| Lunds universitet | |
 | |
| Latin: Universitas Lundensis or Universitas Gothorum Carolina. Also the older Regia Academia Carolina lundensis, or Academia Carolina conciliatrix. | |
| Motto: | Ad utrumque (Prepared for both) |
| Established: | 1666 |
| Type: | Public |
| Rector magnificus and Vice Chancellor: | Prof. Per Eriksson |
| Staff: | 5,300 total (including non-scientific) |
| Students: | 24,600 (FTE, 2008) |
| Doctoral students: | 3,200 |
| Location: |  Lund, Scania, Sweden |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Affiliations: | Universitas 21 LERU EUA ASAIHL |
| Website: | http://www.lu.se/ |
Lund University (Swedish: Lunds universitet), located in Lund in southernmost Sweden, is one of Sweden's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities. The university was founded in 1666 and is the second oldest Swedish university, but can arguably trace its roots back to 1438, when a studium generale was founded in Lund.
Lund University has eight faculties[12], with additional campuses in the cities of Malmö and Helsingborg, with a total of over 25,100 students in more than 50 different programmes and 800 separate courses. It belongs to the League of European Research Universities as well as the global Universitas 21 network.
The university traditionally centers on the Lundagård park adjacent to the Lund Cathedral, with various departments spread in different locations in town, but mostly concentrated in a belt stretching north from the park connecting to the university hospital area and continuing out to the northeastern periphery of the town, where one finds the large campus of the Lund Institute of Technology.
History
The city of Lund has a long history as a center for learning and was the ecclesiastical centre and seat of the archbishop of Denmark. A cathedral school (the Katedralskolan) for the training of clergy was established in 1085 and is today Scandinavia's oldest school.
A studium generale (a medieval university education) was founded in 1425, but had to close in 1536 in connection with the Danish reformation.
After the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, the Scanian lands came under the possession of the Swedish Crown, which quickly founded the Lund University in 1666 as the means of Swedification. It was the fifth university under the Swedish king, after Uppsala University (1477), the University of Tartu (1632, now in Estonia), the Academy of Åbo (1640, now in Finland), and the University of Greifswald (founded 1456; Swedish 1648–1815, now in Germany).
The university was named Academia Carolina after Charles X Gustav of Sweden. The name was in some formal use until the late 19th century, when Lund University became the widespread denomination.
The university was at its founding granted four faculties: law, theological, medicine and philosophy. They were the corner stones, and for more than 200 years this system was in effect. Towards the end of the 17th century, the number of students hovered around 100. Some notable professors in the early days were Samuel Pufendorf, a juridical historian; and Canutus Hahn and Kristian Papke in philosophy.
The Scanian War in 1676 led to a shut-down, which lasted until 1682. The university was re-opened largely due to regional patriots, but the university was not to enjoy a high status until well into the 19th century. Lecturing rooms were few, and lectures were held in the Lund Cathedral and its adjacent chapel. The professors were underpaid.
In 1713, Charles XII of Sweden entered Lund. He stayed in Lund for three years, in between his warlike expeditions. The town of Lund and the university attracted a temporary attention boost. The most notable lecturer during this time was Andreas Rydelius.
Peace was finally restored with the death of Charles XII in 1718, and during the first half of the 18th century the university was granted added funds. The number of students was now well around 500. Despite not being on par with Uppsala University, it had still built a solid reputation and managed to attract prominent professors.
Around 1760 the university reputation dropped as the number of students fell below 200, most of whom hailed from around the province. However, by 1780 its reputation was largely restored, and continued to rise through the 1820s. This was largely owing to popular and well-educated lecturers particularly in philology; the prominent professor Esaias Tegnér was a particularly notable character with widespread authority. He, in turn, attracted others towards Lund. One of these was the young theological student C. G. Brunius, who studied ancient languages under Tegnér and were later to become professor of Greek. With time he was to devote himself to architectures and he redesigned several of Lund's buildings, as well as churches of the province.
Women at the university
The first woman to study in Lund was the medical student Hedda Andersson who entered the university in 1880 (two years before the next woman to do so). Hilma Borelius was the first woman who finish a doctorate in Lund, in 1910. The first woman to be appointed to a professor's chair was the historian Birgitta Odén (1965). In 1992 Boel Flodgren, Professor of Business Law, was appointed rector magnificus (or, strictly speaking, rectrix magnifica) of Lund University. As such, she was the first woman to be a head of a European university.
