swedish Academy , founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden.-History:The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members. The motto of the Academy is "Talent and Taste"...
) - Bo RothsteinBo RothsteinBo Rothstein is an internationally acclaimed Swedish political scientist who holds the August Röhss Chair in Political Science at , Sweden. The August Röhss Chair was established in 1902 by a generous donation from August Röhss, a leading merchant in Gothenburg.Bo Rothstein was born in Malmö,...
, political scientist - Jens AllwoodJens AllwoodJens Allwood is a professor of linguistics at the University of Gothenburg and Head of SCCIIL - Interdisciplinary center, University of Gothenburg.Jens Allwood is since 1986 professor of Linguistics at Göteborg University...
, Linguist
Honorary degrees
The University of Gothenburg has awarded numerous honorary doctorates to public figures and excellent academics, including:- Vigdís FinnbogadóttirVigdís FinnbogadóttirVigdís Finnbogadóttir is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1980 to 1996. In addition to being both Iceland's and Europe's first female president, she was the world's first democratically elected female head of state...
, President of IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
1980–1996 (honorary doctorate 1990) - Hillary Clinton, politician (honorary doctorate, 2007)
- David CoxDavid Cox (statistician)Sir David Roxbee Cox FRS is a prominent British statistician.-Early years:Cox studied mathematics at St. John's College, Cambridge and obtained his PhD from the University of Leeds in 1949, advised by Henry Daniels and Bernard Welch.-Career:He was employed from 1944 to 1946 at the Royal Aircraft...
, statistician (honorary docatorate 2007) - Linda HaasLinda HaasLinda Haas is an American sociologist. She is Professor of Sociology at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is also Adjunct Professor of Women’s Studies at the same university...
, sociologist
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 KarlgrenBernhard KarlgrenKlas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods...
- 1936–1951 Curt WeibullCurt WeibullCurt Weibull was a Swedish historian, educator and author.-Biography:Curt Hugo Johannes Weibull was born in Lund, Sweden. He was a member of the noted Swedish Weibull family. He was the son of history professor Martin Weibull and the brother of Lauritz Weibull, Alexander Weibull, Julius Oscar...
- 1951–1966 Hjalmar FriskHjalmar FriskHjalmar Frisk was a Swedish linguist in Indo-European studies and rector of Göteborg University 1951-1966..His most noted work was the three-volume "Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch" written in years 1954 - 1972 and published in Heidelberg..In 1968, he became a member of the Royal Swedish...
- 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 SvedbergGunnar SvedbergProfessor Gunnar Svedberg was the Rector of the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden.Svedberg studied at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and received a Ph.D. in chemical engineering in 1975. He became a full professor at the KTH in 1989...
- 2006– Pam Fredman
See also
- Chalmers University of TechnologyChalmers University of TechnologyChalmers University of Technology , is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture.-History:...
- GOArtGOArtGOArt is a research center based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The institute conducts research in organ building and organ performance from a wide variety of angles....
- List of universities in Sweden
- Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in GothenburgRoyal Society of Sciences and Letters in GothenburgThe Royal Society of Sciences and Letters in Gothenburg or Kungl. Vetenskaps- och Vitterhetssamhället i Göteborg is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. It was founded in the 1760s in Gothenburg, and given Royal Charter in 1778 by Gustav III of Sweden....