University of Amsterdam

History

The commonly-held predecessor of the University of Amsterdam, the Athenaeum Illustre (Latin - the illustrious Athenaeum) was founded in the 14th-century Agnietenkapel in Amsterdam in 1632, to educate students in History and Philosophy. Professors lectured publicly and tutored privately. In January 1632 two internationally acclaimed scholars, Caspar Barlaeus and Gerardus Vossius, held their inaugural speeches here. In the course of the seventeenth century, Law, Medicine and Theology were introduced in the curriculum. Alumni (whilst it was still the Athenaeum) include Cornelis Petrus Tiele.

The Athenaeum remained a small institution until the nineteenth century, with no more than 250 students and eight teachers. This situation changed only slowly. In 1815 the Athenaeum Illustre was officially recognised as an institute of higher education. In 1877, Athenuem Illustre is reorganised to become the university of the municipality of Amsterdam. It became the Gemeentelijke Universiteit van Amsterdam (GU or 'Municipal University') and it received the right to confer doctoral degrees.

The professors were appointed by the city council and the mayor presided over the university administration. Because the Amsterdam city council was noted for its progressive politics this scheme guaranteed a large degree of intellectual freedom for the university.

Very little then changed until 1961, when the national government took control of financial responsibility. The university ceased to be the Gemeentelijke Universiteit and finally became the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

In 1969 the university became nationwide news when the university's administrative center at the Maagdenhuis was occupied by students who wanted more democratic influence. During the seventies and eighties the university was often the target of nationwide student actions.

Faculties

The University of Amsterdam has seven faculties which conduct education and research in the humanities, social and behavioural sciences, economics and business, law, science, medicine and dentistry. Each faculty is headed by a dean. Education and research take place in a variety of departments and institutes within the faculties. Each faculty also has a central services department which is responsible for its operational management.

1. Faculty of Dentistry
2. Faculty of Economics and Business
3. Faculty of Humanities
4. Faculty of Law
5. Faculty of Medicine
6. Faculty of Science
7. Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

The UvA aims to offer an inspiring, broadly-oriented international academic environment where both staff and students can develop their capacities optimally. The UvA is characterised by a critical, creative and international atmosphere, and is open-minded and strongly engaged with society. Because the UvA is located in both historic and modern buildings spread throughout Amsterdam, the University forms an integral part of the city.

University of Amsterdam ranked 49th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

Leicester University

The University was founded as Leicestershire and Rutland College in 1918. The site for the University was donated by a local textile manufacturer, Thomas Fielding Johnson, in order to create a living memorial for those who lost their lives in World War I. This is reflected in the University's motto Ut Vitam Habeant — 'so that they may have life'. The central building, now known as the Fielding Johnson building and housing the University's administration offices and Faculty of Law, dates from 1837 and was formerly the Leicestershire and Rutland Lunatic Asylum.

Students were first admitted to the college in 1921. In 1927, after it became University College, Leicester, students sat the examinations for external degrees of the University of London. In 1957 the college was granted its Royal Charter, and has since then had the status of a University with the right to award its own degrees. The University won the first ever series of University Challenge, in 1963.

Two names commonly associated with the University of Leicester are Richard and David Attenborough. Their father Frederick Attenborough was Principal of the University College from 1932 until 1951. The brothers grew up on the campus (with their younger brother John), in a house which is currently home to the careers service (and is now near to the Attenborough tower, the tallest building on the campus and home to many of the arts and humanities departments). They were educated at the adjacent grammar school before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the University of Cambridge respectively. Both have maintained links with the university - David Attenborough was made an honorary Doctor of Letters in 1970 and opened the Attenborough Arboretum in Knighton in 1997. In the same year, the Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales. Both brothers were made Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University at the 13 July 2006 afternoon degree ceremony.History

The University of Leicester is one of the older universities in the country. Founded in 1921 with nine students, the fledgling college gained full degree-awarding powers in 1957 when it was granted its Royal Charter.

The site for the University was given by a local textile manufacturer, Thomas Fielding Johnson, in order to create a living memorial for those who gave their lives in the First World War. This is reflected in the University motto 'Ut Vitam Habeant' - so that they may have life.

