Founded in 1948 in co-operation with France; early international orientation; Europa-Institut, Frankreichzentrum; 15.500 students of which 16 percent are foreign students; 2000 employees of which 15 percent have professorial status; 8 faculties: Law and Economics, Medicine, Humanities I-III, Natural Sciences and Technology I-III. Courses of Study With a total of 84 courses of academic study on offer, Saarland University provides the broad spectrum of disciplines typical of a classical universitas litterarum. The more traditional subjects such as business administration and economics, law and medicine are just as much a part of Saarland University as the new degree programmes that have developed from modern interdisciplinary collaborations and which reflect the increasing demand for such qualifications in today’s job market. Examples of these new courses include ‘Biology with Special Focus on Human Biology and Molecular Biology’, ‘Bioinformatics /Computational Biology’, ‘Mechatronics’, ‘Micro- and Nanostructured Materials’, 'Computer and Communications Engineering’, ‘Historically-oriented Cultural Studies’ and ‘French Cultural Studies and Intercultural Communication’. Integrated degree courses, which can lead to the award of a joint degree, are organized by Saarland University and foreign partner universities in the fields of business administration, physics, chemistry, mechatronics, materials science and in the interdisciplinary programme ‘Franco-German Studies: Cross-Border Communication and Cooperation’. In the area of teacher training, Saarland University offers an integrated bilingual (French-German) course for prospective teachers of geography and history. A further distinctive feature of Saarland University is the fact that the University is able to award French degrees in subjects such as Droit, Allemand and Lettres modernes. Additional qualifications may also be obtained in numerous postgraduate courses. The postgraduate courses in law and economics at the Europa-Institut enjoy an excellent reputation around the world. Since summer semester 2008 Saarland University has also been offering a supplementary programme in European studies (Zertifikat Europaicum). This supplementary qualification is unique in Germany and provides students with the opportunity to acquire specialist skills and knowledge of relevance to Europe. Research Computer science established itself early as a particularly distinctive element in Saarland University's research profile. The expertise in computer science found within the University is complemented by a range of top-class research institutes including the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science and the International Conference and Research Centre for Computer Science at Dagstuhl Castle. Computer science in Saarbrücken has also proved extremely successful in combination with other disciplines. Examples of such fruitful interdisciplinary co-operations include business information technology, law and informatics, computational biology, computational linguistics and cognitive science. The skills and expertise found at the university, particularly in the field of new technologies, have led to the creation of numerous spin-off companies. With its specialist young enterprise seminars and a successful start-up centre for spin-off companies, Saarland University is actively promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. The architecturally impressive Science Park that lines the main access route to the university underscores the close ties that exist between Saarland University and regional industry and commerce.
