University of Greifswald

• What's special about University of Greifswald?
• Tell us: Why are you studying here?
• Virtual Visit
• Strong in Research
• Study in Greifswald
• Life in an Old "Young" Hanseatic Town
• Between the Beach and the Lecture Hall
• Further Information

The University of Greifswald – founded in 1456 – is one of the oldest universities in Germany and the Baltic Sea Region. The university remains aware of its history, but has now evolved into a modern, internationally oriented research university.

Tell us: Why are you studying here?

“I fell in love at first sight with the Hanseatic town beside the Baltic Sea. On top of that, in Greifswald I was able to study both of my favourite subjects in a dual honours bachelor degree, meaning that I didn’t have to drop one of them.”

Discovery tours of our campus

Historic campus

Campus specialist Stefanie introduces the historical campus. Here you will find, among other things, the historic main building of the university with the beautiful auditorium, but also the student secretariat, the central student advisory service, the examination office and the international office.

Campus Loefflerstraße

The Loefflerstrasse campus is a mix of historical and modern buildings. Here you can find, among other things, the humanities and social sciences and law, as well as the new auditorium, a cafeteria and the departmental library for the humanities and theology. Magdalena, our campus specialist, will take you on a little tour.

Campus Beitzplatz

Campus specialist Levin studies physics and knows the Beitzplatz campus well, as this is where the mathematical and scientific institutes are located. He will show you the campus and take you to the Institute of Physics, the cafeteria and the central university library.

Campus Soldmannstraße

The Soldmannstrasse campus is home to botany landscape ecology and zoology. Campus specialist Teresa introduces the campus, which also includes the Botanical Garden and the Zoological Museum.

Campus University Medicine

Campus specialist Urs studies human medicine and knows his way around the university medicine campus well. Together with Theresa, who is studying clinical nursing science at the University of Greifswald, he will show you the campus and take you to, among other things, the anatomy department, the learning café and the university hospital.

Research at the University of Greifswald provides innovative contributions to important topics and challenges of today: Health & Prevention focuses on health risks caused by infections, the interaction between pathogens and the body’s own immune system, and research into the causes, prevention and treatment of common infectious diseases.

Greifswald’s researchers in the focus area Environment & Climate look at the adaptation of species and ecosystems to changing environmental conditions and the principles of modern environmental protection for preserving our resources. The environmental microbiology’s investigation of marine bacteria helps to improve the understanding of the biological pump function of the seas and its influence on global warming.

Energy & Raw Materials are two of the future’s central topics. Greifswald is home to the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, an internationally recognised centre for research into high temperature plasmas during nuclear fusion – one of the most promising, cheapest and environmentally friendly ways of producing energy. The research area that focuses on proteomics and protein technologies use a unique robot-guided system to develop new enzymes, which can be used as biocatalysts to provide the world’s population with cheap energy and fuels for the future.

The Chances & Risks of globalisation are approached at the University of Greifswald in interdisciplinary collaboration, using the Baltic Sea Region - a particularly dynamic macroregion - as an example. The central topics are the investigation of cultural and mental boundaries, how to treat cultural heritage, language diversity and minority languages, comparisons of legal systems in the Baltic Sea Region, sustainable coastal and land management and public services in rural regions.

The University of Greifswald’s five faculties – Theology, Law and Economics, Medicine (University Medicine), Arts and Humanities, and Mathematics and Natural Sciences – provide a broad range of subject disciplines. More than 100 different degree courses can be studied in Greifswald - from Dentistry to Protestant Theology. In addition to conventional degrees in e.g. Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Biology, German Language and Literature or History, the university also provides interesting, new, forward-looking, but also unusual degree courses, including Baltic Studies, Finnish Studies, Scandinavian Studies and Slavonic Studies. New degree courses react to changes in society and the world of work. These include Biomathematics, Medical Physics, Environmental Sciences, Infection Biology & Immunology, Landscape Ecology, Sustainable Geography and Regional Development & Tourism. In addition, teaching qualifications can be studyied in Greifswald.

Approximately 10,000 students are currently enrolled at the University of Greifswald. Students come from all over Germany; roughly one quarter from the local federal state, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. International students come from approximately 100 different countries.

The study conditions are excellent. The low student-lecturer ratio and the teaching staff’s high levels of commitment enable intensive and close relationships between teachers and students. Results of regular surveys show that students are very satisfied with the study quality and supervision. Greifswald frequently attains top positions in university rankings.

With its high proportion of students, the historic Hanseatic town of Greifswald is now one of Germany’s youngest towns. The students and several student initiatives play a vital role in the life and culture of the town. The Old Town, the Museum Harbour and the nearby sea are just as picturesque today as they had been to Caspar David Friedrich, Greifswald’s famous Romantic painter.

The State Museum of Pomerania exhibits important art treasures that belong to the university and the federal state. Theater Vorpommern, the Literature Centre in the birth house of writer Wolfgang Koeppen, the Hans Fallada House, as well as international festivals and events, such as Nordischer Klang, the polenmARkT, the Bach Week and performances as part of the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern guarantee a rich calendar of cultural events throughout the year.