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{{short description|University in Leipzig, Germany}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = Leipzig University
 | native_name            = Universität Leipzig
 | native_name_lang       = de
 | image_name             = Universität Leipzig crest.svg
 | image_size             = 150px
 | caption                = Seal of Leipzig University
 | latin_name             = Alma Mater Lipsiensis<ref>{{Cite web |title=Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek |url=https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?query=nid%3D2024343-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128220208/https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?query=nid%3D2024343-1 |archive-date=28 November 2024 |access-date=28 November 2024 |website=Deutsche Nationalbibliothek |language=de-DE |publication-place=[[Leipzig]] and [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]]}}</ref>
 | motto                  = Aus Tradition Grenzen überschreiten (German)
 | motto_lang             = de
 | mottoeng               = Crossing boundaries out of tradition
 | established            = {{Start date and age|1409|12|02|df=yes}}
 | type                   = [[Public research university]]
 | budget                 = € 408.9 million<ref name=report/>
 | rector                 = Eva Inés Obergfell
 | academic_staff         = 3,234<ref name=report>{{cite web |url=https://www.uni-leipzig.de/fileadmin/ul/Dokumente/2015_Jahresbericht.pdf |title=Jahresbericht 2015 |language=de |website=Leipzig University |pages=53–59 |access-date=18 June 2017 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124010436/https://www.uni-leipzig.de/fileadmin/ul/Dokumente/2015_Jahresbericht.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
 | administrative_staff   = 1,962<ref name=report/>
 | students               = 29,459<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uni-leipzig.de/universitaet/profil/leitbild-profil-geschichte/zahlen-und-fakten.html |title=Zahlen und Fakten |language=de |website=Leipzig University |access-date=18 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605061309/http://www.uni-leipzig.de/universitaet/profil/leitbild-profil-geschichte/zahlen-und-fakten.html |archive-date=5 June 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 
 | postgrad               = 
 | doctoral               = 
 | city                   = [[Leipzig]]
 | state                  = [[Saxony]]
 | country                = Germany
 | coordinates            = {{Coord|51|20|20|N|12|22|43|E|display=title|source:dewiki}}
 | mapframe-zoom          = 12
 | campus                 = Urban
 | colours                = {{color box|Red}} Red 
 {{color box|LightBlue}} Light Blue
 | logo                   = Universität Leipzig logo.svg
 | affiliations           = [[Utrecht Network]]<br />[[German U15]]
 | website                = {{url|https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en|uni-leipzig.de}}
}}

'''Leipzig University''' ({{langx|de|link=no|Universität Leipzig}}), in [[Leipzig]] in [[Saxony]], Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the [[List of universities in Germany#Universities by date of establishment|second-oldest]] university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by [[Frederick I, Elector of Saxony]] and his brother [[William II, Margrave of Meissen]], and originally comprised the four scholastic faculties. Since its inception, the university has engaged in teaching and research for over 600 years without interruption.

Famous alumni include [[Angela Merkel]], [[Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz]], [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], [[Leopold von Ranke]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Robert Schumann]], [[Richard Wagner]], [[Tycho Brahe]], [[Georgius Agricola]]. The university is associated with ten [[Nobel laureates]], most recently with [[Svante Pääbo]] who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2022.

== History ==
[[File:Memorial stone to the foundation of Leipzig University, quadrangle of Wittenberg University.jpg|thumb|Memorial stone to the foundation of Leipzig University]]

=== Founding and development until 1900 ===
[[File:Leipzig - Universität.jpg|thumb|Leipzig University main building (1917). It was demolished by the socialist administration in 1968.]]
The university was modelled on the [[Charles University in Prague|University of Prague]], from which the German-speaking faculty members withdrew to Leipzig after the [[Jan Hus]] crisis and the [[Decree of Kutná Hora]]. The ''Alma mater Lipsiensis'' opened in 1409, after it had been officially [[University charter|chartered]] by [[Pope Alexander V]] in his ''[[Papal bull|Bull of Acknowledgment]]'' on (9 September of that year). Its first rector was [[:de:Johannes Otto von Münsterberg|Johannes Otto von Münsterberg]]. From its foundation, the [[Paulinerkirche, Leipzig|Paulinerkirche]] served as the university church. After the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], the church and the monastery buildings were donated to the university in 1544. In order to secure independent and sustainable funding, the university was endowed with the lordship over nine villages east of [[Leipzig]] (university villages). It kept this status for nearly 400 years until land reforms were carried out in the 19th century. 

Like many European universities, the University of Leipzig was structured into colleges (''collegia'') responsible for organising accommodation and collegiate lecturing. Among the colleges of Leipzig were the Small College, the Large College, the [[:de:Rotes Kolleg|Red College]] (''Rotes Kolleg'', also known as the New College), the college of our Lady (''Frauenkolleg'') and the Pauliner-College (''Pauliner Kolleg''). There were also private residential halls (''bursen'', see English 'bursaries'). The colleges had jurisdiction over their members. The college structure was abandoned later{{clarify timeframe|date=November 2018}} and today only the names survive.

