Introduction

Bielefeld University is a standard comprehensive university located in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the only comprehensive institution of higher learning in the Minden-Ravensberg region of the state. It is a new system university in the German higher education system after the introduction of the Anglo-American system.

Overview

Student size: There are about 24,888 students, including 1,817 international students, 58% undergraduates and 42% postgraduates.

Number of faculty and staff: There are about 3,000 faculty and staff, including 311 professors and lecturers and 1,570 academic staff.

History

Bielefeld University was founded in 1969, but its Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZIF) was established in 1968. The purpose of the school was to integrate the fine traditions of German universities and creative research work and teaching models. Since its establishment, it has developed into a comprehensive university with more than 20,000 students.

Establishment time

1969.

School strength

Teaching staff: There are 1,387 There are 1,100 academic staff and 1,100 administrative staff, and many professors have profound academic attainments and rich teaching experience in their respective fields.

Research achievements: Strong research strength. According to statistics from the German Science Research Council (DFG), the school's research strength ranks among the top ten in Germany, ranking first in the field of psychiatry and social sciences, fourth in the field of biomedicine, and also among the top ten in the field of continuing education. The school's Interdisciplinary Science Research Center (ZIF) is a world-renowned scientific research institution engaged in interdisciplinary collaborative research. It has organized a large number of influential research activities and academic seminars.

Discipline advantages: It has a wide range of disciplines, covering many fields such as humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and technology. It has strong teaching and scientific research capabilities in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, education, psychology, sociology, law, economics, and other disciplines. Some disciplines are well-known in Germany and even around the world.

Institutional nature

Public university.

Educational philosophy

Emphasis on "rebuilding the unity of research and teaching", requiring all professors to teach in their research fields, and is committed to closely integrating scientific research and teaching.

Focusing on interdisciplinary research, through a unique architectural layout, all departments are enclosed in a large building structure to promote exchanges and cooperation between different disciplines.

Key laboratories and disciplines

Key laboratories: It has many important research institutions, such as the Interdisciplinary Science Research Center (ZIF), the Interdisciplinary Institute for Conflict and Violence (IKG), the Biotechnology Center (CEBITEC), the Center for Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), the Institute of Cognition and Robotics (COR-LAB), the Institute of Complex System Simulation (ISS) kos) etc.

Key disciplines: outstanding performance in mathematics, biology, medicine, psychiatry and social sciences, continuing education and other fields. For example, in the 2018 World University Academic Ranking, the mathematics major ranked in the top four in Germany and between 101-150 in the world; the history major ranked 202 in the 2023 QS World History Major Ranking.

Faculty

The school has 13 colleges covering a wide range of disciplines, as follows:

College of Biology

College of Chemistry

College of History, Philosophy and Theology

College of Public Health

College of Languages ​​and Literature

College of Mathematics

College of Educational Sciences

College of Physics

College of Psychology and Physical Education

College of Law

College of Social Sciences

College of Technology

School of Business

Ranking

2025 QS World University Ranking: 1001-1200.

2024 QS World University Ranking: 951-1000.

2023 THE World University Ranking: 201-250.

2023 World University Academic Ranking: 701-800 Range.

Expenses

German public universities are usually free of tuition fees, but registration fees of about 300 euros per semester and other possible related fees are required.

Campus

Location: Located in the west of Bielefeld, adjacent to the Teutoburg Forest, it is about 10 minutes from the city center by city tram line 4, or about 15 minutes by car. It is close to Paderborn/Lippstadt Airport, about 50 kilometers southeast.

Campus facilities: The main building is a typical functional concrete structure from the 1960s, covering an area of ​​154,000 square meters, one of the largest buildings in Europe, which houses all departments, institutes and a large library. The library has a collection of more than 2.2 million books and is open all year round, from Monday to Friday 08:00-01:00, weekends and holidays 09:00-22:00, and its projects include developing tools to improve access to electronic resources, and cooperating with commercial system vendors to develop such as Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (base).