University of Bamberg

The University of Bamberg (Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg) in Bamberg, Germany, specializes in the humanities, cultural studies, social sciences, economics, and applied computer science.

Campus
The university is partly housed in historical buildings in Bamberg's Old Town. These include the former Jesuit college (Theology), the former Hochzeitshaus (History), the old slaughterhouse (Earth Science), and the former fire station (Oriental Studies). The departments of Languages and Literature are partly housed in buildings which once belonged to the Kaiser-Heinrich High School. The Social Sciences and Economics department, which accommodates a large proportion of the students, are in Feldkirchenstrasse. The former ERBA cotton mill, on an island in the Regnitz, has been acquired to create student apartments in the red-brick building, as well as in an adjoining new 14,000m2 building.

Organization
The university today has four faculties:
 * Faculty of Humanities
 * Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Business Administration
 * Faculty of Human Sciences and Education
 * Faculty of Information Systems and Applied Computer Science

An agreement between Bavaria and the Vatican saw the faculty of Catholic Theology restructured as an institute which places a greater emphasis on teacher training. In 2005, the Social Work course transferred to Coburg University of Applied Sciences.

Disciplines

 * Language-based area studies, including Oriental Studies and Slavonic Studies
 * Medieval Studies; Archaeology (Prehistoric, Roman Provinces, Medieval); Cultural Heritage Conservation
 * Behavioural sciences: Sociology, Political Science, Psychology
 * Economics and Business Administration, with an emphasis on European Economics
 * Applied Computer Science

The main areas of curricular focus, to which subjects across faculties contribute, are:
 * Education and Life Planning
 * The Individual and Society
 * Languages and Cultures
 * Business and Markets

Rankings and reputation
In the 2012 Wirtschaftswoche ranking, the Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics, and Business Administration is ranked 20th in business administration (Betriebswirtschaftslehre) and 11th in economics (Volkswirtschaftslehre).

Partner universities
The University of Bamberg currently has cooperation agreements with approximately 300 academic institutions in more than 60 countries (March 2018).

The European network includes the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The University holds partnerships in Australia with the University of Sydney, in the US with Harvard University, as well as in Asia with the Chinese Xi'an Jiaotong University, the Korea University, and the Japanese Sophia University.

Johann Baptist von Spix International Professorship
The University of Bamberg created the Johann Baptist von Spix professorship in 2015. The professorship is named for an alumnus of the university and eminent biologist and ethnographer. The professorship was created in an effort to increase the institution's international scholarly collaboration. Recipients of the professorship teach a class, conduct research, provide professional development opportunities to graduate students, and offer public presentations.

Notable faculty

 * Thomas Weißer, ethics

Notable alumni

 * Lisa Badum, member of the Bundestag
 * Nabila Espanioly, Arab-Israeli clinical psychologist and activist
 * Alexander Filipović, German ethicist, focusing on media and the digital transformation
 * Meinolf Finke, German writer and poet
 * Nora-Eugenie Gomringer, German and Swiss poet and writer
 * Brigitte Mohn, German businesswoman and entrepreneur
 * Wolf-Dieter Montag, German physician, sports medicine specialist, mountain rescue doctor, and international sports administrator
 * Franz Naegele, German obstetrician
 * Ursula Reutner, German linguist
 * Andreas Röschlaub, German physician
 * Corine Schleif, professor and art historian
 * You Xie, Chinese-German politician, journalist and author