During the first centuries, the university grew slowly and was a rather regional institution. This changed, however, during the 19th century when the university became a world-class institution of higher education and research.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} At the end of the 19th century, important scholars such as [[Bernhard Windscheid]] (one of the fathers of the German Civil Code) and [[Wilhelm Ostwald]] (viewed as a founder of modern [[physical chemistry]]) taught at Leipzig.
[[File:Rotes Kolleg Leipzig.jpg|thumb|Formerly organized as a [[collegiate university]], the Red College of Leipzig University was established in the 16th century.]]
Leipzig University was one of the first German universities to allow women to register as "guest students".<ref name="frau">{{cite book|title=Die deutsche Frauenbewegung 1843–1889 |date=1972 |publisher=Hain |location=Berlin |page=112 |edition=1 |editor-last1=Twellmann |editor-first1=Margrit |editor-last2=Abendroth |editor-first2=Wolfgang |language=de |chapter=Louise Otto Peters. Das erste Vierteljahrhundert. Marburger Abhandlungen zur Politischen Wissenschaft |quote="Auf der Generalversammlung des Allgemeinen deutschen Frauenvereins 1873 dankt eine Referentin den Universitäten in Leipzig und Prag für die Zulassung der Frauen als Gasthörerinnen.}}</ref> At its general assembly in 1873, the {{ill|Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein|de}} thanked the University of Leipzig and Prague for allowing women to attend as guest students. This was the year that the first woman in Germany obtained her JD, [[Johanna von Evreinov]].

During the [[Decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire|decline]] and [[dissolution of the Ottoman Empire]] in the 19th and first decade of 20th century together with some other German universities Leipzig University turned into one of the centers of higher education for state administrations and elites of newly independent [[Balkan]] states ([[United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia|Romania]], [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]], [[Principality of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] and [[Principality of Serbia|Serbia]]) educating over 5,500 students from the region in 1859–1909 period.<ref name="Balkans">{{cite book |last=Pippidi |first=Adrei |date=2010 |chapter=The Development of an Administrative Class in South-East Europe |pages=111–134|title=Ottomans Into Europeans: State and Institution-building in South Eastern Europe |editor1-last=Mungiu-Pippidi |editor1-first=Alina
|editor2-last=Meurs |editor2-first=Wim Van |location=New York City & [[Chichester]] |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-70168-6}}</ref>

Until the beginning of the [[Second World War]], Leipzig University attracted a number of renowned scholars and later [[Nobel Prize laureate]]s, including Paul Ehrlich, Felix Bloch, Werner Heisenberg and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga. Many of the university's alumni became important scientists.

=== Nazi period ===
{{See also|University education in Nazi Germany}}
Under [[Nazi]] rule many degrees of Jews were cancelled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://article.wn.com/view/2012/04/18/A_Jewish_Palestinians_quest_to_receive_his_degree_from_Nazi_/ |title=A Jewish Palestinian's quest to receive his degree, from Nazi Germany |publisher=wn.com |access-date=31 December 2013 |archive-date=2 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102045656/http://article.wn.com/view/2012/04/18/A_Jewish_Palestinians_quest_to_receive_his_degree_from_Nazi_/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some were later reinstated as Karl-Marx University degrees by the GDR. Noteworthy Nazis, such as [[Max Clara]] (chair of anatomy) taught at the university and were appointed to positions with great authority.

The university was kept open throughout World War II, even after the destruction of its buildings. During the war the acting rector, [[Erich Maschke]], described the continuation of the university in a memo on 11 May 1945, announcing the vote for a new rector:
{{blockquote|Since 4 December 1943 a fixed determination not to abandon the Leipzig University in the most difficult hour of its more than five-hundred-year history has bonded the professors with each other and with the students. The special task of repairing the damage caused by air attacks has now broadened out to the more general duty to save the continuity of our university and preserve its substance, at the very least its indestructible kernel, through the crisis that has now reached its fullest stage. After the destruction of most of the buildings and the majority of its libraries, this kernel is represented by the professoriate alone. This is what must be preserved as the great repository of value in the university.<ref>Universitätsarchiv Leipzig, Rectorate 50. Quoted in {{cite book|last=Grondin|first=Jean|title=[[Hans-Georg Gadamer: A Biography]]|year=2003|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=0-300-09841-3|page=234}}</ref>}}

By the end of the war 60 per cent of the university's buildings and 70 per cent of its books had been destroyed.

=== The university under the German Democratic Republic ===
The university reopened after the war on 5 February 1946, but it was affected by the uniformity imposed on social institutions in the [[Soviet occupation zone]]. In 1948 the freely elected student council was disbanded and replaced by [[Free German Youth]] members. The chairman of the Student Council, [[Wolfgang Natonek]], and other members were arrested and imprisoned, but the university was also a nucleus of resistance. Thus began the Belter group, with flyers for free elections. The head of the group, [[Herbert Belter]], was executed in 1951 in Moscow. The [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] was created in 1949, and in 1953 for [[Karl Marx Year]] the university was renamed by its government the '''Karl Marx University, Leipzig''' after [[Karl Marx]]. In 1968, the partly damaged [[Augusteum (Leipzig)|Augusteum]], including Johanneum and Albertinum and the intact [[Paulinerkirche, Leipzig|Paulinerkirche]], were demolished to make way for a redevelopment of the university, carried out between 1973 and 1978. The dominant building of the university was the University Tower (now [[City-Hochhaus Leipzig]]), built between 1968 and 1972 in the form of an open book.

