University of Bern

The University of Bern (German:

Universität Bern, French: Université de
Berne, Latin: Universitas Bernensis) is a
university in the Swiss capital of Bern
and was founded in 1834.[4][5] It is
regulated and financed by the Canton of
Bern. It is a comprehensive university
offering a broad choice of courses and
programs in eight faculties and some
150 institutes.[6] With around 18,576
students,[7] the University of Bern is the
third biggest University in Switzerland.[8]
 University of Bern
Universität Bern

Latin: Universitas Bernensis

Type Public (cantonal)

Established 1834

Budget CHF 918 million

(third-party funds:
CHF 351 million)[1]

Rector Christian Leumann[2]

Administrative staff 7,357 (578

professors)

Students 18'576 (female

enrollment: 57%) [3]

Address Universität Bern, CH-

3012 Bern,
 Switzerland, Bern,

Affiliations Bern,
Guild Switzerland
of European
Research-Intensive
Universities

Website www.unibe.ch/eng/

Organization
academic year students[3]

2014/2015 17‘428

2015/2016 17‘430

2016/2017 17'514

2017/2018 17'882

2018/2019 18'019

2019/2020 18'576

The University of Bern operates at three

levels: university, faculties and institutes.
Other organizational units include
interfaculty and general university units.
The university's highest governing body
is the Senate, which is responsible for
issuing statutes, rules and regulations.
Directly answerable to the Senate is the
University Board of Directors, the
governing body for university
management and coordination. The
Board comprises the Rector, the Vice-
Rectors and the Administrative Director.
The structures and functions of the
University Board of Directors and the
other organizational units are regulated
by the Universities Act.[9] The University
of Bern had 18,576 students in 2019. Of
these, 42 percent (7,799) were registered
in bachelor programs and 25 percent
(4,611) in master's programs, 17 percent
(3,096) were doctoral students, and
another 16 percent were enrolled in
continuing education programs. [3] There
were 1,534 bachelor's degree graduation,
1,570 master's degree graduations and
637 PhD student graduations in 2019.[10]
For some time now, the university has
had more female than male students. At
the end of 2019, women accounted for
57% of students.[3]

Physical environment[11]
Main building of the University of Bern

The University of Bern does not have a

single large campus on the edge of the
city, but has consistently pursued the
principle of a university in the city. Most
institutes and clinics are still in the
Länggasse, the traditional university
district adjoining the city centre, within
walking distance of one another. The
Faculty of Theology and various
institutes in the Faculty of Humanities
are now housed in an old chocolate
factory (the Unitobler), and in 2005 the
former women's hospital was refurbished
to serve as a university centre for
institutes in the Faculty of Law and
Department of Economics (the UniS).[12]
The vonRoll site, another former factory
building, is in the process of being
refurbished to house the Faculty of
Human Sciences and the Department of
Social Sciences.

History[4][5]

Early history: Collegiate school

and academy (1500–1834)
…

The roots of the University of Bern go

back to the sixteenth century, when, as a
consequence of the Reformation, a
collegiate school was needed to train
new pastors. As part of its reorganization
of higher education, the government of
Bern transformed the existing theological
college into an academy with four
faculties in 1805. Henceforth, it was
possible to study not only theology in
Bern, but also law and medicine.

The old university: New beginning

and development (1834–1900)
…

As in other countries of Europe,

nineteenth century politics in Switzerland
were dominated by the struggle between
conservative and liberal currents. The
liberals gained control of the Canton of
Bern in 1831 and in 1834 turned the
academy into a university, with an
academic staff of 45 to teach 167
students. Owing to the political situation,
it was not until the promulgation of the
federal constitution in 1848 that the
university was able to embark on a
period of peaceful development.
Between 1885 and 1900, the number of
students doubled from 500 to 1,000. As a
result, at the turn of the twentieth century
the University of Bern was the largest
university in Switzerland. This rapid
growth reflected the university's
attraction for foreign students, in
particular Germans and Russians, who
accounted for half of the total enrolment.
It was also Russian female students who
in the 1870s won the right for women to
study.
The new university: New building
and consolidation (1900–1950)
…

With the growing prosperity of the city of

Bern, the university in the Länggasse
quarter expanded at the end of the 19th
century. In 1903, a new Main Building
was inaugurated on the Grosse Schanze
and the number of faculties increased. In
1908–09, three prominent persons put
the University of Bern in the limelight. In
1908, Albert Einstein taught the first of
three semesters of theoretical physics.
The following year, Anna Tumarkin, a
Russian philosopher, was appointed to
an extraordinary professorship and thus
became the first female professor at a
European university entitled to examine
doctoral and post-doctoral theses. Also
in 1909, Theodor Kocher, a Bernese
surgeon, was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Medicine. In the following years the
university consolidated its position as a
small centre of higher learning with a
stable enrollment of about 2,000
students.

The modern university: Expansion

and reorganization (1950–2000)
…

After World War II, a growing number of

voices called for the expansion of tertiary
education in Switzerland. The rapid
growth in the 1950s and 1960s
(enrolment at the University of Bern had
already reached 5,000 in 1968) –
generated pressure for expansion. The
completely revised University Act of 1996
transformed the University of Bern from
an administrative division of the
Department of Education of the Canton
of Bern into an autonomous institution. a
legal entity in its own right. The Act
clearly defined the competencies of the
university and of the state. The university
passed another milestone in 1992, when
its enrolment reached 10,000.

The university today: Bologna

Reform and restructuring (since …

2000)
The Bologna Declaration ushered in the
era of ECTS credits and the bachelor's
and master's degree structure. The
university set strategic research
priorities, such as climate research, and
promoted inter-university cooperation. At
the same time, the university reorganized
its faculties. With the amendment to the
University Act in summer 2010, the
University Board of Directors acquired
the right to choose its own ordinary
professors and keep its own accounts
separate from the state. The University
Board of Directors formulated a strategy
in 2013, that builds on the previous
strategy of 2006, the 2012 mission
statement and the performance mandate
for the University from the Cantonal
Government.[13]

Structure[14][1]

Faculties …

Entrance to the Botanic Garden

The University of Bern has eight faculties:

Theology
Law
 Business, Economics and Social
Sciences
Medicine
Veterinary Medicine (Vetsuisse)
Humanities
Science
Human Sciences

The medical faculties of the Universities

of Bern and Basel have formed a
strategic alliance in the fields of cardiac
surgery, neurosurgery, pathology and
microbiology. The Vetsuisse Faculty was
created in 2006 through the merger of
the Faculties of veterinary medicine of
the Universities of Bern and Zurich. The
Humanities Faculty is comparable to the
arts and sciences departments of
American universities and offers majors
in the three areas of art and culture,
archaeology and history, and languages
and literature. The Faculty of Science
focuses on the natural and life sciences.
The Human Sciences Faculty was
founded in 2005 and offers study
programmes in education, sports and
psychology.

General university institutions …

There are four general institutions

associated with the University of Bern:

Collegium generale (CG)

 Forum for University and Society
(Forum für Universität und
Gesellschaft, FUG)
Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender
Studies (Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für
Geschlechterforschung, IZFG)
Centre for Continuing University
Education (Zentrum für universitäre
Weiterbildung, ZUW)

The function of these general university

institutions is to promote dialogue
between students in different disciplines
and faculties through interdisciplinary
events for academic staff and students.
The Centre for Continuing University
Education (ZUW) focuses on scientific
further education. The selection of topics
in the ZUW programmes ranges from
public administration through dentistry to
spiritual guidance. In addition, the
University of Bern has also taken the lead
in the German-speaking world in creating
a number of novel study programmes, for
instance Evaluation.[15]

Interdisciplinary centres[16] …

Ice core of the OCCR for climate reconstruction,

2006
The university has defined specific
focuses of research as strategic and has
established interdisciplinary centres of
excellence for these that pursue an
interdisciplinary approach to research
and teaching. For example, the
biomedical engineering programmes of
the Artificial Organ (ARTORG) Center for
Biomedical Engineering Research and
the Public Management and Policy
programme of the Center of Competence
for Public Management (CCPM).

There are 11 interdisciplinary centres at

the University of Berne:
Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental
Physics
ARTORG Center for Biomedical
Engineering Research
Bern Center for Precision Medicine
(BCPM)
Centre for Development and
Environment (CDE)
Center for Global Studies (CGS)
Center for Regional Economic
Development CRED
Center for Space and Habitability
(CSH)
Center for the Study of Language and
Society (CSLS)
 Center of Competence for Public
Management
Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender
Studies
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change
Research (OCCR)
World Trade Institute (WTI)

A number of the University's centers of

excellence focus on the challenges of
sustainability. The Centre for
Development and Environment (CDE)
manages research programmes in the
field of sustainable development,
focusing on its particular areas of
expertise in integrated regional
development and natural resource
management. The World Trade Institute
(WTI) manages research, education, and
outreach focused on global economic
governance, including global
sustainability policy. The Oeschger
Centre for Climate Change Research
(OCCR) is at the forefront of international
research on climate science and policy,
and its researchers have participated as
co-chair, coordinating lead authors or
lead authors in all the assessment
reports so far published by the IPCC.[17]

The Center for Space and Habitability

(CSH) leads the European CHEOPS
(CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite)
project. CHEOPS is a planned European
space telescope for the study of the
formation of extrasolar planets, with a
launch window in October to November
2019.

Several of the centers offer specialized

graduate programmes. For example: the
biomedical engineering programmes of
the Artificial Organ (ARTORG) Center for
Biomedical Engineering Research; the
Public Management and Policy
programme of the Center of Competence
for Public Management (CCPM); the WTI
(offering MAS, LLM, and PhD programs in
international economics and economic
law);[18] and the OCCR graduate school
(offersing an MSc and a PhD program in
Climate Sciences, as well as a Swiss
Climate Summer School).[19]

Academic Programs[20] …

Steel container for the Rosetta mission of the ESA,

2009.

As a comprehensive university, Bern

covers a wide range of classical
university courses in some 39 bachelor,
71 master and 69 advanced study
programs. The Physics Institute
contributed to the first flight to the moon
and still carries out experiments and
provides apparatus for NASA and ESA
space missions on a regular basis.[21][22]

In addition to the classical disciplines,

the University of Bern has also
established programmes in newer ones
such as sports science and theatre
studies. It is the only institution in
Switzerland with a theatre studies course
that enables students to major in dance
in their master program.[23] The Graduate
Schools for doctoral candidates offer
further-reaching programmes that are
closely linked to the University's research
priorities in the fields of climate science,
health care and penal law and
criminology.[24]

Notable people

Professors …

A number of professors at the University

of Bern were pioneers in their field. The
Russian-born Anna Tumarkin was the
first female professor in Europe with the
right to examine doctoral and post-
doctoral students. The physician Gabriel
Gustav Valentin was the first Jewish
professor to be elected to a chair at a
German-speaking university. Theodor
Oskar Rubeli was co-responsible for
founding the first faculty of veterinary
medicine in the world. Finally, the ice
core analyses of physicist Hans
Oeschger played a pioneering role in the
development of climate research. Other
notable academics at the University of
Bern include (by faculty):

Theology

Eduard Herzog, Ulrich Luz, Adolf

Schlatter, Lukas Vischer, Eduard Zeller

Law

Carl Hilty, Eugen Huber

Medicine
Jakob Klaesi, Emil Theodor Kocher, Hugo
Kronecker, Theodor Langhans, Ludwig
Lichtheim, Maurice Edmond Müller, Fritz
de Quervain, Hermann Sahli, Gabriel
Gustav Valentin, Esther Fischer-
Homberger

Humanities

Andreas Alföldi, Elisabeth Ettlinger, Carl

Heinrich Wilhelm Hagen, Julius Pokorny,
Ignaz Paul Vitalis Troxler, Anna Tumarkin,
Hermann Usener, George van Driem

Natural sciences

Albert Einstein, Heinrich Greinacher,

Hans Oeschger, Ludwig Schläfli,
Bernhard Studer, Hugo von Mohl,
Heinrich von Wild, Hugo Hadwiger

Economics

Alfred Amonn, Max Weber

Others

Theodor Oskar Rubeli

Students …

The following prominent persons studied

at the University of Bern (occupation in
parentheses):

Karl Barth – theologian and „a

twentieth-century Father of the Church
Carl Baudenbacher – lawyer and
President of the EFTA Court
Georg von Békésy – biophysicist,
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1961
Walter Benjamin – philosopher and
literary critic
Richard Bing – cardiologist and
composer
Hans Bloesch - writer, correspondent,
editor, librarian
Hans Blum – writer and lawyer
John le Carré – writer
Thierry Carrel - heart surgeon
Andreas Dorschel – philosopher
Friedrich Dürrenmatt – writer
Matthias Egger - physician and
epidemiologist, president SNSF
research council
René Fasel – President of the
International Ice Hockey Federation
and Member of the International
Olympic Committee
Selma Feldbach, the first Estonian
woman to become a medical doctor
Markus Feldmann – politician and
federal councillor
Niklaus Gerber – chemist and Swiss
dairy industry pioneer
Charles Albert Gobat – Nobel Peace
Prize 1902[25]
Jeremias Gotthelf – novelist and
pastor
Rudolf Gnägi – politician and federal
councillor
Lazar Grünhut – rabbi and writer,
Zionist activist
Thomas Jordan – chairman of the
Swiss National Bank
Yehezkel Kaufmann – philosopher and
theologian
Fritz Klein - Physiatrist and sex
researcher
Daniel Koch (born 1955) – physician
Emil Theodor Kocher – physician and
medical researcher, Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine 1909
Leopold Koss, M.D., cytopathologist
Peter Lampe – theologian and
professor
Adolfo Lutz – specialist in tropical
medicine and epidemiologist
Mani Matter – singer-songwriter and
lawyer
Kurt Marti – theologian, poet and
writer
Eduard Müller – politician and federal
councillor
Werner Munzinger – Africa explorer
Hassan Naim - Lebanese-Swiss
biochemist
Ulrich Ochsenbein – federal councillor
and general, founding member of the
Swiss Confederation
Edith Pechey – physician and
campaigner for women's rights
Rolf Reber – psychologist and
professor
Olga Roh – founder of Rohmir
Regula Rytz – politician, sociologist
and historian
Karl Schenk – politician and, in office
for 31 years, longest-serving federal
councillor
Karl Scheurer – politician and federal
councillor
Samuel Schmid – politician and federal
councillor
Nikolaus Senn (1926–2014), former
co-director of Schweizerische
Bankgesellschaft
Jakob Stämpfli – politician and federal
councillor, lawyer and journalist
Hans Martin Sutermeister – physician,
politician and free-thinker
Daniel Vasella – chairman and CEO of
Novartis
Nikolaj Velimirović – Serbian Orthodox
bishop and saint
Carl Vogt – scientist and politician
Kurt Wüthrich – chemist, winner of
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2002
 Ursula Wyss – economist and
politician
Jean Ziegler – sociologist, politician
and writer
Thomas Zurbuchen – astrophysicist,
Associate Administrator for the
Science Mission Directorate at
NASA[26]

Researchers …

Sir Paul Nurse – Nobel Prize in

Physiology or Medicine 2001[27]

Honorary doctorates …

In the course of its history, the University

of Bern has awarded honorary doctorates
to outstanding people for contributions in
different fields of society.[28][29][30]

Medicine

Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer, Sir

Charles Scott Sherrington, César Roux,
SIr Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Georg von
Békésy, Stephen W. Kuffler, George Emil
Palade, Willy Burgdorfer, Iván
Böszörményi-Nagy, David Sackett, Luc
Pettavino[31]

Natural sciences

Johann Büttikofer, Hans von Euler-

Chelpin, Gerold Schwarzenbach, Richard
R. Ernst, David Southwood
 Economics and business

Ernst Karl Abbe, Auguste and Louis

Lumière, Jean-Daniel Gerber, Thomas J.
Sargent, Maureen O'Hara (professor)

Humanities

Albert Samuel Gatschet, Erwin Heinz

Ackerknecht

Art

Joseph Simon Volmar, Albert Anker,

Cuno Amiet, Rudolf Münger, Alberto
Giacometti, Walter Linsenmaier, Ilya
Kabakov

Literature
Charles Ferdinand Ramuz, René Gardi,
Kurt Marti, Stefan Heym, John Edgar
Wideman, John le Carré, Eveline Hasler

Politics

Charles Albert Gobat, Rudolf Minger,

Annemarie Huber-Hotz, Adolf Ogi, Angela
Merkel, Prince Albert II of Monaco

Others

Hermann Müller-Thurgau, Eduard Herzog,

Mathis Wackernagel, Heidi Tagliavini,
Hannah Cotton, Stephen Kosslyn

Rankings
 University rankings
Global – Overall

ARWU World[32] 101-150 (2019)

CWTS World[33] 190 (2019)

Today the University of Bern is one of the

top 150 universities in the world. In the
QS World University Rankings 2019 it
ranked 139th.[34] The Shanghai Ranking
(ARWU) 2018 ranked the University of
Bern in the range 101st–150th in the
world.[35] In the Leiden Ranking 2015 it
ranked 122nd in the world and 50th in
Europe.[36] In the Times Higher Education
World University Rankings it ranked
110th in 2018/2019[37] and 2016/2017
(and 82nd in Clinical, pre-clinical & health
2017.[38]).

See also
List of largest universities by
enrollment in Switzerland
List of modern universities in Europe
(1801–1945)
List of universities in Switzerland
University of Bern Faculty

Notes and references

1. "Annual Report 2018: University of
Bern" . unibe.ch. University of Bern.
Retrieved 8 May 2019.
2. "Rektor Täuber verlässt Uni auf
August Martin Täuber, Rektor der Uni
Bern tritt nach fünf Jahren an der
Spitze der Universität ab und
übergibt an Christian Leumann" . Der
Bund (13 July). Der Bund Publishing
Group. 2016. Retrieved 12 March
2019.
3. "Facts and Figures: Current
Students" . unibe.ch. University of
Bern. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
4. "History" . unibe.ch. University of
Bern. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
5. "University of Bern
Universitieshandbook" . Archived
 from the original on 2014-04-07.
Retrieved 2014-04-03.
6. "University of Bern" . www.unibe.ch.
7. "University of Bern Jahresbericht" .
8. "Annual Report" . unibe.ch. Retrieved
18 August 2020.
9. "Legal Matters" . unibe.ch. University
of Bern. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
10. "Annual Report 2019: University of
Bern" . unibe.ch. University of Bern.
Retrieved 18 August 2020.
11. "History and Architecture" . unibe.ch.
University of Bern. Retrieved
12 March 2019.
12. Leitziele für die räumliche
Entwicklung der Universität Bern
 Retrieved on Märch 25, 2011.
13. "Rektorat - Universität Bern" .
rektorat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 4 March
2017.
14. "Faculties and Institutes" . unibe.ch.
University of Bern. Retrieved
12 March 2019.
15. Website of the ZUW Archived 2013-
08-16 at the Wayback Machine
Retrieved on 9 August 2013.
16. "Centers of Excellence" . unibe.ch.
University of Bern. Retrieved
12 March 2019.
17. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, Assessment Reports
18. "Program Overview" . wti.org.
University of Bern. Retrieved
12 March 2019.
19. "Studies: Oeschger Centre for
Climate Change Research (OCCR)" .
unibe.ch. University of Bern.
Retrieved 12 March 2019.
20. "Studies: Degree Programs &
Courses" . unibe.ch. University of
Bern. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
21. Overview of the international
collaborations of the NASA
Archived 2013-02-15 at the
Wayback Machine Retrieved on 12
August 2013.
22. The ROSINA/ROSETTA project on
the website of the ESA Retrieved on
12 August 2013.
23. "Master's in Theatre Studies/Dance
Studies" . unibe.ch. University of
Bern. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
24. "Doctoral Studies at the University of
Bern" . unibe.ch. University of Bern.
Retrieved 12 March 2019.
25. Charles Albert Gobat - Biographical,
The Nobel Peace Prize 1902
Retrieved on 30 January 2017.
26. NASA Retrieved on 30 January
2017.
27. Sir Paul Nurse - Biographical, The
Nobel Prize in Physiology or
 Medicine 2001 Retrieved on 30
January 2017.
28. Database of the honorary
doctorates Retrieved on 19 August
2011.
29. Honorary doctorates of the Faculty
of Theology Retrieved on 9 August
2013.
30. Honorary doctorates of the Faculty
of Medicine Archived 2011-08-14
at the Wayback Machine Retrieved
on 19 August 2011.
31. "Only Watch continues to drive
research" .
journal.hautehorlogerie.org. FHH
Journal. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
32. [Academic Ranking of World
Universities 2019
http://www.shanghairanking.com/AR
WU2019.html ]
33. [CWTS Leiden Ranking 2019
https://www.leidenranking.com/rank
ing/2019/list ]
34. [1] Retrieved 12 March 2019.
35. [2] Retrieved 12 March 2019.
36. CWTS Leiden Ranking 2015 ,
Retrieved 12 July 2015.
37. [3] , Times Higher Education World
University Rankings, Retrieved 12
March 2019
38. "Times Higher Education World
University Ranking 2016/17" . Times
 Higher Education. Retrieved
29 January 2017.

Bibliography
Im Hof, Ulrich et al. (ed.).
Hochschulgeschichte Berns 1528–
1984. Zur 150-Jahr-Feier der Universität
Bern 1984. Bern: Universität Bern,
1984.
Im Hof, Ulrich et al. (ed.). Die Dozenten
der bernischen Hochschule.
Ergänzungsband zu:
Hochschulgeschichte Berns 1528–
1984. Bern: Universität Bern, 1984.
Rogger, Franziska. "Die Universität Bern
und ihre gesammelte(n)
 Geschichte(n)", UniPress, 139
(December 2008), pp. 12–31.
Rogger, Franziska, and Bankowski,
Monika. Ganz Europa blickt auf uns!
Das schweizerische Frauenstudium und
seine russischen Pionierinnen. Baden:
Hier + jetzt Verlag für Kultur und
Geschichte GmbH, 2010. ISBN 978-3-
03919-146-8

External links
University of Bern (in English)
University of Bern (in German)
University of Bern (in French)
History of the University of Bern (in
German)
 Website of the Swiss National Science
Foundation (in English)

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