Famous names associated with the University include: Lord Richard and Sir David Attenborough; poet Philip Larkin; authors C.P. Snow, Malcolm Bradbury and Sue Townsend; astronaut Jeff Hoffman; astronomers Patrick Moore and Heather Couper; TV personalities Michael Nicholson and Sue Cook; the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir John Stevens; the Government's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson and comic Bob Mortimer.

1. Academics
2. The University is organised into six faculties:
3. Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences
4. Faculty of Arts
5. Faculty of Law
6. Faculty of Science
7. Faculty of Social Sciences (expanded in 2004 to include the Faculty of Education)
8. Faculty of Engineering

Leceister University ranked:

1. 185th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking
2. 177th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking
3. 196th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking
4. 169th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking
5. 195th in the 2011 QS World University Rankings

Free University of Berlin

History

It was founded in 1948 by students and staff who were relegated because of their political views from Humboldt University of Berlin, formerly the traditional Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität of Berlin, and at that time controlled by the authorities in the Soviet sector. In 1968, it was the center of the left-wing German student movement in parallel to that in Paris, London, and Berkeley. Activists of that time included the SDS and Rudi Dutschke. By the 1980s, it had become the largest German university with 66,000 students. With the restructuring of the Humboldt University after the German reunification, the Freie Universität Berlin was downsized to about 38,000 students in the 1990s.

Freie Universität Berlin is a leading research institution. It is one of nine German universities that met with success in all three funding lines in the federal and state Excellence Initiative, thereby receiving additional funding for its institutional future development strategy. Freie Universität can thus take its place as an “International Network university” in the global competition among universities. Its future development strategy is focused around three strategic centers: for cluster development, for international exchange, and for graduate studies. Development and assessment of research projects takes place within three major focus areas – area studies, humanities, and life sciences. Freie Universität has various offices abroad, e.g., in New York, Beijing, and Moscow, that provide a platform for international cooperation. The university’s performance in the Excellence Initiative has provided funding for several new graduate schools and transdisciplinary research clusters.

The Times Higher Education Supplement world rankings in Arts and Humanities of 2008 place the FU Berlin 3rd best in Europe, and 24th in the world.

Departments

1. The university has 12 departments, three interdisciplinary central institutes and other central service institutions:
2. Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy
3. Business and Economics
4. Earth Sciences
5. History and Cultural Studies
6. Law
7. Mathematics and Computer Science
8. Medicine (Charité - University Medicine Berlin)
9. Pedagogy and Psychology
10. Philosophy and Humanities

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

                                         

Johns Hopkins is particularly regarded for its hospital and schools of medicine, public health, and international studies. The Johns Hopkins Hospital was ranked as the top hospital in the United States for the seventeenth year in a row by the U.S. News and World Report annual ranking of American hospitals. For medical research, U.S. News ranked the School of Medicine second nationally and School of Public Health first nationally for 2007, and, in an August 2005 study, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) was ranked as the top master's program in international relations.

Peabody Institute: founded in 1857, is the oldest continuously active music conservatory in the United States. Located in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood, it became a division of Johns Hopkins in 1977. The Conservatory retains its own student body and grants its own degrees in musicology, though both Hopkins and Peabody students may take courses at both institutions.

Johns Hopkins offers its main undergraduate and graduate programs at the Homewood campus in Baltimore and maintains full-time campuses in greater Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, and China. Johns Hopkins was the first university in the United States to emphasize research, applying the German university model developed by Wilhelm von Humboldt and Friedrich Schleiermacher.

History

The Johns Hopkins University is named for Johns Hopkins, who left $7 million in his 1867 incorporation papers and 1873 will for the foundation of the university and Johns Hopkins Hospital. At the time, this was the largest philanthropic bequest in U.S. history, the equivalent of over $131 million in the year 2006. Hopkins is no stranger to significant monetary gifts; in 2001, Sidney Kimmel, founder and chairman of Jones Apparel Group, donated $150 million for cancer research. Though Kimmel’s gift is the largest single gift in the university’s history, alumnus Michael Bloomberg's confirmed personal donations total over $200 million. Bloomberg, whose first donation of $5 was given in 1964, the year he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, is the largest individual benefactor in the university's history.

The university opened on February 22, 1876, with the stated goal of "The encouragement of research... and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and the society where they dwell."The university's first president was Daniel Coit Gilman. Its motto in Latin is Veritas vos liberabit – "The truth shall make you free." The undergraduate student population at Hopkins was all male until 1970 although many graduate programs were integrated earlier.