=== After the reunification of Germany ===
[[File:Leipzig University.JPG|thumb|Main building of Leipzig University since 2012, the [[Augusteum (Leipzig)|Augusteum]] at [[Augustusplatz]]]]
[[File:Bibliotheca Albertina.jpg|thumb|Leipzig's classicist university library, the Bibliotheca Albertina]]
In 1991, following the [[reunification of Germany]], the university's name was restored to the original Leipzig University (''Alma mater lipsiensis''). The reconstruction of the University Library, which was heavily damaged during the war and in the [[East Germany|GDR]] barely secured, was completed in 2002.

With the delivery of the [[City-Hochhaus Leipzig|University Tower]] to a private user, the university was forced to spread some faculties over several locations in the city. It controversially redesigned its historical centre at the [[Augustusplatz]]. In 2002, Behet Bonzio received the second prize in the architectural competition; a first prize was not awarded by the jury. A lobby with partial support of the provincial government called for the rebuilding of [[Paulinerkirche, Leipzig|St. Paul's Church]] and [[Augusteum (Leipzig)|Augusteum]]. This caused the resistance of the university leadership, the majority of the students and population of Leipzig. On 24 March 2004 a jury chose a design by Dutch architect [[Erick van Egeraat]], which was well received by almost all parties. He recalls the outer form of the St. Paul's Church (today called [[Paulinum (University of Leipzig)|Paulinum]]) and Augusteum, and abstracted the original building complex. Renovations began in the summer of 2005.

In 2008 the university was able to prevail in the nationwide "Initiative of Excellence" of Germany and it was granted the graduate school "[[BuildMoNa]]: Leipzig School of Natural Sciences – Building with Molecules and Nano-objects".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buildmona.de|title=Graduate School BuildMoNa|date=17 May 2013|publisher=Buildmona.de|author=Dr. Alexander Weber|access-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> In addition, the university was able to receive grants from the Saxon excellence initiative for the "Life" project – a project that tries to explore common diseases more effectively. Also in 2008 the [[Bach-Archiv Leipzig|"Bach Archive"]] was associated with the university. In 2009, the Leipzig University celebrated its 600th anniversary with over 300 scientific and cultural lectures and exhibitions,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sechshundert.de/index1_e.php?JavaScript=On|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719084528/http://www.sechshundert.de/index1_e.php?JavaScript=On|url-status=dead|title=Universität Leipzig 600th Anniversary|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> reflecting the role of the university's research and teaching from its beginning.

== Campus ==
The university's urban campus comprises several locations. All in all, the university is spread across 38 locations in Leipzig. The main buildings in the city center (district [[Leipzig-Mitte|Mitte]]) are still located on the same land plots as the earliest university buildings in 1409. The university's buildings in the center of Leipzig underwent substantial reconstruction from 2005, the new university's main building being drafted by Dutch architect [[Erick van Egeraat]]. The estimated total cost for the renovation project is 140 million euros. The new buildings were scheduled to be completed in 2009/2010, in time for the university's 600th anniversary celebrations.

Besides the faculties and other teaching institutions, several other bodies serve the university: the University Library, a university archive and administration, numerous museums (e.g. the [[Museum of Musical Instruments of the University of Leipzig|Museum for Music Instruments]] and the Museum of Ancient Egypt) and the university hospital. The university's [[Leipzig Botanical Garden]], the second-oldest botanical garden in Europe. was established in 1542.
The university's Musical Instrument Museum includes one of the world's three surviving pianos built by [[Bartolomeo Cristofori]], the piano's inventor. Five other Cristofori instruments are included in the museum's collections.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mfm.uni-leipzig.de/_eng/dasmuseum/europ_Musical_Instruments.php?navid=16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925115414/http://mfm.uni-leipzig.de/_eng/dasmuseum/europ_Musical_Instruments.php?navid=16|url-status=dead|title=Museum of Musical Instruments|archive-date=25 September 2008}}</ref>

Key Central institutions<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en/university/faculties-and-central-institutions/institutions.html|title=Universität Leipzig: Central Institutions|first=Universität|last=Leipzig|website=www.uni-leipzig.de|access-date=26 May 2017|archive-date=18 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218065138/http://www.uni-leipzig.de/en/university/faculties-and-central-institutions/institutions.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of the university are
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedicine
* Career Service
* [[German Institute for Literature]]
* German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
* Higher Education Didactics Centre Saxony
* Kustodie (Art Collection)
* [[Leipziger Universitätsmusik|Leipzig University Music]]
* Leipzig Research Centre Global Dynamics
* Research Academy Leipzig
* Language Centre
* Studienkolleg Sachsen (The university's pathway and entrance examination provider)
* Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine Leipzig
* University Archive
* University Library
* University Computer Centre
* Centre for University Sport
* Centre for Teacher Training and School Research
* Centre for Media and Communication
{{div col end}}

== Library ==
The [[Leipzig University Library|University Library of Leipzig]] was established in 1543. It is one of the oldest German university libraries and it serves as a source of literature and information for the Leipzig University as well as the general public in the region. Its extensive historical and special collections are nationally and internationally recognized. The library consists of the main building "Bibliotheca Albertina" and forty branches situated near their respective academic institutions. The current stock comprises 5 million volumes and about 7,700 periodicals. Collections range from important medieval and modern manuscripts to incunabula, papyri, autographs, ostraka and coins.

