University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the Rhine. It opened in 1818 as the Prussian Rhine University under King Frederick William III, succeeding earlier academies in the Electoral city. It is a comprehensive university rather than a technical institute, with a historic core in the former Electoral Palace and science facilities at Poppelsdorf and other sites across the city.

Seven faculties cover Catholic and Protestant theology, law and economics, medicine, arts, mathematics and natural sciences, and agriculture. Graduate research is closely tied to the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics, the ImmunoSensation cluster, agricultural robotics work at PhenoRob, and the University Hospital Bonn. Bonn International Graduate Schools provide structured doctoral training in several disciplines.

The university enrolls about 35,000 students, including a large graduate population and international students from more than 130 countries. Scientists associated with Bonn include Nobel laureates Wolfgang Paul in physics and Reinhard Selten in economics. Former students include Karl Marx, who enrolled in 1835, and Friedrich Nietzsche; Joseph Ratzinger later served on the theology faculty.

Doctoral study follows the German pattern of individual supervision or a structured graduate school, with Dr. rer. nat., Dr. phil., and medical doctorates common; master's degrees are the standard taught graduate route. The year is divided into winter and summer semesters. Support often comes from research assistantships, graduate-school posts, and public scholarships. Bonn is a mid-size city with federal agencies and United Nations offices, compact enough that many graduate students live in town and use regional trains to Cologne.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, University of Bonn lists 7 graduate programs across 5 subjects: 3 master's programs and 4 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in economics, mathematics and chemistry. University of Bonn holds rank 118 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.