Founded in 1737, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen is a research university of international renown with strong focuses in research-led teaching. The University is distinguished by the rich diversity of its subject spectrum particularly in the humanities, its excellent facilities for the pursuit of scientific research, and the outstanding quality of the areas that define its profile.

A University with Tradition

The University bears the name of its founder Georg August, King George II of Great Britain, Elector and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, (Hannover). In affinity with the spirit of the Enlightenment, Göttingen abandoned the supremacy of theology and set its faculties on an equal footing. As an academic location Göttingen was long regarded as the hub of the mathematical world.

University as a Foundation

Intensifying the process of internationalisation, promoting excellence in research and teaching, adopting Bachelor’s and Master’s degree structures, giving all levels of the University greater autonomy and self-responsibility, optimising resource allocation: These steps characterise the reforms recently undertaken at the University. At the beginning of 2003, the Georg-August-Universität became the first German university with a comprehensive range of disciplines to assume the legal status of a foundation under public law.

Göttingen Campus

Almost all academic disciplines including medicine are represented in the 13 faculties, the exception being engineering sciences. Successful elements of which include jointly run collaborative research centres, junior research groups and infrastructure facilities, as well as combined professorial appointments. As a result of the integration process of the local research community, possibilities specific to Göttingen have arisen for the attracting and retaining of excellent researchers from both in and outside Germany, and top-quality research activities have been initiated and developed. Likewise, the advancement of exceptionally talented young scholars and scientists is a central strategic aim at the Georg-August-Universität.

Studying with Excellence

Approximately 30 000 young people currently study here, some eleven per cent of whom are from abroad. The range of degree courses on offer stands out both for the outstandingly good study facilities in the natural and life sciences and for the breadth of subject diversity in the humanities and social sciences. Such a spectrum of subjects enables overarching issues to be tackled with an interdisciplinary perspective. In its constantly expanding range of Master’s and Ph.D. programmes the University cultivates excellence and offers the proximity to research. Study programmes run in English, bi-national degrees and compulsory periods spent abroad prepare graduates for the international job market.

Fostering the Scientists and Scholars of Tomorrow

Doctoral training in Göttingen is concentrated in structured programmes based at four Graduate Schools: Georg August University School of Science (GAUSS) – Göttinger Graduiertenschule Gesellschaftswissenschaften (GGG) – Graduiertenschule für Geisteswissenschaften Göttingen (GSGG) – Graduate School Forest and Agricultural Sciences (GFA). The aim of these schools is to optimise the research and learning conditions for doctoral candidates, offering intensive supervision and a range of seminars designed to advance the training of first-class scientists.

A World-Class University Library

The founding of the Göttingen University Library in 1734 was a landmark: For the first time in library history the concept of a modern research library was put into practice and the institution became the first comprehensive academic library of European standing. Today, the Göttingen State and University Library of Lower Saxony (Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, SUB) continues to hold a pole position. With over 7.8 million medial units, it is currently one of Germany´s largest libraries.