Origin of the University
The word “university” comes from the latin “universitas magistrorum et scholarium” and is a distinctly European institution as classically interpreted. However, that definition is premised upon a institution of higher learning that grants a degree or certification. If so, then the oldest universities are in Europe. If the definition of university means a higher institution of learning then the oldest are in the Arab world and in Africa.
The oldest of the European institutions is the University of Bologna which is the oldest university in the world and is the source of the word “university.” This university is thought to have been founded in 1088. The second oldest is the University of Oxford in the U.K., founded, in 1096. Thereafter another 30 or so institutions of learning were found in Europe until the founding of the University of Copenhagen in 1479, a veritable newcomer to education by European standards.
Early History of the University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen, first founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. The university presently has 37,000 students of which 59 per cent are female. Of the total student body, 2800 are foreign students.
Standing of the University
The University of Copenhagen is viewed by many as the leading university in Scandinavia and is ranked 47th in the world, according to the University Ranking of Academic Performance. The university is considered to be one of Europe’s leading research institutions. The university has had some 9 alumni become Nobel Laureates. They are Fredrik Bajer, Aage Bohr, Niels Bohr, Henrik Dam, Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Niels Ryberg Finsen, Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Niels Kaj Jeme, August Krogh, Ben Roy Mottelson, Henrik Pntoppidan and Jens Christian Skou.
The University has also had one Turing Award recipient, Peter Naur, in 2005. The Turing award is an annual award given by the Association for Computing Machinery, named after Alan Mathison Turing, frequently credited with being the “father” of theoretical computer science. Naur was given the award for his work on defining the ALGOL 60 programming language.
As many graduates of the university are now famous both in Denmark and internationally, Copenhagen has been the site of many an intellectual quest. The Rundetårn was used in the 17th century as an observatory by Ole Rømer. Rømer was the first to make qualitative measurements of the speed of light.
Organization of the University
Although the faculties, analogous to our departments, have changed over time, the University now has eight faculties. The campi are located in four sites in Copenhagen. The North campus is Health Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Science and Research and Innovation Center. The City campus includes Law, Social Sciences, Theology and Central Administration. The South campus is the Humanities and the Frederiksberg Campus is Life Sciences.
History of the University of Copenhagen
For a period of time between the closing of the Studium Generale in Lund in 1536 and the establishment of Aarhus in the late 1920s, the University of Copenhagen was the only university in Denmark. The university became the center of Roman Catholic theological education in northern Europe. Additionally law, medicine and philosophy were taught.
After the Lutheran Reformation in 1536 the university re-established itself and became a Luthern seminary. Between 1675 and 1788, examinations for various degrees were introduced progressively. By 1788 all faculties required an examination before a degree issued.
British attack Copenhagen
In 1801, the British under Admiral Horatio Nelson bombarded Copenhagen and the university sustained significant damage with most buildings destroyed. By 1836 the main building was rebuilt and building continued until the end of the century.
Milestones in the University of Copenhagen
The first female student enrolled at the university in 1877. Between 1960 and 1980, the university underwent explosive growth. During this time the Zoological Museum, the Hans Christian Andersen Ørsted and August Krogh Institutes, the campus centre on Amager and the Panum Institute. In 1993, the law departments were separated from the the Faculty of Social Sciences to form a separate Faculty of Law. In 1994, environmental studies were added. In 2005, the Center for Health and Society opened in central Copenhagen. In 2006, the university announced plans to vacate the old buildings in central Copenhagen, home to the university in some cases for as long as 500 years. In 2007, the university merged with the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University and the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Science which are now under the Faculty of Life Science and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science.
Famous People Graduating from the University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen has matriculated such notables as Niels Bohr (1885 to 1962), Aage Bohr (1922 - 2009), Tycho Brahe (1546- 1601), Piet Hein (1905- 1996), Søren Kierkegaard (1813- 1855), Wilhelm Johannsen (1857- 1927), Lars Løkke Rasmussen (1964- ), and many other innovators and famous people, both Danish and foreign.
Sources:
www.ku/dk/english
www.topuniversities.com/institution/university-copenhagen
Frances Simmons - I have worked at a lot of different jobs in my life from being an attorney to being a drug counselor with stints in aerospace as a manager ...
Join the Conversation