The [[Apel Codex]], a manuscript of 16th century music, is housed in the Leipzig University library,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music|first=Stanley|last=Sadie|first2=Alison|last2=Latham|year=1994}}</ref> as well as the [[Papyrus Ebers]].

The Leipzig University Library also owns parts of the [[Codex Sinaiticus]], a Bible manuscript from the 4th century, brought from [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] in 1843 by [[Constantin von Tischendorf]].<ref name = Aland>{{Cite book | last = Aland | first = Kurt | author-link = Kurt Aland | last2 = Aland | first2 = Barbara | author-link2 = Barbara Aland | others = Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.) | title = The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism | publisher = [[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] | year = 1995 | location = Grand Rapids, Michigan | pages = [https://archive.org/details/textnewtestament00kurt/page/n129 107]–108 | url =https://archive.org/details/textnewtestament00kurt| url-access = limited | isbn = 978-0-8028-4098-1}}</ref> [[Papyrus Ebers]] is the longest and oldest surviving medical manuscript from ancient Egypt, dated to around 1600 BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inpursuitofknowledge.org/|title=In Pursuit Of Knowledge - An Exhibition of Leipzig University Library -|website=www.inpursuitofknowledge.org|access-date=5 June 2018|archive-date=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322181259/http://inpursuitofknowledge.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Codex contains large parts of the Old Testament and a complete New Testament in ancient Greek, and is one of the most important known manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament and the New Testament. It is the oldest fully preserved copy of the New Testament.

The [[Oriental Manuscripts of the Leipzig University Library]] are around 3,200 oriental manuscripts.<ref name="ubl" >{{cite web |access-date=2025-06-08 |language=de |title=Oriental Manuscripts: Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig |url=https://www.ub.uni-leipzig.de/en/research-library/digital-collections/oriental-manuscripts/ |website=ub.uni-leipzig.de |archive-date=8 June 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250608183407/https://www.ub.uni-leipzig.de/en/research-library/digital-collections/oriental-manuscripts/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some of the University Library locations<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ub.uni-leipzig.de/locations/?L=1|title=Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig: Locations|website=www.ub.uni-leipzig.de}}{{Dead link|date=February 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> in Leipzig are:

* Bibliotheca Albertina at Beethovenstraße 6
* Campus Library at Universitätsstr. 3
* Library of Deutsches Literaturinstitut at Wächterstr. 34
* Library of Arts at Dittrichring 18–20
* Library of Musicology at Neumarkt 9–19
* Library of Law at Burgstr. 27
* Library of Medicine at Johannisallee 34
* Library of Medicine at Käthe-Kollwitz-Str. 82
* Library of Veterinary Medicine at the Tierkliniken 5
* Library of Biosciences at Talstr. 35
* Library of Chemistry and Physics at Johannisallee 29
* Library of Earth Sciences at Talstr. 35
* Library of Geography at Johannisallee 19
* Library of Archaeology, Prehistory and Ancient History at Ritterstr. 14
* Library of Oriental Studies at Schillerstr. 6
* Library of Sports Science at Jahnallee 59

In addition to the university library, one of the two centers of the [[German National Library]] is based at Leipzig, the collections of which are open to use for academic research.

== Faculties ==
The original four facilities were the Faculty of Arts, Theology, Medicine, and Law. As of November 2021, the university comprises the following 14 faculties with institutes and centers associated with each one.
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

; Faculty of Chemistry
* Institute of Analytical Chemistry
* Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry
* Institute of Chemical Technology
* Institute of Inorganic Chemistry
* Institute of Organic Chemistry
* [[Wilhelm Ostwald Institute |Wilhelm Ostwald Institut of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry]]
		
; Faculty of Economics and Management Science
* Institute of Accounting, Finance and Taxation (IUFB)
* Institute of Building Design and Management (IGB)
* Institute of Business Education and Management Training (IFW)
* Institute of Economic Policy (IWP)
* Institute of Empirical Economic Research (IEW)
* Institute of Information Systems 
* Institute of Infrastructure and Resource Management (IIRM)
* Institute of Insurance Science (IVL)
* Institute of Public Finance and Public Management (PFPM)
* Institute of Real Estate Management (IIM)
* Institute of Service and Relationship Management (ISRM)
* Institute of Theoretical Economics (ITVWL)
* Institute of Trade and Banking (IHB)
* Institute of Urban Development and Construction Management (ISB)

; Faculty of Education
* Institute of Educational Sciences
* Institute of Pre-Primary and Primary Education
* Institute of Special and Inclusive Education

; Faculty of History, Arts and Regional Studies
* Department of History
* Institute of African Studies
* Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies
* Institute of Anthropology
* Institute of Art Education
* Institute of Art History
* Institute of East Asian Studies
* Institute of Egyptology
* Institute of Musicology
* Institute of Oriental Studies
* Institute of South and Central Asian Studies
* Institute of the Study of Religions
* Institute of Theatre Studies

; Faculty of Law
* Ernst Jaeger Institute of Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency Law
* Institute of Broadcasting Law
* Institute of Energy and Regulatory Law
* Institute of Environmental and Planning Law
* Institute of Foreign and European Private and Procedural Law
* Institute of German and International Law of Banking and Capital Markets
* Institute of International Law
* Institute of Labour and Social Law
* Institute of Law and Politics
* Institute of Public International Law, European Law and Foreign Public Law
* Institute of Tax Law
* Institute of the Foundations of Law
* Institute of the Legal Profession