Johns Hopkins was the first American research university,and the first American university to teach through seminars, instead of solely through lectures. The university was the first in America to offer an undergraduate major (as opposed to a purely liberal arts curriculum) and the first American university to grant doctoral degrees. Johns Hopkins was a model for most large research universities in the United States, particularly the University of Chicago.

Academics

Homewood Campus

The original main university campus was in downtown Baltimore City. However, this location did not permit room for growth and the trustees began to look for a place to move. Eventually, they would relocate to the estate of Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Homewood House, a wedding gift from Charles to his son Charles Jr.

The park-like main campus of Johns Hopkins, Homewood, is set on 140 acres (0.57 km²) in the northern part of Baltimore. The architecture was modeled after the Georgian-inspired Federalist style of Homewood House. Most newer buildings resemble this style, being built of red brick with white marble trim, but lack the details. Homewood House was later used for administrative offices but now is preserved as a museum.

Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences: Located at the university’s Homewood campus, the Krieger School is the core institution of the university and offers undergraduate and graduate programs,[with more than 60 undergraduate majors and minors and more than 40 full-time and part-time graduate programs.

G.W.C Whiting School of Engineering: The Whiting School is located on the main Homewood campus of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and offers undergraduate and graduate engineering programs.

School of Education: The School of Education was established in 2007, incorporating divisions of the former School of Professional Studies in Business and Education.

Medical Institutions campus.

School of Medicine: The School of Medicine is headquartered at the university's Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore with Johns Hopkins Hospital. The School of Medicine is widely regarded as one of the best medical schools and biomedical research institutes in the world.

School of Nursing: The School of Nursing, is located in East Baltimore and is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital and the School of Medicine

Bloomberg School of Public Health: The Bloomberg School was founded in 1916, is the first and largest public health school in the world. It has consistently been ranked the number one school of public health by U.S. News & World Report.

Downtown Baltimore

Carey Business School: The Carey Business School was established in 2007, incorporating divisions of the former School of Professional Studies in Business and Education.

Washington D.C.

Johns Hopkins' Washington, DC campus located near Dupont Circle is home to the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and the part-time graduate program Advanced Academic Programs (AAP). SAIS is devoted to international studies, particularly international relations, diplomacy, and economics.

Laurel, MD

Applied Physics Laboratory: The university operates the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, which specializes in research for the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and other Government agencies. The Space Telescope Science Institute is located on the Homewood campus and controls, analyzes, and collects data from the Hubble Space Telescope.

At the collegiate level, in its annual National Universities ranking U.S. News placed The Johns Hopkins University 14th (tied with Brown University and Northwestern University) for 2008,up from 16th in 2007. Hopkins ranked 8th in that publication's peer assessment category this year, and is also one of a select group of universities to have ever been top 10 in the nation overall.

University of Athens

National and Capodistrian University of Athens was founded on 3 May 1837, and was housed in the residence of architect Stamatis Kleanthes, on the north east side of the Acropolis. It was the first University not only in the newly- established Greek State but in all the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general.

The "Othonian University", as it was called before taking its present name, "National and Capodistrian University of Athens", consisted of four Faculties, Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts (which included applied sciences and mathematics). It had 33 professors, 52 students and 75 non-matriculated "auditors".New classes began in a new building, which designed by the Danish architect Christian Hansen, in November 1841.

A major change in the structure of the University came about in 1904, when the Faculty of Arts was split into two separate Faculties: that of Arts and that of Sciences, the latter consisting of the departments of Physics and Mathematics and the School of Pharmacy. In 1919, a department of Chemistry was added, and in 1922 the School of Pharmacy was renamed a Department. A further change came about when the School of Dentistry was added to the Faculty of Medicine..

In this first and "heroic" period for Greek education, the University faculty made great efforts to fill the gap between their newly founded institution and older ones in other countries.

Between 1895 and 1911, an average of one thousand new students entered the Faculties each year, a figure which rose to two thousand at the end of World War I. This led to the decision to introduce entrance examinations for all the Faculties, beginning in the academic year 1927-28. Since 1954 the number of students admitted each year has been fixed by the Ministry of Education and Religion, on the proposal of the Faculties.