Academics
Lund University is internationally known as Scandinavia's largest research university.[4][5][6] The university has eight faculties and many research centres and specialized institutes. Approximately 25,000 students study within one of the 50 educational programs, the eighteen international masters programmes or the 800 free-standing courses. Almost three hundred courses are, or can be, held in English for the benefit of our international exchange students. There are several programs allowing foreign students to study abroad at the University. Notable exchangees include United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who spent time at Lund University in the 1960s conducting research.[13]
Faculties
- Faculty of Humanities
- Faculty of Theology
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Natural Sciences (Fysicum)
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Lund School of Economics and Management
- Faculty of Engineering (Lund Institute of Technology)
- Academies of Performing and Visual Arts (the Academies of Music, Art, and Theatre)
There are also departments located in Malmö, including Malmö Academy of Music, and Helsingborg.
Library
Lund University library was established in 1666 at the same time as the university and is one of Sweden's oldest and largest. Since 1698 it has received legal deposit copies of everything printed in the country. Today six Swedish libraries receive legal deposit copies, but only Lund and the Royal Library in Stockholm are required to keep everything for posterity. Swedish imprints make up half of the collections, which amount to 170,000 linear metres of shelving (2006). The library serves 620,000 loans per year, the staff is 200 full-time equivalents, and the 33 branch libraries house 2600 reading room desks.
The current main building at Helgonabacken opened in 1907. Before that, the old building was Liberiet close to the city's cathedral. Liberiet was built as a library in the 15th century, but now serves as a cafe.
Student life
Lund is known for its particularly active student life, revolving around three central structures: the student nations, Akademiska Föreningen and the student unions.
Student Nations
The nations in Lund are a central part of the university's history, initially serving as residential colleges for students, organized by geographic origin. Östgöta Nation, the oldest nation, was established in 1668, two years after the university was founded. While the nations still offer limited housing, today they are best described as student societies. It is required to enroll in a nation to receive grades at the university.
Today students may enroll in any nation, although the nations still preserve their geographic names. In most cases it does not matter what nation one enrolls in, but different nations offer different activities for interested students. The fee of around 350 Swedish krona per semester (which also includes student union membership fees), is the closest thing to a tuition requirement found in Sweden.
Each nation has student housing, but the accommodations in no way meet demand, and they are usually appointed according to a queue system. Each nation has at least one pub evening per week, with a following night club. The solemn peak event in the course of an activity year is the organization of student balls once a year. Most well known of the nation balls (as opposed to balls organized by fraternities or student unions) is the ball hosted by Göteborgs Nation - called the "Gustaf II Adolf Ball" (also known as the "GA-Ball"). Most nations also host at least one banquet per week, where a three course dinner is served. Each nation also has different activities for students interested in sports, arts, or partying. All activities within the nations are voluntary.
Akademiska Föreningen (AF)
In 1830, Professor Carl Adolph Agardh formed Akademiska Föreningen (The Academic Society), commonly referred to as AF, with the goal of "developing and cultivating the academic life" by bringing students and faculty from all departments and student nations together in one organization. Prince Oscar I, then Sweden's Chancellor of Education, donated 2000 Kronor to help found the society. In 1848, construction began on AF-Borgen (the AF Fortress), which is located opposite the Main Building in Lundagård. To this day, AF is the center of student life in Lund, featuring many theater companies, a prize-winning student radio (Radio AF), and organizing the enormous Lundakarnevalen (the Lund Carnival) every four years. "AF Bostäder", an independent foundation with close ties to Akademiska Föreningen, maintans over 5,700 student residences in Lund.
Student Unions
Currently each faculty has its own student union. Since 1995, a central organization known as LUS (Lund University's Student Unions ) negotiates with the university administration, while most work is done at the faculty level. The student unions that are members of LUS are:
- The Ph.D. Student Union
- Student Union of the Faculty of the Humanities
- Student Union of the Faculty of Medicine
- Student Union of Natural Sciences
- Lunds Socialhögskolas Studentkår
- Sjukgymnastinstitutets Studentkår
- Student Union of Social Sciences
- Student Union of the Faculty of Theology
- Vårdvetenskapliga Studentkåren
- Teaterhögskolans Studentkår
- Malmö Konsthögskolas Studentkår
- Studentkåren vid Musikhögskolan i Malmö
The student unions that have chosen not to belong to LUS are:
- Student Union at Lund University, Faculty of Engineering
- The Student Union at the Faculty of Law
- Lund Students of Economics
- Flygskolekåren
- Elevkåren vid YTH-utbildningen i Markaryd
- Studentkåren vid YTH
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