; Faculty of Life Sciences
* Institute of Biochemistry
* Institute of Biology
* Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology<ref>Huster, S. (2021, 26 November). Senat stimmt Umbenennung zu Institut für Psychologie trägt offiziell den Namen Wilhelm Wundt [Senate approves renaming the Institute of Psychology after Wilhelm Wundt]. Das Leipziger Universitätsmagazin. https://magazin.uni-leipzig.de/das-leipziger-universitaetsmagazin/artikel/institut-fuer-psychologie-traegt-offiziell-den-namen-wilhelm-wundt-2021-11-26/</ref>

; Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
* Institute of Computer Science
* Institute of Mathematics

; Faculty of Medicine
* Carl Ludwig Institute of Physiology
* Centre for Clinical Trials Leipzig
* Centre for Environmental Medicine and Environmental Epidemiology
* Clinical Pharmacology
* Experimental Centre of the Faculty of Medicine
* General Medicine Unit
* Heart Center Leipzig GmbH
* Innovation Center Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS)
* Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics
* Institute of Anatomy
* Institute of Biochemistry (medicine)
* Institute of Legal Medicine
* Institute of Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology
* Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health
* Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) AdiposityDiseases
* Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research
* Karl-Sudhoff-Institute of History of Medicine and Science
* LIFE Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationserkrankungen (LIFE)
* Neurological Rehabilitation Centre
* Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research
* Rudolf Boehm Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
	
; Faculty of Philology
* Institute of American Studies
* Institute of Applied Linguistics and Translatology
* Institute of British Studies
* Institute of Classical Studies and Comparative Literature
* Herder-Institute (German as a Foreign Language)
* Institute of German Language and Literature
* Institute of Linguistics
* Institute of Romance Studies
* Institute of Slavonic Studies
* Institute of Sorbian Studies

; Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences
* Institute of Geography
* Institute of Geophysics and Geology
* Institute of Meteorology
* Peter Debye Institute of Soft Matter Physics
* Felix Bloch Institute of Solid State Physics
* Institute of Theoretical Physics

; Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy
* Institute of Communication and Media Studies<ref>Tillack-Graf, Anne-Kathleen: Institute of Communication and Media Studies (University of Leipzig). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. SAGE Publications, 2019.</ref>
* Institute of Global and European Studies 
* Institute of Philosophy
* Institute of Political Science
* Institute of Sociology
* Institute of the Study of Culture

; Faculty of Sport Science
* Institute of Sport Medicine and Prevention
* Institute of General Kinesiology and Athletics Training
* Institute of Movement and Training Science in Sports I
* Institute of Movement and Training Science in Sports II
* Institute of Exercise and Public Health
* Institute of Sport Psychology and Physical Education
	
; Faculty of Theology
* Institute of Church History
* Institute of New Testament Science
* Institute of Old Testament Studies
* Institute of Practical Theology
* Institute of Religious Education
* Institute of Systematic Theology

; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
* Department for birds and reptiles
* Department for horses
* Department for ruminants and swine
* Department for small animal
* Institute of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology
* Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health
* Institute of Animal Nutrition, Nutrition Diseases and Dietetics
* Institute of Bacteriology and Mycology
* Institute of Food Hygiene
* Institute of Immunology
* Institute of Parasitology
* Institute of Pathology
* Institute of Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Toxicology
* Institute of Physiological Chemistry
* Institute of Physiology
* Institute of Virology
* Oberholz Farm for Teaching and Research
{{div col end}}

=== Institutes affiliated with the university ===
* International Max Planck Research School- Mathematics in the Sciences (IMPRS MiS), in association with [[Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imprs-mis.mpg.de/index.html|title=Graduate School|website=www.imprs-mis.mpg.de|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083916/https://www.imprs-mis.mpg.de/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, in association with [[Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://imprs-neurocom.mpg.de/167966/about-us|title=About Us|website=imprs-neurocom.mpg.de|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127083913/http://imprs-neurocom.mpg.de/167966/about-us|url-status=live}}</ref>
* International Max Planck Research School "The Leipzig School of Human Origins", in association with [[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leipzig-school.eva.mpg.de/index.html|title=IMPRS "The Leipzig School of Human Origins" – Home|first=International Max Planck Research School: The Leipzig School of Human Origins|last=Leipzig|website=www.leipzig-school.eva.mpg.de|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126184936/http://www.leipzig-school.eva.mpg.de/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Institute of Non-Classical Chemistry e.V<ref>{{cite web |date=2016 |title=Pursuing a Doctorate in Leipzig |url=https://www.uni-leipzig.de/fileadmin/ul/Dokumente/Promotionsleitfaden_2016.pdf |work=uni-leipzig.de |location=Leipzig |publisher=Universität Leipzig |language=en,de |access-date=9 May 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001024610/https://www.uni-leipzig.de/fileadmin/ul/Dokumente/Promotionsleitfaden_2016.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Institute for Applied Informatics<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://infai.org/|title=InfAI &#124; Institut für Angewandte Informatik|website=InfAI|access-date=20 July 2019|archive-date=8 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608015701/https://infai.org/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Simon Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture at Leipzig University 
* Leipzig Centre for the History and Culture of East Central Europe 
* [[Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine]]
* [[German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)]]
* Institute of East Asian Studies of the Leipzig University
* Institute of Classical Archaeology of the Leipzig University
* Institute for International Law, European Law and Foreign Public Law (InVEA) of the Leipzig University