In the 1960's construction work began on the University Campus in the suburb of Ilissia. The Ilissia campus now houses the Schools of Philosophy, Theology and Sciences.

History

Academics and Schools

The University of Athens is divided into schools, faculties and departments as follows. The naming is nοt consistent in English for historical reasons, but in Greek the largest divisions are generally named “σχολές” (schools) and are divided in “τμήματα” (departments), furthermore subdivided in “τομείς” (divisions).

1. School of Theology 
2. Faculty of Theology
3. Faculty of Social Theology
4. School of Philosophy 
5. Faculty of Philology
6. Faculty of History and Archaeology
7. Faculty of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology
8. Faculty of English Studies
9. Faculty of French Language and Literature
10. Faculty of German Studies
11. Faculty of Italian and Spanish Language and Literature
12. Faculty of Theatre Studies
13. Faculty of Music Studies
14. Faculty of Turkish and Modern Asian Studies
15. Faculty of Slavic Studies
16. Schools of Health Sciences 
17. Faculty of Medicine
18. Faculty of Dentistry
19. Faculty of Pharmacy
20. Faculty of Nursing
21. School of Law, Economics and Political Sciences
22. Faculty of Law
23. Faculty of Economic Studies
24. Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration
25. School of Sciences 
26. Faculty of Physics
27. Faculty of Biology
28. Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment
29. Faculty of Chemistry
30. Faculty of Mathematics
31. Faculty of Informatics and Telecommunications
32. Independent faculties 
33. Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science
34. Faculty of Primary Education
35. Faculty of Early Childhood Education
36. Faculty of Communication and Mass Media Studies
37. Faculty of Philosophy & History of Science
38. 
    

University of Athens ranked 200th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

University of Athens ranked 177th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

                                                                         The Library

                                                                     

History

In the late 1980s the Hong Kong Government anticipated a strong demand for university graduates to fuel an economy increasingly based on services. Chung Sze Yuen and the Governor of Hong Kong, Edward Youde, conceived the idea of another university in Hong Kong. Envisioning the establishment of an internationally competitive university, planning for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology began in 1986. Construction began at the former British garrison Kohima Camp in Tai Po Tsai on the Clear Water Bay Peninsula. Originally scheduled to finish in 1994, the death of Edward Youde in 1986 led to increased effort and allowed for UST to open its doors early - in 1991.

The project was heavily criticized for surpassing the budget originally set forth by the Hong Kong Government and Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. However, under the fund raising efforts of its Vice-Chancellor at the time, Woo Chia-wei, the first students enrolled in October 1991. By 1992, accommodation as well as athletic facilities were expanded to support about 7,000 students. Several more expansion projects such as the construction of the HKUST Enterprise Centre have since been completed and current efforts include the expansion of housing facilities scheduled for completion for 2009.

Faculty

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology awards degrees in five schools organized under the Academic Affairs branch of the University. The Schools of Science, Engineering, and Business and Management offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs through to the doctorate. The School of Humanities and Social Science provides general education for all undergraduates and enrolls graduate students up to the doctoral level.

Programs offerred

School of Science

1.  Biochemistry
2. Biology
3.  Chemistry
4.  Mathematics
5.  Physics

(with the option of complementing with education in the Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics program)

School of Engineering

• Chemical Engineering

• Civil Engineering

• Computer Science & Engineering

• Electronic & Computer Engineering

• Industrial Engineering & Logistics Management

• Mechanical Engineering

School of Business and Management

• Accounting

• Economics

• Finance

• Information & Systems Management

• Marketing

• Management of Organizations

School of Humanities and Social Science

Campus

The university campus occupies a 60 hectares (0.60 km²) site which is divided into a several sections: the Academic Building, S.H. Ho Sports Hall, student halls, outdoor sports facilities, the University Centre, apartments, staff quarters and the President's Lodge. Being constructed along the slope of the surrounding hills, beautiful Port Shelter is clearly visible from virtually every building on campus. Arranged in cascades, the buildings are connected by walkways and several balconies thus offer a spectacular view of the South China Sea.

The Kellog-HKUST EMBA program has been ranked No.1 by the Financial Times and this has boosted their momentum for further achievement.

