University of Luxembourg
Encyclopedia
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, founded on 13 August 2003. Prior to that, there were several higher educational institutions such as the cour universitaire or the IST that offered one or two years of academic studies. Luxembourgish students had to go abroad in order to complete their studies at a university (usually to Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom). The new university makes it possible for these students to complete their studies in their own country, as well as attract foreign academic interest to Luxembourg.
The University is currently divided into three Campuses, namely:
- Campus Limpertsberg hosting the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance and parts of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication as well as the central administration units of the University
- Campus Kirchberg hosting further parts of the Faculty of Science, Technology and Communications
- Campus WalferdangeWalferdange CastleWalferdange Castle , located in the small town of Walferdange in central Luxembourg, dates from 1824 when William I of the Netherlands who was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg built it as a stud farm. It is now part of the University of Luxembourg.-History:...
hosting the Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education
By the finalisation of the House of Knowledge (Maison du Savoir), the University and all its Faculties plan on relocating to the restructured Campus in Esch-Belval, south of the capital.
Like Luxembourg itself, the studies at the University of Luxembourg are characterised by their multilingualism. Courses are usually held in two languages: French/English, French/German, or English/German.
Studies
The study programme is set up in the Bologna System and oriented towards the interest of young people and the needs of the employment market. Currently, students may choose between eleven BachelorBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and 23 Master degrees
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
.
- The Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication offers Bachelor majors in sciences, engineering, computer science and life sciences – with a great choice of minors, and Master degrees in Information & Computer Sciences, Integrated Systems Biology, Sustainable development, Engineering Sciences, Mathematics and a European Master in Small Animal Veterinary Science. The faculty also offers a specific training in general medicine.
- The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance organises undergraduate courses in law, economics, management, and IT management. Their Masters specialise in European Law, Financial Economics, Banking and Finance, Security Management of Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
- Bachelor studies in the Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education are in European culture with a variety of minor subject such as history; in psychology as well as social and educational sciences. Master studies include Contemporary European History, Psychology, Mediation, Gerontology, Cross-border Communication and Co-operation, Philosophy, Spatial Development and Analysis, and a Master in Learning and Development in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts and Language Culture and Media – Luxembourgish studies, a new Master in European Governance and a Master within the "Erasmus mundus" programme in German and French Philosophy in the European region.
In order to strengthen the intercultural competences and to enhance personal expertise, many study programmes require an obligatory semester abroad. Here, the University of Luxembourg closely collaborates with many Universities from all over the world, amongst others with:
Europe
- Universität Basel
- Universität Trier
- Université de Liège
- Université de Paris I
- Università di Bologna
- Sophia UniversitySophia UniversityThere are several rankings below related to Sophia University.-General Rankings:The university was ranked 61st in 2010 in the ranking Truly Strong Universities by Toyo Keizai...
Americas
- Université LavalUniversité LavalLaval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
- Colorado State UniversityColorado State UniversityColorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
- Miami UniversityMiami UniversityMiami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
- University of OttawaUniversity of OttawaThe University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
Asia
- Tongji UniversityTongji UniversityTongji University , colloquially known as Tongji , located in Shanghai, has more than 30,000 students and 8,000 staff members . It offers degree programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels...
Research
Research plays a key role in the development of the University of Luxembourg. The research model chosen by the institution is that of focusing on a limited number of scientific areas classified in priorities. Hence, the university favours, until the year 2013, the following five high priority research areas not only for research itself but also for the Masters' and Doctorates' courses:- International Finance
- Security, Reliability and Trust in Information Technology
- Systems BiomedicineLuxembourg Centre for Systems BiomedicineThe Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine is one of two interdisciplinary research centres at the University of Luxembourg. The LCSB is now based at its brand-new, purpose-built facility in Esch-Belval which was officially opened in September 2011.-Research:LCSB research involves the fields...
- European and business law
- Education and Learning in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts
Other main research fields are:
- Interface-induced properties of condensed matter
- Luxembourg studies
- Environmental resources, technologies and changes
- Economy and entrepreneurship
- Social and individual development
- Mathematics
- European Governance
Size
With the beginning of the academic year 2010/2011, the University of Luxembourg has approximately 5,000 students originating from roughly 95 countries and 171 lecturers originating from 20 countries. About six years after the foundation, the winter semester 2010/2011 saw a growth of about five percent more students than the previous year.The enrolment fees are generally 200 euros per semester. Enrolment for the winter semester is open from July to September and for the summer semester from January to February.
History
The University of Luxembourg is the first university in the country, yet there have a number of previous institutions that provided research and education on an academic basis.Prior tho the university, there has been the Centre Universitaire du Luxembourg (CUNLUX) consisting of a department of arts and humanities (Département des Lettres & des Sciences Humaines), a department of philosophy, a department of ancient history, one for medieval history, another for modern history and one for contemporary history. In addition there have been a socio-scientific department "(ISIS - Interdépendances des Sociétés, Interaction des Science)", a centre for francophone studies (CERF - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Francophones), a linguistics department as well as an English department and an American Studies Center.
Furthermore, there was a centre for the formation of teachers for the Luxemburg school system (ISERP - Institut Supérieur d'Etudes et de Recherches Pédagogiques) in Walferdange, located on the current campus site. Another institute trained graduate educators (IEES -Institut d'études éducatives et sociales), while there was also an institute for the technological formation of students (IST - Institut Supérieur de technologies).
On October 10, 2003 the University of Luxembourg was founded following the law of August 12, 2003. The first rector of the institution was the French-Canadian Prof. François Tavenas (1942–2004) who was followed by the current rector, Prof. Rolf Tarrach (*1948).