The University of Cologne (German: Universität zu Köln, also known as UoC or simply Uni-Ko) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was founded in 1388 and is one of the oldest universities in the world. The university has more than 48,000 students and over 4,000 staff members. It offers more than 280 degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The University of Cologne is a member of the German Universities Excellence Initiative and ranks among the top ten universities in Germany.
The University of Cologne was founded on 6 March 1388 by Pope Urban VI and Count Engelbert II von der Marck, Archbishop of Cologne. The charter was signed by Urban VI and the counts of Berg, Mark, Palatinate-Neuss, Virneburg and Sayn-Wittgenstein. The university began teaching on 15 October 1389 with 32 professors and 60 students; this makes it one of the oldest universities in Europe. In 1798 the French occupied Cologne and closed down the university; it did not reopen until 1819. In 1848 student riots caused considerable damage to parts of the university; these were partly directed against Prussian policies limiting academic freedom at German universities which included requiring civil servants to have studied at only Prussian institutions such as Berlin or Bonn instead of allowing them to study at other schools like Heidelberg or Göttingen .
The first woman to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Cologne was Johanna van Gogh-Bonger , widow of Vincent van Gogh’s brother Theo , who received her degree on 19 November 1909 . She was also the first woman to be admitted as a regular student (albeit without matriculating ) when she enrolled for classes in art history , ancient Greek studies and botany on 4 November 1909 .
Today almost all departments are located on two large campuses on either side of Albertus Magnus Platz ; this urban square near Rudolfplatz station forms part both campuses’ centres. Most buildings however are located within walking distance from here resulting into very high accessibility even without using any form public transport .
Faculties
* Faculty I – Humanities & Cultural Studies o Ancient History & Epigraphy o Anthropology & African Studies o Art History o Asian Studies & Sinology o Classical Philology & Literature o Comparative Literature & Literary Theory Media Studies Musicology Philosophy Romance Languages & Literatures Theatre Studies Anglo-American Languages & Literatures German Language & Literature Slavic Languages & Literatures General Linguistics Indo-European Linguistics Jewish Studies Medieval Latin Sports Science Catholic Theology Protestant Theology Evangelical Missiology/Kirche im Aufbruch Philosophical Theology Practical theology Religious Education Christian Archaeology Church History Dogmatic Theology Ethics Historical Jesus Research Systematic Theology Old Testament Exegesis/Biblical Hebrew New Testament Exegesis/Biblical Greek Quranic Exegesis /IslamicStudies Islamic Pedagogy Biblical Archaeology Egyptology Assyriological Institute Near Eastern Archaeologies Biological Anthropology Forensic Sciences Genetics Geography Geological Sciences Geophysics Chemistry Mathematics Physics Computer Science Psychology