Ranked 53rd in The THES-QS 2007 World University Ranking 

HKUST ranked 39th in The THES-QS 2008 World University RankingHKUST ranked 35th in The THES-QS 2009 World University RankingHKUST ranked 40th in The QS 2010 World University Ranking

HKUST ranked 40th in The QS 2011 World University Ranking

University of Bergen

Home students (European citizens) do not pay fees to the university. Students are however required to be members of the student welfare organisation. As of Fall 2009, this fee (semesteravgift) is NOK 470 (approx. US$ 80) per semester, and provides access to several services, including cultural activities, childcare, refunds for many medical expenses and subsidized accommodation.

Ranking

The University in Bergen currently is ranked as the 144th best university in the world, out of 9000 universities. In 2006, the University of Bergen appeared unranked on the THES - QS World University Rankings among the 201-520th best universities in Europe. In 2007, the university was ranked as the 225th best in Europe, in front of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the University of Tromsø, which ranked as the 301st and 292nd best respectively, but behind the University of Oslo, ranked as the 188th best university.On the 2009 THE–QS World University Rankings list, the University of Bergen was ranked inside the top 200 for the first time.

Faculty of Humanities

* Centre for Medieval Studies

* Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities

* Centre for Women and Gender Research

* Department of Archeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR)

* Department of Foreign Languages (Arabic, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, German and single courses in Chinese (IF) [1]

* Department of Linguistics, Literary and Aestethical studies (LLE)

* Department of Philosophy and First Semester Studies (see Examen philosophicum and Examen facultatum) (FOF)

* The Grieg Academy – Department of Music

The faculty revised its structure and names in August 2007.

Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law was established as a separate faculty in 1980, with legal studies and research having been conducted at the university since 1969. The faculty is one of three Norwegian institutions which offer legal studies, the other two being the law faculties at the University of Oslo and the University of Tromsø. The faculty offers a five-year programme leading to a Master's degree in law and a three-year PhD programme, and currently has approximately 1900 students.

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

* Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research

* Centre for Geobiology

* Centre for Pharmacy

* CIPR - Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research

* Department of Biology

* Department of Chemistry

* Department of Earth Science

* Department of Informatics

University of Sussex

                                                       

The University of Sussex was the first of the new wave of British universities founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in August 1961, and came to be identified not only with postwar social change, but a groundbreaking interdisciplinary approach, and later social engagement. The University is ranked within the top 30 in the UK, with The Guardian University Rankings of 2005 placing Sussex 16th, whilst the 2007 "Good University Guide" places Sussex in 27th position and the latest 2008 ranking sees Sussex move up to 24th. According to the 2008 Guardian University Rankings, Sussex has the number one ranked chemistry department among British universities, with its Professor Geoff Cloke recently being elected a Fellow of The Royal Society.

History

The University of Sussex initially began as an idea for the construction of a university to serve Brighton. In December 1911 there was a public meeting at the Royal Pavilion in order to discover ways in which to fund the construction of a university. However, the project was halted by the First World War and the money raised was instead used for books for the Municipal Technical College. However, the idea was revived in the 1950s, and in June 1958, the government approved the corporation's scheme for a university at Brighton, the first of a new generation of red brick universities. The University was established as a company in 1959, with a Royal Charter being granted on 16 August 1961.

The University of Sussex rapidly gained a reputation of radicalism and liberalism, which endures today, with the university's student union committed to political causes. Currently the University has a "no platform for fascists" stance, disallowing fascist parties such as the BNP the right to speak and debate at the University.

In 2004, the University started using a new corporate-style logo in place of its coat of arms. Former vice-chancellor, Professor Alasdair Smith, said: "Our new visual identity is the starting point for what will be a fresh look and feel for Sussex. It is based on the university's vision and values, themselves a statement of what it aspires to be: pioneering, creative, international, excellent, engaging and challenging". The new logo is also meant to reflect the large changes that are occurring at Sussex, such as the opening of the new Brighton and Sussex Medical School, new degree programmes, and the largest amount of building work on campus since the university opened. The University retains the right to resume use of its coat of arms.

Here's what the website talked about Sussex:

There’s a unique flavour to Sussex that makes studying here a great experience. Our strong reputation for research attracts outstanding academic staff from around the world and provides firm foundations for our teaching excellence. Add to this our proud history for innovative learning approaches and inclusiveness, where everyone is encouraged to make the most of all their talents, and you have a recipe for outstanding success.