== Academics ==
Today, the university has 14 faculties. With over 29,000 students, it is Saxony's second-largest university. There are now more than 150 institutes and the university offers 190 study programs leading to [[Bachelor's degree]]s, Master's degrees, [[Staatsexamen]], [[Diplom]] (equivalent to master's degree)<ref>Since the adoption of the Bachelor's degree and Master's degree only three study programs leading to Diplom have remained: Maths, Mathematical economics and Protestant [[Christian Theology]].</ref> and [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.s]].
The university offers a number of courses in English and other foreign languages, and there are several programs which have been specially designed for foreign students. Exchange partner universities include the universities of [[University of Arizona|Arizona]], [[University of Oklahoma|Oklahoma]], [[University of Houston|Houston]], [[University of Alberta|Alberta]], [[Ohio University|Ohio]], and [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh]]. Traditionally contacts to universities in Eastern Europe and the Far East are strong as well, e.g. there are cooperations with leading institutions such as Moscow's [[Lomonosov University]] and [[Renmin University of China|Renmin University]] in Beijing.[[File:Anatomie-Leipzig.jpg|thumb|Anatomy auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine]]There are several International Master's programs: American Studies, Global Studies, Sustainable Development Studies, SEPT<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-30 |title=Universität Leipzig: SEPT Competence Center |url=https://www.wifa.uni-leipzig.de/en/sept-competence-center |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=www.wifa.uni-leipzig.de |language=en}}</ref> (MBA in SME Promotion)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sept.uni-leipzig.de/MBA-Program.10.0.html |title=SEPT – MBA program at glance |publisher=Sept.uni-leipzig.de |access-date=31 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014113612/http://www.sept.uni-leipzig.de/MBA-Program.10.0.html |archive-date=14 October 2007  }}</ref> and one Bachelor/Master's/Ph.D. program (International Physics Studies Program<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~intphys/ |title=Homepage of the International Physics Studies Program at Leipzig |publisher=Uni-leipzig.de |access-date=31 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212191308/http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~intphys/ |archive-date=12 February 2012  }}</ref>) taught in English. American Studies Leipzig was awarded three international professorships: The Fulbright-Leipzig Chair for American Studies, the DAAD Professorship for American and International Studies, and the Picador Guest Professorship for Literature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de/picador |title=The Picador Guest Professorship for Literature &#124; American Studies Leipzig |publisher=Americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de |access-date=31 December 2013 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719105927/http://americanstudies.uni-leipzig.de/picador |url-status=live }}</ref> It is also the home of [[Aspeers|''Aspeers – Emerging voices in American Studies'']], a graduate-level peer-reviewed scholarly journal for [[American studies]]. Erasmus Mundus Global Studies is an interdisciplinary, research-based Master offered by a consortium of five European universities: Leipzig University, the [[London School of Economics]], [[University of Vienna]], [[University of Wroclaw]] and [[Roskilde University]]. In the field of anthropology, the university is cooperating with the Leipzig [[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]]. In 1995, the Leibniz-Institute for Jewish History and Culture named after [[Simon Dubnow]] was formed as a research institution related to the university. Since 2008 the university is also home to one of Germany's few [[Confucius Institute]]s. The institute is based on an agreement of June 2006 between the university administration and representatives of the Chinese Embassy to establish a Confucius Institute in cooperation with the Renmin University and the "National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language". Leipzig University has been the home of the first German chair for Chinese and East Asian Languages in the 19th century, which later became the Institute of East Asian Studies, which still exists today (see [[Georg von der Gabelentz]]).

=== Rankings ===
{{Infobox Germany university rankings
| QS = 479
| QS_N = 29
| QS_year = 2024
| QS_ref = <ref name="QS">{{cite web|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024|title=QS World University Rankings 2024|access-date=16 July 2023|website=[[QS World University Rankings]]|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929082515/https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2024|url-status=live}}</ref>
| THE = 
| THE_N = 
| THE_year = 
| THE_ref = 
| ARWU = 201–300
| ARWU_N = 10–19
| ARWU_year = 2023
| ARWU_ref = <ref name="ARWU">{{cite web|url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2023|title=2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities|website=[[Academic Ranking of World Universities]]|access-date=15 August 2023|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929224804/https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
Leipzig University is recognized in several [[College and university rankings|university ranking]] systems. In the 2024 [[QS World University Rankings]], the university was ranked 479th globally, placing it within the top 30 (29th) nationally.<ref name="QS"/> The [[Academic Ranking of World Universities]] (ARWU), for 2023, positioned the university in the range of 201–300 on the global scale and somewhere between 10th and 19th within the country.<ref name="ARWU"/>

The university is ranked 18th in Germany, 98th in Europe, and 264th in the world by the web-based Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, a ranking evaluating universities' scientific online publications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.webometrics.info/en/Europe/Germany|title=Germany {{!}} Ranking Web of Universities: More than 28000 institutions ranked|website=www.webometrics.info|access-date=26 July 2019|archive-date=26 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726094840/https://www.webometrics.info/en/Europe/Germany|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.webometrics.info/en/Europe|title=Europe {{!}} Ranking Web of Universities: More than 28000 institutions ranked|website=www.webometrics.info|access-date=26 July 2019|archive-date=24 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724191437/http://www.webometrics.info/en/europe?|url-status=live}}</ref>

