Universität Konstanz was founded in 1966 as a reform university and stands on the shore of Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg. Its main campus on the Gießberg opened in 1972, and key parts of the campus have been under heritage protection since 2012.
The university is organised in three faculties, covering humanities; law, economics and politics; and the sciences, with 13 departments between them. The science side includes mathematics and statistics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology and psychology.
In October 2007 the university was named a University of Excellence under the German Excellence Initiative with its future concept, called Modell Konstanz, and it has taken part in the Excellence Strategy since. It hosts the Cluster of Excellence on the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, which studies collective behaviour in living organisms. International students make up about 15 percent of the student body.
Domains taught:
AI and Machine Learning, Astroscience, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Chemistry, Computer Vision, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Electrical and Electronics, Fluid Dynamics, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Materials, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology and Genetics, Nanotechnologies, Optics, Physics, Process Control, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Statistics, Structural Engineering, Telecommunications, Thermodynamics
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
One of Germany’s Universities of Excellence. Strong interdisciplinary research focus.
Research:
Chemical biology and materials science, Nanoscience and condensed matter physics, Collective behavior and decision sciences, Data science and information processing.
Famous Alumnis:
Wolfgang Iser
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
2000
Current students***:
11000
Foreign students***:
10%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Excellence Initiative university, strong research in specific science areas, beautiful campus location.
Cons
Less focused on traditional engineering disciplines.
Best For
Research university strong in chemistry, physics, computer science, and collective behavior.
Universität Bielefeld is a public university whose specialties include computer science, intelligent systems and physics, comparable to Konstanz in subject mix.
Universität Mannheim, public and based in Mannheim, teaches computer science, data science and business informatics.
Universität Ulm offers physics and quantum science with computer science and engineering at a public university in Baden-Württemberg.
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, a public university in the same state, is known for neuroscience and cognitive science and for machine learning.
Universität Potsdam is a public university whose main fields include earth and environmental sciences and cognitive sciences.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
University of Hawaii at Manoa (United States) is a public university in Honolulu with oceanography and astronomy among its fields.
Brown University, a private university in Providence (United States), is known for computer science, economics and its open curriculum.
Lancaster University in the United Kingdom is a public university with business, environmental science and physics as main fields.
University of Sussex, also in the United Kingdom, is public and lists development studies and social sciences among its specialties.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
When was the University of Konstanz founded?
The university dates from 1966 and was set up as a reform university with an interdisciplinary orientation. Its Gießberg campus opened in 1972.
What is the setting of the campus?
It lies in the city of Konstanz on Lake Constance, in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The Gießberg campus has had parts protected as heritage buildings since 2012.
How is the university structured?
Three faculties (humanities; law, economics and politics; sciences) are subdivided into 13 departments.
Which subjects are available in the sciences?
The science faculty covers mathematics and statistics, computer science and information engineering, physics, chemistry, biology and psychology. The official website lists the degree programmes in detail.
What does the Excellence status mean for Konstanz?
In October 2007 the university's concept, Modell Konstanz, was accepted under the federal and state Excellence Initiative, and it has remained part of the later Excellence Strategy. Its Cluster of Excellence on collective behaviour is one result.
How international is the university?
International students account for about 15 percent of the student body according to the university. The Times Higher Education profile gives the same share.
Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Materials Science, Quality Management, Research and Development, Sustainable Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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