University of Mainz

The first University of Mainz goes back to the Archbishop of Mainz, Prince-elector and Reichserzkanzler Adolf II von Nassau. At the time, establishing a university required papal approval and Adolf II initiated the approval process during his time in office. The university, however, was first opened in 1477 by Adolf's successor to the bishopric, Diether von Isenburg. In 1784 the university was opened up for Protestants and Jews (curator Anselm Franz von Bentzel-Sternau ). It became one of the largest Catholic universities in Europe with ten chairs in theology alone. In the confusion after the establishment of the Mainz Republic of 1792 and its subsequent recapture by the Prussians, academic activity came to a gradual standstill. In 1798 the university became active again under French governance, and lectures in the department of medicine took place until 1823. Only the faculty of theology continued teaching during the 19th century, albeit as a theological seminary (since 1877 "College of Philosophy and Theology").

Statue of Johannes Gutenberg at the University of Mainz

The current Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz was founded in 1946 by the French occupying power. In a decree on 1 March the French military government implied that the University of Mainz would continue to exist: the university shall be "enabled to resume its function". The remains of anti-aircraft warfare barracks erected in 1938 after the remilitarization of the Rhineland during the Third Reich served as the university's first buildings and are still in use today.

The continuation of academic activity between the old university and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, in spite of an interruption spanning over 100 years, is contested. During the time up to its reopening only a seminary and midwifery college survived.

In 1972, the effect of the 1968 student protests began to take a toll on the university's structure. The departments (Fakultäten) were dismantled and the university was organized into broad fields of study (Fachbereiche). Finally in 1974 Peter Schneider was elected as the first president of what was now a "constituted group-university" institute of higher education. In 1990 Jürgen Zöllner became university president yet spent only a year in the position after he was appointed Minister for "Science and Advanced Education" for the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. As the coordinator for the SPD's higher education policy, this furloughed professor from the Institute for Physiological Chemistry played a decisive role in the SPD's higher education policy and in the development of Study Accounts.

The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is divided in ten faculties since 1 September 2010.

• Faculty of Catholic and Protestant Theology
• Faculty of Social Sciences, Media, and Sports
• Faculty of Law, Management, and Economics
• University Medicine
• Faculty of Philosophy and Philology
• Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies
• Faculty of History and Cultural Studies
• Faculty of Physics, Mathematics
• Faculty of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Geosciences
• Faculty of Biology

The academies for music and art are independent art colleges of the Johannes Gutenberg University, the Hochschule für Musik Mainz and the Kunsthochschule Mainz.[4]

The University of Mainz is one of few campus universities in Germany. Nearly all its institutions and facilities are located on the site of a former barracks in the south west part of the city. The university medical centre is located off campus, as is the Department of Applied Linguistics and Cultural Sciences, which was integrated with the university in 1949 and is located in Germersheim. On campus next to the university is the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, the Institute of Molecular Biology, the electron accelerator MAMI, the research reactor TRIGA, the botanical garden, a sports stadium and an indoor swimming pool. Mainz Academy of Arts (Kunsthochschule Mainz) is located off campus.

The range of studies is comprehensive; the university lacks some technical studies, veterinary medicine and nutrition science. One can nonetheless study the theology, history of books, athletics, music, visual arts, theatre, and film.

Today the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz has approximately 36,000 students (as of 2010) and consists of over 150 institutions and clinics. The university offers international programs, such as the award-winning choir EuropaChorAkademie, founded by Joshard Daus in 1997, in collaboration with the University of the Arts Bremen.[5]

One of the instruments carried by the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, a miniature Mössbauer spectrometer, was developed at the university.

The University of Mainz does not currently levy fees or tuition (Studiengebühren) for a regular course of study. Senior citizen students, auditing students, and certain postgraduate students may be subject to fees.[6]

As per the QS World University Rankings for 2024, the university holds the 464th position worldwide and is placed 27th nationally.[7] On the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it finds itself within the 251–300 range globally, and falls within the 25–31 range on a national scale in the 2024 edition.[8] In terms of the ARWU World Rankings for 2022, the university is positioned in the 201–300 band internationally, and ranks between 10th and 19th in the country.[9]

According to the report of the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2018, the University of Mainz is one of the best universities in natural sciences in Germany. In the period under review from 2014 to 2016, the University of Mainz received the highest number of competitive grants in the natural sciences. The university also achieved the first place in physics.[10] In a competitive selection process, the DFG selects the best research projects from researchers at universities and research institutes and finances them. The ranking is thus regarded as an indicator of the quality of research.[11]

By subject

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023[12] Subject Global National Arts & Humanities  283  15 Linguistics  151–200  11–14 Archaeology  101–150  9–12 English Language and Literature  201–250  8–9 Modern Languages  201–250  10–13 Engineering and Technology N/A N/A Engineering – Chemical  201–250  9–10 Life Sciences & Medicine N/A N/A Pharmacy and Pharmacology  74  4 Natural Sciences  175  13 Chemistry  151–200  13–14 Physics and Astronomy  112  9 Social Sciences & Management N/A N/A Communication and Media Studies  101–150  3–7 THE World University Rankings by Subject 2023[13] Subject Global National Arts & humanities  251–300  21–27 Education  501–600  27 Social sciences  201–250  14–17 Clinical & health  301–400  21–25 Life sciences  201–250  20–25 Physical sciences  151–175  12–15 Psychology  201–250  20–23

ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2022[14] Subject Global National Natural Sciences Mathematics  301–400  19–29 Physics  51–75  3–5 Chemistry  201–300  16–25 Earth Sciences  151–200  13–16 Atmospheric Science  76–100  2–6 Engineering Biomedical Engineering  101–150  6–10 Materials Science & Engineering  301–400  16–21 Nanoscience & Nanotechnology  201–300  8–17 Environmental Science & Engineering  401–500  22–28 Life Sciences Biological Sciences  201–300  20–30 Human Biological Sciences  76–100  9–12 Medical Sciences Clinical Medicine  301–400  23–30 Dentistry & Oral Sciences  201–300  22–28 Medical Technology  201–300  24–30 Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences  76–100  7–9 Social Sciences Political Sciences  201–300  13–16 Communication  34  2 Psychology  151–200  12–17

• List of medieval universities
• List of universities in Germany

• www.uni-mainz.de official website