Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

The Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt is a Roman Catholic university in Eichstätt, Bavaria, Germany.

The Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (CU) is the only Roman Catholic university in the German-speaking countries. It is a rather small university (4800 students summer 2005), nevertheless the biggest private university in Germany. The main campus of the university is situated in the Altmühltal Nature Park.

History

The university's history dates back to a seminary for priests ("Collegium Willibaldum"), which was founded in 1564 by Bishop Martin von Schaumburg. Today's university came into existence through a fusion of Eichstaett's School of Education and the School of Philosophy and Theology in 1980. A major part was played by the former archbishop of Munich-Freising Joseph Kardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI ), who was awarded an honorary doctorate - as well as the bishop of Eichstätt Alois Brems. Today, there is also a Collegium Orientale, associated with the university, for young theologicans and priests from eastern European and Oriental churches who continue their post-graduate studies in Eichstätt.

The first university in Bavaria was founded in Ingolstadt in 1472 with the approval of the pope. One of the famous rector of that university was the jesuit Petrus Canisius. In 1826 King Ludwig I. moved the university to the capital Munich – nowadays the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU).

In February 2007 it was revealed that the university library had recycled 80 tons of books and journals, of which 68.4 tons had been donated from the central library in Altötting of the Bavarian Capuchin monasteries.Bavarian Radio: [http://www.br-online.de/wissen-bildung/artikel/0702/16-reisswolf-eichstaett/index.xml Bibliothek im Reißwolf-Bücher-Skandal an der Uni Eichstätt] ] [ [http://archiv.twoday.net/stories/3374403/ Archivalia: Überlassungsvertrag zur Zentralbibliothek der Bayerischen Kapuziner ] ] This is about one fourth of the 300,000 volumes of philosophy and theology donated for the purpose of being included in university library's collections. [ [http://www.uni-protokolle.de/nachrichten/id/51390/ Universitätsbibliothek der KUE übernimmt Bestand der Zentralbibliothek der Bayerischen Kapuziner ] ]

Catholic context

The university is largely funded by the state but is run by a self-governing public church trust ("Stiftung Katholische Universität Eichstätt, Kirchliche Stiftung des Öffentlichen Rechts") set up by Bavarian Catholic bishops on the basis of a concordat between the Holy see and the Free State of Bavaria. The ethos of Catholic universities was defined in Pope John Paul II's "Apostolic Constitution of Catholic Churches".

The CU at a glance

The 8 faculties of the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt offer 40 different subjects. The CU is fully accredited by the Bavarian free state, thus equal to German state universities in all respects. Personal faith does not play any part in the admission process. The university library has a stock of books exceeding 1.5 Million volumes, thus offering students and teaching staff alike immediate access to books from most areas via an electronic inventory accessible from almost anywhere.

The small size of the CU offers ideal teaching and learning conditions, with a teacher-student ratio of 1:15 and widely recognized high standards. In a Germany-wide ranking by the SPIEGEL in 1999 the CU was amongst Germany's top universities. In subsequent years the CU received especially high rankings for the ideal learning environment it offers to its students. Especially the Faculty of Business in Ingolstadt was and continues to be one of the most competitive business schools in all of Germany. In 2005, the CU's journalism program was ranked among the five best media and communication programs in Germany.

The biggest difference between the CU and other German universities are its small size and almost personal relationship between teaching staff and students coupled with excellent facilities. In addition, the number of International students from Europe and all over the world is very high in relative terms (compared to state universities). Russian, Spanish, French and English are thus very common languages in Eichstätt, many students being fluent in at least 2 of them.

Currently one of the biggest changes affecting the CU is the shift from the old German academic system to the new European Bachelor and Master degrees based on credit points till 2010. This change already affects students' options positively, enabling them to easily spend time abroad and transfer their grades easily for their degrees at the CU.

In addition, more and more BA and MA integrated degrees are being offered, meaning that students spend only part of their time at the CU, the rest at one of the partner universities. These double or triple degrees offer a perfect possibility to experience the academic environment of more than one country and are an increasingly popular choice for freshmen at the CU.

The university has the following faculties:
* Faculty of Catholic Theology
* Faculty of Philosophy and Education
* Faculty of Languages and Literatures
* Faculty of History and Social Sciences
* Faculty of Mathematics and Geography

* Faculty of Business Administration and Economics (in Ingolstadt)

There are also two integrated institutes of Higher Education for:

* Religious Education and Church Educational Work (which also has a branch in Munich)
* Social Work

There are also:
* an Institute for Marriage and the Family in society
* an Institute for Latin American Studies
* an Institute for Central and Eastern European Studies
* a Centre for Interdisciplinary Health Sciencesl
* a language teaching centre

Campus

The Main Campus is situated in Eichstätt, the university buildings being within walking distance (about 10 minutes) from the town's center; there is also a branch in Munich. The Faculty of Economics is located in Ingolstadt, site of the first Bavarian university in 1472.

References

* [http://www.ku-eichstaett.de/Ueberblick/HF_sections/content/1035791002889/ZZgWpnrjNxr9n2/ZZgWpnrjSUZMdD/KU-Imagebroschuere_englisch_alles.pdf University's English language booklet]

External links

* [http://www.ku-eichstaett.de Homepage of the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt] de icon *
* [http://www.ku-eichstaett.de/en Homepage of the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt] en icon
* [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_15081990_ex-corde-ecclesiae_en.html Apostolic Constitution of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II on Catholic Universities]

* [http://www.ku-polis.de Portal of the Political Science Student's Association at the CU (Fachschaft Politik)] de icon *