==International students==
Leipzig university has a large body of international students. In winter term 2017, out of its 28,797 students about 11% (3,174) were foreign students.<ref>{{cite web| title=Statistical Office of Saxony, Statistical data of June 2018 for academic winter term 2017| url=https://www.statistik.sachsen.de/download/030_SB-Bildung/StudentenanHochschulen.pdf| access-date=28 August 2018| archive-date=28 August 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828102423/https://www.statistik.sachsen.de/download/030_SB-Bildung/StudentenanHochschulen.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>

== Student life ==
Leipzig has a thriving student life with a large number of student run bars, sports clubs and recreational facilities for students. The student body in Leipzig is diverse, not only due to the broad spectrum of subjects at the university but also because of the other higher education institutions in the city. The [[Moritzbastei]] is the largest student club in Germany, it is part of the historic city fortifications of Leipzig and is famous for its atmosphere and large number of cultural events.

The university is home to the Leipzig Academic Orchestra and the University Choir of Leipzig. There are numerous courses offered in performing arts every semester and a dance festival is organised by students once a year. In the field of sports, the university offers training opportunities and courses in almost all disciplines. During the annual Leipzig book fair, the university library and other university institutions organise public events for authors.

== Notable people ==
{{main|List of Leipzig University people}}
<!-- Section sorted according to Surname -->
[[File:Portr%C3%A4tt_av_Tycho_Brahe_-_Skoklosters_slott_-_90153.tif|thumb|150px|[[Tycho Brahe]]]][[File:Goethecut.png|thumb|150px|[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]]]
[[File:Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Bernhard Christoph Francke.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Gottfried Leibniz]]]]
[[File:Angela Merkel (2008).jpg|thumb|150px|[[Angela Merkel]]]]
[[File:Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Friedrich Nietzsche]]]]

Leipzig University has produced many notable individuals and noble laureates. Some famous people affiliated with Leipzig include:

===Music===
* [[Johann Christoph Altnickol]], German composer, son-in-law to Johann Sebastian Bach
* [[Johann Friedrich Agricola]], German composer, pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach
* [[Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach]], German composer, second famous son of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]
* [[Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach]], German composer, 3rd famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach
* [[Wilhelm Friedemann Bach]], German composer, first famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach
* [[Lorenz Christoph Mizler]], German composer and music theorist, pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach
* [[Friedrich Blume]], German music theorist
* [[Robert Schumann]], German music composer
* [[Christoph Graupner]], German composer
* [[Johann Kuhnau]], German composer, [[Thomaskantor]]
* [[Johann David Heinichen]], German composer and music theorist, Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon [[Kapellmeister]]
* [[Richard Wagner]], German composer
* [[Georg Philipp Telemann]], German composer

===Humanities===
* [[Theodor Mommsen]], German historian, recipient of The Nobel Prize in Literature.
* [[Franz Delitzsch]], German Theologian and Hebrew Scholar.
* [[Michael Ranft]], German historian and theologian.
* [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], German philosopher.
*[[Paul Johannes Tillich]], German philosopher and theologian.
* [[Hans-Georg Gadamer]], German philosopher and rector of the university
* [[Christian August Crusius]], German philosopher and theologian.
* [[Adolf von Harnack]], German theologian.
* [[Karl Friedrich Bahrdt]], controversial German Protestant, biblical scholar, theologian, and polemicist.
* [[Christoph Ernst Luthardt]] German theologian.
* [[Martin Petzoldt]] German theologian.
* [[Martin Noth]] German theologian and Old Testament Scholar.
* [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], German poet and polymath.
* [[Max Muller]], philologist and Orientalist who wrote authoritative works on Indology. 
* [[Leonard Bloomfield]], American linguist who led the development of structural linguistics in the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s. He is considered to be the father of American [[Distributionalism]].
* [[Johann Christoph Gottsched]], German poet, author, and critic.
* [[Christian Friedrich Henrici]], German poet, Saxon Actuary, Postal clerk, Postal Commissioner, and Wine inspector.
* [[Ján Lajčiak]], Slovak orientalist and Lutheran pastor
* [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing]], German philosopher and writer.
* [[Lin Yutang]], Chinese author and linguist.
* [[Nathan Söderblom]], Swedish clergyman, Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
* [[C. F. W. Walther]], first President of the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] and its most influential theologian.
* [[Ferdinand de Saussure]], linguist, founder of structuralism.
* [[Gert Jäger]], [[Otto Adolf Wenzel Kade|Otto Kade]] and [[Albrecht Neubert]], translation scholars and founders of the [[Leipzig School (translation)|Leipzig School]].