University of São Paulo

USP is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Brazil and Latin America, with approximately 75,000 enrolled students. It comprises eleven campi, four of them in the City of São Paulo (the main campus is called Campus Armando de Salles Oliveira, with an area of 7,443,770 m²).There are campuses in the cities of Bauru, Lorena, Piracicaba, Pirassununga, Ribeirão Preto and two in São Carlos. USP is involved in teaching, research and university extension in all areas of knowledge

History

During the "search for alternatives" period in the 1930s, political centralization and the first attempt to provide Brazil with modern administrative, military and educational institutions took place.The main initiatives included the University of São Paulo, which was created in 1934. Its nucleus was the creation of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters, with professors coming from France, Italy, Germany and other European countries. USP also brought together several research and higher-education institutions in the state created before, such as the Faculty of Medicine (Faculdade de Medicina), the Polytechnic School (Escola Politécnica), and the College of Law (Faculdade de Direito).

The Polytechnic School includes civil, electrical, mechanical, mining, metallurgical, naval and oceanic, and chemical engineering departments.

School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities

School of Communications and Arts

School of Physical Education and Sports

School of Nursing

Ribeirão Preto School of Nursing

Lorena School of Engineering

São Carlos School of Engineering

Polytechnical School

Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture

Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Law of Ribeirão Preto

Faculty of Economy, Management and Accounting

Faculty of Economy, Management and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto)

Faculty of Education

Fudan University

History

Initially known as Fudan Public School or Fudan College in 1905. The two Chinese characters Fudan (復旦) were chosen by the distinguished educator in modern Chinese history, Father Ma Xiangbo S.J. (马相伯), from the Confucian Classics.

In 1911 during the Xinhai Revolution the college was taken up as the headquarters of the Guangfu Army and closed down for almost one year. In 1917, Fudan Public School became a private university named the Private Fudan University.

When the Second Sino-Japanese War started in 1937, Fudan moved with the Kuomintang to the inland city of Chongqing. On December 25, 1941, the First Meeting of Fifth Conference of the Highest Executive Authority of the National Government of the Republic of China voted to change Fudan University (Chongqing) to a public university with Wu Nanxuan as its president.

In the 1970s, after the Cultural Revolution, the university was changed to a modern, comprehensive-style university.

Fudan University and Shanghai Medical University were merged on April 27, 2000.

Fudan Today

Fudan University comprises 17 full-time schools, 69 departments, 73 bachelor's degree programs, 22 disciplines and 134 sub-disciplines authorized to confer Ph. D. degrees, 201 master degree programs, 6 professional degree programs, 7 Key Social Science Research Centers of Ministry of Education P.R.C, 9 National Basic Science Research and Training Institutes and 25 post-doctoral research stations.

It has 40 national key disciplines granted by the Ministry of Education P.R.C, nationally third. At present, it compasses 77 research institutes, 112 cross-disciplinary research institutes and 5 national key laboratories.

Currently, Fudan University enrolls over 45,000, including full-time students and students in Continuing Education and Online Education. Additionally, there are nearly 1,760 students from overseas; second nationally.

Fudan University has a high-level research faculty of over 2,400 full-time teachers and researchers, including 1,350 professors and associate professors, 30 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, nearly 660 doctoral supervisors, 26 Special professors and 2 lecture professors of "Cheungkong Scholars Program", 3 distinguished professors and 10 special professors of Fudan University, 6 principal scientists of Project 973 and 25 “Young Experts with Prominent Contributions to the Country”.

Also, Fudan University has eight teaching hospitals, such as Zhongshan Hospital and Huashan Hospital, integrating medical service, medicine education and research. These hospitals own advanced mechanisms and sophisticated skills, over 900 staff with advanced and associate advanced position, creating a good condition for medicine education.

Rice University

History

William Marsh Rice moved from his native Massachusetts to Houston in 1839 and established a store in the new city. Soon he was trading cotton, investing in land and railroads and on his way to making a fortune. After the Civil War, he retired to the East Coast, but he still had investments in Houston and often returned to the city. During an 1891 visit, he called together a group of friends and his lawyer, Captain James A. Baker, and chartered the William Marsh Rice Institute for the advancement of literature, science and art. This charter was a vague document that listed a variety of functions but did not specifically call for the establishment of a university. It did say that nothing was to be done before his death.

