University of Neuchâtel
Encyclopedia
The University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) is a French-speaking university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. The University has five faculties (schools) and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, law, economics and theology. The Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences is the largest school of those that comprise the University of Neuchâtel with 1,500 students. The University of Neuchâtel superseded the Academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...

, which was created in 1838 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...

, Prince of Neuchâtel. It awarded licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...

 academic degrees in arts and in sciences. In 1848, the Grand Council decreed the closing of the Academy and in 1866 a new "academy" was established.

The university has an annual budget of CHF 120 million and an annual research fund of CHF 40 million. Approximately 4,000 students, including 500 PhD students attend the university, and more than 600 diplomas, licences, doctorates and certificates are awarded each year. The university has more than 1100 employees.

The University of Neuchâtel is situated at the heart of the French-speaking region of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, in Neuchâtel.

Before 2005, the University of Neuchâtel followed the French education model with some minor differences. The University now follows the academic standards of the Bologna Process which proposes a three-tiered system of university degrees, namely Bachelor degree, Master degree and Doctorate.

The University of Neuchâtel is a French-speaking university. However, certain Master and postgraduate programs are taught in French and English, or exclusively in English. For the 2010-2011 academic year, more than 4200 students from Switzerland and abroad (almost 20% foreign students) were enrolled.

Faculties

Faculty of Humanities
The largest faculty has around 1700 students. Its fields of research and study are Ancient and Middle Age Languages and Civilizations, Archeology, Art History, English Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, Logic, Museology and Philosophy. In Social Sciences, the Center for the Understanding of Social Processes (Maison d’analyse des processus sociaux, MAPS) is made up of five institutes: Anthropology, Geography, Psychology and Education, Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies and Sociology. It fosters cooperative work on interdisciplinary research projects.

Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science numbers around 900 students. This faculty is active within different research domains such as: Biology, Biogeosciences, Hydrogeology, Geothermal Science, Information Technology, and Mathematics. It is the Swiss leading house for one National Centres of Competence in Research : Plant Survival.

Faculty of Law
A faculty with 560 students which offers six orientations within the Master : Business Law, International and European Law, Public Law, Health and Biotechnology Law, Sports Law, Judiciary Professions. It has a 3rd cycle International Master Degree with the SDA Bocconi University of Milan and the de Montfort University of Leicester, in collaboration with FIFA and counts many institutes such as the Institute of Health Law (IDS) or the International Sport Science Center (CIES).

Faculty of Economics
The Faculty of Economics has around 450 students. It offers a Master degree programs in many different fields : Financial Analysis, International Business Development, Public Economics, Public Politics and Management, Psychology of Labor and Organizations, Statistics, and Information Systems. Unique within Switzerland is the Academy of Journalism and Media. An integrated Master’s program, designed with professionals from the sector, focusing on the new needs of enterprise in the media world.

Faculty of Theology
A small, historic building, the seat of the prestigious Bibliothèque des Pasteurs, houses the Faculty of Theology. Neuchâtel offers a common Master degree in Theology, with the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne.

NSF Research Commission

The Research Committee (RC) is an organ of the Swiss National Science Foundation
Swiss National Science Foundation
The Swiss National Science Foundation is a science research support organization mandated by the Swiss Federal Government. The SNSF was established in 1952 as a foundation under private law. Its secretariat is based in Bern....

 (SNSF) composed of members of the University.
It acts as an organ of FNS, firstly by providing research grants for junior researchers and, second, by serving as counsel for grants for advanced research. On behalf of the rector, it sets the institutional notice required by the NSF for applications filed with its divisions. It also claims expertise in scholarship and grant under the Fund of the University of donations and offers.

Institut de langue et civilisation françaises (ILCF)

The Institut de langue et civilisation françaises (ILCF) of the University of Neuchâtel, to which the Cours d'été (Summer course) is linked, is a centre for specialised studies in the teaching of French to non-native speakers (FLE).
During the academic year it provides:
  • a training in French language, literature and cultural studies;
  • a specialised training for FLE teachers-to-be;
  • remedial French courses to non-French-speaking students of the various faculties (Swiss mobility and Erasmus)

See also



External links

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