Last Updated on July 29, 2023
The University of Strasbourg dates back to the 16th century, but the institution in its current form was founded in 2009, following the merger of Louis Pasteur, Marc Bloch and Robert Schuman universities. The university was divided into these three institutions in 1971.
The university offers a range of degrees including diplomas, bachelor’s, masters’s, and doctoral courses.
The largest proportion of its students undertake courses in law, economics, and management and political science, but there are also courses in arts, literature and languages; humanities and social sciences; health; and sciences and technology. Overall, Strasbourg has 37 education and research departments, faculties, schools and institutes and a further 72 research units. The university’s Institute for Advanced Studies aims to support ground-breaking research across scientific disciplines.
The university has a large proportion of international students, most of whom come from other countries in the European Union. There are also high numbers of students from Africa and Asia, some students from America, and a small proportion from Oceania. The university’s International University House offers services to students, staff and researchers from across the world and includes accommodation.
The university is associated with three Nobel laureates: Martin Karplus, who won the chemistry prize in 2013; Jules Hoffmann, who won the physiology/medicine prize in 2011; and Jean-Marie Lehn, who won the chemistry prize in 1987.
Strasbourg is a founding member of the League of European Research Universities, an association of 21 institutions.
The university raised €22.5 million through a fundraising campaign between 2010 and 2014 – the largest amount raised in a campaign by a French university. It has contributed towards research and training programmes and facilities and scholarships.
In 2015, the university transformed its campus, with new lawns, walkways, seating areas and bike racks, and outdoor WiFi access points.
University of Strasbourg Ranking 2019-2020 – Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)
| Institution Name | University of Strasbourg |
| Location | France |
| World Rank | 133 |
| National Rank | 7 |
| Quality of Education Rank | 99 |
| Alumni Employment Rank | – |
| Quality of Faculty Rank | 32 |
| Research Performance Rank | 208 |
| Overall Score | 80.5 |
| Domain | unistra.fr |
The University of Strasbourg (French: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students[2] and 3,300 researchers.[4]
The French university traces its history to the earlier German-language Universität Straßburg, which was founded in 1538, and was divided in the 1970s into three separate institutions: Louis Pasteur University, Marc Bloch University, and Robert Schuman University. On 1 January 2009, the fusion of these three universities reconstituted a united University of Strasbourg. With as many as 19 Nobel laureates, and two Fields Medal winners, the university is ranked among the best in the League of European Research Universities
The university emerged from a Lutheran humanist German Gymnasium, founded in 1538 by Johannes Sturm in the Free Imperial City of Strassburg. It was transformed to a university in 1621 (German: Universität Straßburg) and elevated to the ranks of a royal university in 1631. Among its earliest university students was Johann Scheffler who studied medicine and later converted to Catholicism and became the mystic and poet Angelus Silesius.[5]
The Lutheran German university still persisted even after the annexation of the city by King Louis XIV in 1681 (one famous student was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1770/71), but mainly turned into a French speaking university during the French Revolution.
The university was refounded as the German Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität in 1872, after the Franco-Prussian war and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany provoked a westwards exodus of Francophone teachers. During the German Empire the university was greatly expanded and numerous new buildings were erected because the university was intended to be a showcase of German against French culture in Alsace. In 1918, Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, so a reverse exodus of Germanophone teachers took place.
During the Second World War, when France was occupied, personnel and equipment of the University of Strasbourg were transferred to Clermont-Ferrand. In its place, the short-lived German Reichsuniversität Straßburg was created.
In 1971, the university was subdivided into three separate institutions:
- Louis Pasteur University (Strasbourg I)
- Marc Bloch University (Strasbourg II)
- Robert Schuman University (Strasbourg III)
These were, however, reunited in 2009, and were able to be among the first twenty French universities to gain greater autonomy.[6]