Rice died on Sept. 23, 1900, but not of natural causes. Albert T. Patrick, an unscrupulous lawyer, was in cahoots with Rice’s valet, Charles Jones. They had concocted a plot to steal his fortune by means of a forged will. Impatient for Rice to die, the crooked lawyer and greedy valet suffocated him. They might have gotten away with their scheme; however, the next day, they tried to cash a check written out to the lawyer by the valet. In their rush, the valet misspelled the lawyer’s name. An alert bank clerk noticed the discrepancy, and the bank president called Rice’s apartment for verification. With Capt. James Baker, Rice’s lawyer, pressing the investigation, the plot soon unraveled. The valet confessed, the lawyer was sent to Sing Sing, and Rice’s fortune was saved. A counterclaim to much of the estate, based on Rice’s second wife’s will, was settled in 1904, and the funds became available to fulfill the intentions of the 1891 charter.

But exactly what kind of institution did the imprecise charter mandate? To guide them, the trustees chose an imaginative first president, a young mathematician and astronomer at Princeton University named Edgar Odell Lovett. Lovett had earned doctorates from the University of Virginia and the University of Leipzig, and he had taught at Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago and Princeton, the most innovative American universities of the time. The trustees sent him on a worldwide tour of the “competition,” where he interviewed faculty, inspected facilities and developed an inspired vision of what might be accomplished on the plains of Texas with a blank-check charter, a generous endowment and high ambitions. The goal was a university "of the highest grade" that kept "the standards up and numbers down." Lovett shaped the university that Rice would become.

The Rice Institute opened on Sept. 23, 1912, the anniversary of Rice’s murder, with 77 students and a dozen faculty. An international academic festival celebrated the opening three weeks later, a spectacular event that brought Rice to the attention of the entire scholarly world. Four years later, at the initial commencement, 35 bachelor's degrees and one master’s degree were awarded, with the first doctorate conferred in 1918.

Faculties

Below are the faculties available in Rice University

School of Architecture 

George R. Brown School of Engineering 

School of Humanities 

Shepherd School of Music 

Wiess School of Natural Sciences 

School of Social Sciences 

Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management 

Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies 

Residential Colleges

Undergraduate life at Rice University differs from that at many other American universities because of Rice's tradition of residential colleges. At most universities, the word "college" refers to the entire institution, the undergraduate program, or a particular academic division. At Rice, "college" is a way of life.

Approximately 76 percent of the current undergraduate student population live on campus in nine coeducational residential colleges. Students who live off maintain their college affiliations.

In the colleges, students live, dine, and study together networking, and developing leadership skills. Each college functions as a self-supporting unit, boasting its own government, intramural sports, and other social and cultural activities.

Random assignment of entering students to residential colleges ensures that each college reflects the academic, geographic, and cultural diversity of the overall undergraduate population.

(www.texasexplorer.com/ RiceUniversity.htm)

Rice University Ranked 92th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

Rice University Ranked 78th in the 2008 THES-QS World University RankingRice University Ranked 100th in the 2009 THES-QS World University RankingRice University Ranked 115th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

Rice University Ranked 117th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking

University of Lausanne

   

Together with the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) the university forms a vast campus at the shores of Lake Geneva.

The Academy, forerunner of the UNIL, was founded in 1537. Its vocation at that time was to train ministers for the church. The university enjoyed a certain renown due to the fact that it was the only French language Protestant school of theology.

As the centuries passed, the number of faculties increased and diversified until, in 1890, the Academy received the name and status of a university. From 1970, the university moved progressively from the old centre of Lausanne, around the Cathedral and Château, to its present site at Dorigny. The end of the 20th century witnessed the beginnings of an ambitious project aiming at greater co-operation and development among the French-speaking universities of Lausanne, Geneva, and Neuchâtel, together with the EPFL. In 2003 two new faculties were founded concentrating on the life and human sciences: the Faculty of biology and medicine; and the Faculty of earth science and environment.

