Well Positioned for the New Semester

In view of the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, University President Paul Pauli began by expressing his deep sympathy for the people affected. The University of Würzburg has been cooperating closely with Tel Aviv University in Israel for almost 20 years; in 2013, JMU and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology signed a partnership agreement. Further collaborations exist at faculty and chair level. As part of the Erasmus programme, students have the opportunity to complete part of their studies at universities in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, for example at the universities in Haifa and Bethlehem.

This is another reason why the University Board is observing the current developments in Israel and their humanitarian, political and economic consequences with great concern. "We are appalled by Hamas' attack on Israel and the immeasurable suffering that this attack has caused so many innocent people," said the President. Special thoughts go out to the students, fellow academics and alumni of JMU in the affected areas.

Exactly 26,136 students are currently (as of 12 October 2023) enrolled at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). In comparison: Last year, there were 26,642 shortly before the start of lectures.

So far, 3,192 first-year students have enrolled for the winter semester; a slight increase on the previous year, when this figure was 3,180 at a comparable time. As in previous years, this number will continue to grow until the official deadline for determining the number of first-year students on 1 December, so that together with the 570 new students from the summer semester 2023, a good 3,770 first-year students are expected for the 2023/24 academic year.

As things stand, 15,960 female students and 10,148 male students attend lectures and seminars. 28 students did not specify their gender. The proportion of women is therefore 61 per cent and has remained unchanged compared to the previous year.

So far, 2,387 foreign students have enrolled. This corresponds to a share of nine per cent of the total number of students - here, too, the figure is unchanged from the previous year.

Women in professorships: From 1 January 2023 to 1 October 2023, 40 new professorships were filled, and JMU has succeeded in further increasing the proportion of women. It currently stands at 28.8 per cent; at the end of 2020, it was 23 per cent. University President Paul Pauli is pleased with this positive trend, but emphasises that the university is continuing to work on increasing the proportion of female professors. As at 1 October 2023, a total of 476 professors were working at JMU and the University Hospital.

Popular subjects: Law, economics, medicine and teacher training programmes are traditionally in high demand. There are currently 6,277 students enrolled on teacher training programmes at JMU - slightly fewer than a year ago (6,288).

Overall, the student teachers at JMU are distributed across the individual types of school:

• Grammar school: 2,142
• Primary school: 1,771
• Special school: 1,531
• Realschule: 532
• Secondary school: 301

New Degree Programmes at the Start

A new Bachelor's and a new Master's degree programme have been launched at the university this winter semester.

The Bachelor's degree programme in European Law is part of the Faculty of Law and complements the traditional law degree programme. In addition to basic knowledge of civil, criminal and public law, the programme offers in-depth insights into European law.

Exercise Science and Training is an English-language Master's programme in the field of sports science. The programme focuses on issues relating to training practice and various lifestyle factors. Graduates are qualified to develop, implement and evaluate evidence-based concepts and programmes for various target groups and individuals in order to regain, maintain or improve their health or performance.

Since the end of 2022, the University of Würzburg has been part of the EU-funded university alliance CHARM-EU. In this context, the Interdisciplinary Master's in Global Challenges for Sustainability is expected to be introduced at JMU from the winter semester 2024/25. So far, only the founding members of the alliance offer this programme. It enables students to study at various European universities.

Good Performance in Rankings

University President Pauli was delighted with JMU's good performance in various research rankings in 2023, with the internationally renowned Shanghai Ranking placing the University of Würzburg among the 300 best universities in the world. In Germany, it ranks in the top 19.

And in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking 2023, JMU performs particularly well in the areas of knowledge transfer (54th place) and research quality (111th place) . Overall, it is ranked 175th and 17th in Germany.

In Bavaria, both rankings only list the two Munich Universities of Excellence higher.