===Sciences===
* [[Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz]], German philosopher, polymath, and mathematician who developed [[calculus]]
* [[Felix Klein]], German mathematician, known for his work in group theory, complex analysis and non-Euclidean geometry
* [[Sophus Lie]], Norwegian mathematician who developed [[Lie algebra]]
* [[Friedrich Engel (mathematician)|Friedrich Engel]], German mathematician known for, amongst others, [[Engel expansion]] and [[Engel's theorem]]
* [[August Ferdinand Möbius]], German mathematician and theoretical astronomer, known for the [[Möbius strip]].
* [[Karl Mollweide]], German mathematician and astronomer, known for the [[Mollweide projection]]
* [[Hermann Hankel]], German mathematician, known for the [[Hankel transform]]
* [[Felix Hausdorff]], German mathematician, one of the founders of modern [[topology]], known for the [[Hausdorff space]]
* [[Bartel Leendert van der Waerden]], Dutch mathematician
* [[Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler]] German mathematician, physicist and lawyer, author of 'Physikalisches Wörterbuch'
* [[Edgar Odell Lovett]], American mathematician
* [[Eberhard Zeidler (mathematician)| Eberhard Zeidler]], German mathematician and first managing director of Max Planck institute of mathematics in the sciences
* [[Wei-Liang Chow]], Chinese mathematician and stamp collector born in Shanghai, known for his work in algebraic geometry
* [[Johann Heinrich Winckler]], German physicist 
* [[Werner Heisenberg]], German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
* [[Felix Bloch]], Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
* [[Klaus Fuchs]], German theoretical physicist and atomic spy 
* [[Friedrich Hund]], German physicist, discovered [[quantum tunnelling]] and is known for [[Hund's rules]] 
* [[Julius Edgar Lilienfeld]], Austro-Hungarian physicist
* [[Ludwig Boltzmann]], Austrian physicist
* [[Tycho Brahe]],<ref>[[John Louis Emil Dreyer]], ''Tycho Brahe: a Picture of Scientific Life and Work in the Sixteenth Century'', Cambridge UP (2014 [1890]), p. 16.</ref> Danish astronomer
* [[Gustav Hertz]], German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
* [[Sin-Itiro Tomonaga]], Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics
* [[William Vermillion Houston]], American physicist
* [[Edward Teller]], Hungaro-American nuclear scientist, member of the Manhattan Project
* [[Peter Debye]], Dutch-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry
* [[Wilhelm Ostwald]], German chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry
* [[Emil Kraepelin]], German Psychiatrist 
* [[Paul Ehrlich]], German doctor, Nobel Prize in Medicine
* [[Svante Pääbo]], Nobel Prize in Medicine, currently teaches molecular evolutionary biology at the university
* [[Felix Otto (mathematician)|Felix Otto]], German mathematician, currently teaches mathematical physics at the university 
* [[Gustav Theodor Fechner]], German psychologist, founder of Psychophysics
* [[Lykke Aresin]], physician and sexologist 
* [[Maximilian von Frey]], physiologist, inventor of the [[esthesiometer]]
* [[Ernst Heinrich Weber]], German physician and professor whose studies paved the way for the founding of [[Psychology]]
* [[Katja Werthmann]], German ethnologist, regional focus [[West Africa]], full professor at Leipzig University
* [[Wilhelm Wundt]], German psychologist, founded the first formal laboratory for psychological research
* [[Friedrich Trendelenburg]], German surgeon, described surgical removal of [[pulmonary emboli]]<ref>Arch Klin Chir 86:686, 2908, 1908</ref>
* [[Dorothy Hahn|Dorothy Anna Hahn]], American organic chemist, lifelong educator in organic chemistry at [[Mount Holyoke College]]
* [[Otto von Guericke]], German scientist, inventor, mathematician and physicist.
* [[George Cecil Jaffe]], Russian chemist, theorist of columnar ionisation.

===Politics===
* [[Luo Gan]], Chinese Politician, Member of the [[Politburo Standing Committee]]
* [[Johann Major]], German [[Lutheran]] theologian, a principal author of the so-called [[Leipzig Interim]], and author of the [[Majoristic Controversy]]
* [[Angela Merkel]], first female [[Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic)|German Chancellor]] 
* [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]], German politician, Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor
* [[Rudolph Sohm]], lawyer and [[Church history|Church historian]]
* [[Cai Yuanpei]], president of Peking University and leading thinker in the early Chinese communist movement
* [[Michelle Bachelet]], first female [[President of Chile]] between 2006 and 2010
* [[Selig Brodetsky]], Israeli President of the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]
* [[Raila Odinga|Raila Amolo Odinga]], Kenyan politician

===Sports===
* [[Luz Long]], German Olympic long-jumper, noted for his sportsmanship

== See also ==
* [[Handelshochschule Leipzig (HHL)]]
* [[Leipzig school (sociology)]]
* [[List of medieval universities]]
* [[List of universities in Germany]]

==Notes==
{{notefoot}}

== References ==
{{citation style|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{reflist|30em}}

== Literature ==
* {{cite book | last=Merskin | first=Debra L. | title=The Sage international encyclopedia of mass media and society | publication-place=Thousand Oaks, California | date=2020 | isbn=978-1-4833-7551-9 | oclc=1130315057}}
* [https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/RETE/article/view/74593 Scholars and Literati at the University of Leipzig (1409–1800)], in [https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/RETE/index Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae/RETE.]

== External links ==
{{commons category|Universität Leipzig}}
* {{oweb|https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en}} of Leipzig University
* [https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en/university/profile/history History of the Leipzig University]
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=University of Leipzig}}

{{Leipzig University|state=expanded}}
{{Universities in Germany}}
{{German U15}}
{{Utrecht network|State=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Leipzig University| ]]
[[Category:1400s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1409 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 15th century]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Leipzig]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges in Saxony]]