The University of Lausanne comprises 7 faculties:

Faculty of Arts

Faculty of Biology and Medicine (FBM)

Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC), also called HEC Lausanne

Faculty of Geosciences and Environment (GSE)

Faculty of Law and Criminal Justice

Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (SSP)

Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies

The University of Lausanne also comprises schools and different sections:

School of Criminal Justice (ESC)

School of French as a Foreign Language (EFLE)

Vacation Courses (CVAC)

Section of Pharmacy

ETH Zurich (Zurich Federal Institute of Technology)

Historically, the ETH achieved its reputation particularly in the fields of chemistry, mathematics and physics. There are 21 Nobel Laureates who are associated with the ETH, counting only graduates of the ETH and Professors who have been honored for their work at ETH. The most recent Nobel Laureate is Kurt Wüthrich who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2002.

Education

The basis of education at the ETH Zurich is formed by the core areas of engineering, natural sciences, architecture and mathematics. In addition, courses in physical education and military sciences are offered. The goal of instruction is to enable the students to acquire solid technical knowledge, practical skills, and the ability to take part in interdisciplinary activities. Relying on an atmosphere of a mutual trust among teachers and students, and a reciprocal awareness of social and ethical concerns, the ETH Zurich encourages in its students both individual creativity and the ability to reflect on and evaluate their own actions, with the aim of achieving a comprehensive outlook and a responsible mode of behaviour. Considering the need for a new approach to knowledge and technology and a better understanding of the nature of man, the ETH Zurich treats the humanities and social sciences as integral parts of its educational profile.

Further education

The ETH Zurich takes into account the fact that learning is being seen more and more as a life-long process. Correspondingly, the basic curriculum is kept relatively short and is later supplemented by postgraduate and further education courses. This is to promote a more rapid transfer of knowledge and technology between the university and the world outside.

Research

At the ETH Zurich teaching and research are closely linked. Equal standing is assigned to knowledge-oriented basic research and to problem-solving research. Both areas are dedicated to fulfilling the highest standards, and are long-term oriented. The ETH Zurich is specially committed to the continuous development of that innovative potential within society and industry.

International links

As an institute of higher learning and research, the ETH Zurich cultivates an international standing. It is aware that its scientific contribution has to be confirmed by the international research community. Thus the ETH Zurich strongly supports international co-operation in all fields of research and education. As a long-term strategy, it also devotes special attention to structurally and economically underdeveloped countries.

Co-operation

The ETH Zurich encourages partnerships and interdisciplinary co-operation among members of its community, with other educational and research institutions, with industry, and with the public administration, and it believes in keeping the public informed regarding these activities. The sustainable development of human society depends on our efforts both to create and support a strong and innovative economy.

Self-management

The ETH Zurich sets itself the goal of efficient self-management in the sense of providing optimal services to education and research within the given juridical framework. It endeavours to gain additional financial support, beyond the allotted public funds, from industry and private sources. Faithful to the basic principles of research and teaching, the ETH Zurich practices an economical use of resources such as land, materials and energy, and assigns high priority to security for human beings and the environment.

Employer

In its relationship with staff, the ETH Zurich conceives itself to be a responsible employer committed to observing up-to-date employment practices and working conditions. It adheres to a co-operative, fair style of management, allowing forms of participation appropriate to employeesí occupation and position, and it maintains an open information policy. No discrimination among its members is permitted on the basis of sex or social, ethnic or religious origin. The ETH Zurich wants to increase the proportion of women in all fields of research, teaching and administration. The ETH Zurich demands a high level of human and professional competence from senior personnel in all categories.

Location Zurich

The ETH Zurich benefits greatly from Zurichís urban setting. It feels closely tied to and responsible towards the city and canton. For its part it contributes to the cultural life of the city and region, and in all its activities pays regard to urban needs.

Departments

Agriculture and Food Science

Architecture

Biology

Computer Science

Earth Sciences

Environmental Sciences

Humanities, Social and Political Science

Information Technology and Electrical Engineering

Management, Technology and Economics

Materials Science

Mathematics

Mechanical and Process Engineering

Physics

ETH Zurich Ranked 42th in the 2007 THES-QS World University Ranking

ETH Zurich Ranked 24th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking

ETH Zurich Ranked 20th in the 2009 THES-QS World University Ranking

ETH Zurich Ranked 18th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

ETH Zurich Ranked 18th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking