Education Abroad & Exchange - Universities

Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany is bordered by France, Switzerland, Rhineland-Palatia, Hesse, and Bavaria. The upper Rhine forms its southern and western boundaries. The region enjoys Germany's mildest climate and includes everything from modern industrial centers to medieval towns and villages, vineyard-covered hills to the mountains of the Black Forest.

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg

The city of Freiburg is in the triangle bounded by Alsace (France), Switzerland, and the Black Forest. Today it has about 180,000 inhabitants and is the sunniest spot in Germany. Founded in 1457, Freiburg University has long ranked as one of Germany's outstanding universities and currently has about 20,000 students. The UMass program office is located at Eckerstr.1 in Freiburg.

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Founded in 1386, Heidelberg University is the oldest university in Germany and today has almost 25,000 students. Such a large student population leaves its mark on a city with 136,000 inhabitants, particularly in the Old Town area, where most of the humanities and social sciences departments are located. A new campus for the medical and science faculties is northwest of town in the "Neuenheimer Feld." The town has beautiful and picturesque attractions, and its location in the Neckar Valley at the outskirts of the Odenwald offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities.

Universität Hohenheim

Having grown out of a 19th-century agricultural school, the Universität Hohenheim was officially recognized in 1967. Today it is housed in a castle and offers studies in agriculture, natural sciences, business, and economics to about 6,000 students. The old town of Hohenheim is about a half-hour by public transportation from Stuttgart, where students can also take courses.

Universität Karlsruhe

The town of Karlsruhe was founded in 1715, with its castle as the center of the city. Modern Karlsruhe, with about 270,000 inhabitants, is a center of commerce, trade, and administration. The Universität Karlsruhe is the oldest technical university in Germany. Its approximately 12,000 students are enrolled in mathematics, physics, chemistry, architecture, engineering, computer science, and the humanities and social sciences.

Universität Konstanz

Due to its location on Lake Constance, the town of Konstanz is a popular holiday resort offering plenty of recreation and entertainment as well as an intact medieval city center. The University of Konstanz was founded in 1966. Its modern campus with about 8,000 students is on the outskirts of the town.

Universität Mannheim

The city of Mannheim is laid out on a geometrical pattern of rectangular blocks of houses, at the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Neckar. With 305,000 inhabitants and the city of Ludwigshafen just across the Rhine, Mannheim is one of Baden-Württemberg's major industrial and cultural centers. It owes its existence to the Palace of Kurfürst Karl Philipp of Heidelberg, who decided to move his court to Mannheim in 1720. In 1763 Kurfürst Karl Theodor founded the Kurpfälzische Akademie der Wissenschaften, which received university status during the 1960s. Today the Palace houses the university which has about 11,000 students, offers most academic fields, and is best known for its excellent business school.

Universität Stuttgart

Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Württemberg, is located in the Neckar Valley. It has close to 600,000 inhabitants, and is one of the most beautiful of Germany's larger cities. The university, with its 18,000 students, has 160 years of experience in the technical and natural sciences. More recently the addition of the humanities, arts, and social sciences has introduced a new element into the environment of engineering and natural sciences in this economic and cultural center of Baden-Württemberg.

Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen

In 1477, Eberhard im Bart, Count (and later Duke) of Württemberg, established the founding tenets of the University of Tübingen, which are followed there to this day. Tübingen's 20,000 students live in a comparatively small city of 75,000. While the majority of the university's liberal arts departments are in the old part of Tübingen, the modern Science Center is on the hills overlooking the town. Tübingen is about 25 miles south of Stuttgart.

Universität Ulm

The old town of Ulm today has 110,000 inhabitants and is at the outskirts of the Swabian Alb on the river Danube, about one hour from Stuttgart and Munich. The university, founded in 1967, has its own campus and specializes in medical studies and natural sciences.