Johannes Kepler University of Linz
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| Johannes Kepler University Linz | |
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| Johannes Kepler Universität Linz | |
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Latin: Alma Mater Kepleriana |
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| Established: | 1966 |
| Type: | Public |
| Rector: | Richard Hagelauer |
| Students: | 13,700 (2008)[1] |
| Location: | Linz, Austria 48°20′15″N 14°19′03″E / 48.3375°N 14.3175°ECoordinates: 48°20′15″N 14°19′03″E / 48.3375°N 14.3175°E |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Website: | http://www.jku.at |
The Johannes Kepler University of Linz (German: Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, short: JKU) is a public institution of higher education in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. It offers bachelor's, master's, diploma and doctoral degrees in business, engineering, law, science, and the social sciences.
Today, 13,700 [1] students study at the park campus in the northeast of Linz, with 1 out of 9 students being from abroad. The university was the first in Austria to introduce an electronic student ID in 1998 and most of the campus has complete Wireless LAN coverage.
The university is home of the Johann Radon Institute for Computational and Applied Mathematics (RICAM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
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[edit] History
JKU was founded as "College of Social Sciences, Economics and Business" (Hochschule für Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften) in 1966. Three years later, the Faculty of Sciences and Engineering was established. University status and the Faculty of Law were introduced in 1975. At that time, the present name "Johannes Kepler University" was adopted in honor of the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) who wrote his magnum opus harmonices mundi ("The Harmony of the world") in Linz during the early 17th century and spent some time teaching mathematics at a school for the landed gentry (Adelichen Landt-Schuelen) near Linz[2]. At present, the campus is extended with the "Science Park", an additional five buildings for housing science and engineering institutes and enterprises from that sector.
[edit] Campus
JKU's campus is located in the northeast of Linz, in the Auhof area of the St. Magdalena district. The university buildings are placed in a 90 acre (364,000 m²) park centered around a pond.
[edit] Infrastructure
The campus is served by the public tramway lines 1 and 2 and the express bus line 77. On workdays, trams arrive every 7-8 minutes and journeys to the city center (Hauptplatz) take about 16 minutes.
JKU is also directly connected to Austria's autobahn network and can be reached by the nearby Dornach exit of the A7 Mühlkreisautobahn (ca. 1 km or 0.6 miles). In the process of extending the campus, another autobahn exit named Auhof is currently being built that is expected to reduce traffic and allow an even more direct connection to the university.
[edit] Housing
Many larger dormitories are within walking distance of the university, such as the Julius Raab Heim, the WIST Haus, the Kepler Heim, the ESH and the KHG Heim. Several other dormitories are located in different parts of Linz, providing housing for more than 3,100 students in all of Linz. [3]
Some of the dormitories become hotels during the summer holidays, most notably the Julius Raab Heim under the name Hotel Sommerhaus.
[edit] Organization
[edit] Management
The rector and senate assume responsibility for the university's management. A total of four vice rectors, each assigned to specific tasks, assist the rector. The university board as an independent body advises and counsels the rector and senate on management matters. Deans and faculty committees are responsible for management on a faculty level. Rector and deans are elected for 4 years, while faculty committees are elected for 2 years.[4]
Richard Hagelauer was elected rector in 2007. At present, Ferdinand Kerschner is head of the senate and Ludwig Scharinger is head of the university board. [5][6][7]
[edit] Faculties and areas of studies
The Johannes Kepler University has three faculties and a total of 110 institutes (seven of them not associated to a specific faculty).[8]
[edit] Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Business (SoWi)
The Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Business is the oldest and also the largest faculty in terms of students and graduates. It has 32 institutes and offers degrees in Economics and Business Administration, Business Informatics, Business and Education, Social Economics, Sociology and Statistics.[9][10]
Its abbreviation SoWi is derived from the German name of the faculty, Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
[edit] Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences (TN)
The Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences was established in 1969 and initially offered degrees in Technical Mathematics, Computer Science and Technical Physics. Over time, degrees in Technical Chemistry, Mechatronics and Information Electronics were introduced.[10]
Several master's degrees for specialization are available in the area of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics, such as Pervasive Computing, Industrial Mathematics or Biophysics. Doctoral degrees are offered in the areas of Natural Science and Technical Science.
The TN faculty consists of 51 distinctive institutes. Its German name is Technisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, hence the the abbreviation TN or TNF.
[edit] Faculty of Law (RE)
The Faculty of Law was officially established in 1975. Before, law degrees were offered by the SoWi faculty, which was then named Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics, Business and Law. In addition to the diploma and doctoral law degrees, the RE faculty offers a bachelor's degree in Business Law in cooperation with the SoWi faculty.[10] Law degrees are also offered via multimedia distance learning. [11]
RE as the faculty's short name is derived from the first two letters of its German name, Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät. At present, the RE faculty consists of 20 institutes.
[edit] Distance learning
JKU maintains several distance learning centers in Austria, which offer degrees and courses from the German FernUniversität Hagen, the British Open University and JKU's own distance law degree.
[edit] Other universities in Linz
There are three other universities in Linz: The University of Arts Linz, a public university for arts and industrial design (ca. 800 students), the Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama, and Dance with approx. 1000 students enrolled, and the Catholic-Theological Private University Linz with about 500 students, which has been a Papal faculty since 1978.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b "Annual Report 2008, Section V: Statistics" (in German). JKU. http://www.jku.at/PR/content/e13544/e13537/e13511/e13484/e42798/AbschnittV_Statistiken_ger.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-06-27.
- ^ "About JKU: History". JKU. http://www.students.jku.edu/e53/e59/index_eng.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-14.
- ^ "Seit zehn Jahren wieder ein Neubau eines StudentInnenheimes vor Fertigstellung" (in German). Linz City Administration. http://www.linz.at/presse/2008/200812_42996.asp. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "About JKU: Organization". JKU. http://www.students.jku.edu/e53/e144/index_eng.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Organization: Rectorate" (in German). JKU Rectorate. http://www.jku.at/rektorat. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Organization: Senate" (in German). JKU Senate. http://www.jku.at/senat. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Organization: University Board" (in German). JKU University Board. http://www.jku.at/unirat. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "List of institutes" (in German). JKU. http://www.jku.at/content/e362/e455/. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics and Business: Areas of Study". JKU. http://www.students.jku.edu/e53/e61/e67/e75/. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ a b c "JKU Areas of Study" (in German). http://www.jku.at/content/e362/e476/e648/. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
- ^ "Faculty of Law" (in German). JKU Faculty of Law. http://www.jku.at/content/e362/e475/. Retrieved on 2009-02-15.
[edit] External links
- Official JKU website (German only)
- Information for prospective international students (in English)
- Information about JKU from a former student (in English)
[edit] Dormitories
- Julius Raab Heim
- WIST Haus
- Kepler Heim
- Evangelisches Studentenheim Linz (esh)
- Katholische Hochschulgemeinde Linz (KHG)
- Hotel Sommerhaus (Julius Raab Heim)
