Study in Frankfurt (Oder)
March 7, 2012
Those who study in Frankfurt (Oder) are guaranteed to feel at home in a short space of time. With just over 5,000 students in the 2009-2010 winter semester, Viadrina European University is not a huge institution. Professors know their students personally. Important places in the city can be reached on foot, including Viadrina University itself, whose name comes from Latin and means "situated at the Oder River." Indeed, the university's campus, main building, main lecture hall and canteen are located on the waterfront. This is where students like to come during their breaks to meet up and get to know each other.
A multicultural university
More than a quarter of the students are Polish, and the number of foreign students totals 40 percent. They come from over 80 different countries, including Macedonia, Mongolia and Bangladesh. However, the doors are also open in the other direction, too. Around 200 partner institutions give everyone the chance to study in other European countries, the USA, Latin America and Russia. As a result, 80 percent of Viadrina graduates have some international experience and are therefore better prepared for the demands of today's globalized world.
The thinking spirit
With its specialized courses in the fields of social science and humanities, Viadrina University shows that quality is more important than quantity. Law, cultural studies and economic science are subjects here that create a foundation for an interdisciplinary education. Prominent thinkers like Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt, Thomas Muenzer and Heinrich von Kleist studied in Frankfurt (Oder). As the first Brandenburg state university, Viadrina University was already a birthplace of ideas between 1506 and 1811.
A focus on Europe
The name of the university reflects its European perspective, which influences and steers research and studies. Not only is Frankfurt (Oder) located at the German-Polish border, but Viadrina University was also symbolically re-established once the conflict between Eastern and Western Europe was over. Degrees like Management for Central and Eastern Europe, Bachelor and Master of German and Polish Law, and Master of Intercultural Communication help to realize this unification of cultures and in particular German-Polish cooperation, which can be seen in the close working relationship with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. In 1992, university authorities laid a foundation for the Collegium Polonicum, a common science institute in the neighboring Polish town of Slubice.
Author: Ronny Arnold