The University of Gothenburg () is a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in Sweden's second largest city,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and, with 53,624 students and 6,707 staff members, it is one of the largest universities in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

About

With its eight faculties and 38 departments, the University of Gothenburg is one of the most wide-ranging and versatile universities in Sweden. Its eight faculties offer training in the Creative Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Education, Information Technology, Business, Economics and Law, and Health Sciences. The University of Gothenburg has the highest number of applicants per study place in many of its subjects and courses, making it one of the most popular universities in Sweden.

History

The University of Gothenburg was founded as ''Göteborgs högskola'' (Gothenburg University College) in 1891. In 1907 it was granted the same status as

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

and

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

by the Swedish government, thus creating Sweden's third university. Over the course of time, it has merged with a number of previously independent higher education institutions in the city and has continuously expanded its study profile. It was granted the rights of a full university by the Swedish Government in 1954, following the merger of the ''Göteborgs högskola'' (Gothenburg College) with the ''Medicinhögskolan i Göteborg'' (Gothenburg Medical School). The University of Gothenburg is a pronounced city university, that is most of its facilities are within the city centre of

. The main building as well as most faculties are located in the central part of Gothenburg. Together with Uppsala, Lund, and Stockholm universities, it is one of four large international research universities in Sweden.

Structure

Management

The University of Gothenburg is one of Sweden's largest universities. It is a comprehensive university, organised into eight faculties and 38 departments. The university is a public authority as well as a confederation of Faculty Boards. Each faculty/school has significant autonomy based on its attributed powers, and a distinct identity within the university. The ''University Board'' is the university's highest decision-making body. The board consists has "supervision over all the University's affairs, and is responsible that its duties are fulfilled". The Swedish Government appoints seven of the members externally, based on their having experience in activities that have significance for the university's teaching and research functions. In addition, the vice-chancellor, three faculty members and three students, as well as union representatives are included as ordinary members. The day-to-day management is headed by the vice-chancellor, Malin Broberg, who is responsible for implementing the decisions of the board. She is supported by the central administration.

Faculties

The university is organised into eight academic faculties. Collaboration across faculty and subject boundaries is emphasised in the university's research and education strategies. All faculties takes advantage of this possibility and are active participants in a multitude of cross-disciplinary research and education activities within the framework of the university. The university closely cooperates with

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

, a fact that further increases the total scope of the academic environment in Gothenburg. * The Artistic Faculty (''Konstnärliga fakulteten'') offers courses in the fields of design and crafts, film studies, photography, scene, music and fine arts. * The Faculty of Education (''Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten'') is responsible for teacher training in various subjects. * The Faculty of Humanities (''Humanistiska fakulteten'') comprises the humanities, for instance cultural studies, history, literature,

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual hist ...

, religion, archeology, modern languages, philosophy, linguistics, theory of science and Swedish language and literature. * The IT Faculty (''IT fakulteten'') offers programmes in applied information technology, computer science and engineering. * The Faculty of Natural Sciences (''Naturvetenskapliga fakulteten'') covers a number of science disciplines such as botany, cell and molecular biology, physics, earth sciences, chemistry, conservation, marine ecology, mathematics, environmental science, and zoology. * The

Sahlgrenska Academy The Sahlgrenska University Hospital () is a hospital network associated with the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. With 17,000 employees the hospital is the largest hospital in Sweden by a considerable marg ...

(''Sahlgrenska Akademin'') is the faculty of medicine at the University of Gothenburg. Research and education in medicine, odontology and health and care sciences. * The

School of Business, Economics and Law The Gothenburg School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg () is one of Sweden's leading business schools, located in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1923 as an independent business college and is situated in the centre ...

(''Handelshögskolan vid Göteborgs universitet'') is a business school and a law school. * The Faculty of Social Sciences (''Samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten'') offers courses in peace and development studies, public administration, journalism, psychology, social anthropology, social work, sociology, political science, and European studies.

World ranking

University of Gothenburg was ranked number 201 in the world by Times Higher Educations 2023.

Notable people

Alumni

Sture Allén Sture Allén (31 December 1928 – 20 June 2022) was a Swedish professor of computational linguistics at the University of Gothenburg, who was the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy between 1986 and 1999. Born in Gothenburg Gothen ...

, computer linguist, former permanent secretary of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

Jens Allwood Jens Allwood (born 20 August 1947) is a professor of linguistics at the University of Gothenburg and Head of SCCIIL - Interdisciplinary center, University of Gothenburg. Jens Allwood has been professor of linguistics at Göteborg University sinc ...

, linguist *

Muhammad al-Yaqoubi Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi (; born 7 May 1963) is a Syrian Islamic scholar. He has opposed former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Early life and background Al-Yaqoubi was born in Damascus, S ...

, Syrian Islamic scholar * Dilruba Z. Ara, writer *

Percy Barnevik Percy Nils Barnevik HonFREng (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish business executive, best known as CEO and later Chairman of ABB 1988–2002, and for being the centre of a giant pension dispute that shook Sweden in 2003. He is the co-founder o ...

, industry leader, former CEO of

Asea Brown Boveri ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Excha ...

Nick Bostrom Nick Bostrom ( ; ; born 10 March 1973) is a Philosophy, philosopher known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, whole brain emulation, Existential risk from artificial general intelligence, superin ...

, philosopher and futurist, and Director of the

Future of Humanity Institute The Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) was an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford investigating big-picture questions about humanity and its prospects. It was founded in 2005 as part of the Faculty of Philosophy and t ...

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

Malin Byström Malin Byström (; born 3 September 1973) is a Swedish lyric soprano who has sung leading roles at many of the world's most prestigious opera houses. Early life and education Byström was born in Helsingborg. She studied at the Academy of Music an ...

, operatic soprano *

Arvid Carlsson Arvid Carlsson (25 January 1923 – 29 June 2018) was a Swedish neuropharmacologist who is best known for his work with the neurotransmitter dopamine and its effects in Parkinson's disease. For his work on dopamine, Carlsson was awarded the Nob ...

, Nobel Prize

laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or Military awards and decorations, military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Pri ...

in Medicine, 2000 *

Magnus Carlsson Lars Magnus Carlsson (born 24 June 1974) is a Swedish singer and former member of the bands Alcazar and Barbados as well as a solo performer. Early life Magnus Carlsson was born in Borås and grew up in Fristad. He attended comprehensive up ...

, singer *

Ernst Cassirer Ernst Alfred Cassirer ( ; ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher and historian of philosophy. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic ...

, German philosopher *

Fredy Clue Fredy Samuel Lundh (born 1994 or 1995), known professionally as Fredy Clue, is a Swedish folk musician and artist from Gothenburg. Educated at the Högskolan för scen och musik, Academy of Music and Drama at the University of Gothenburg, Clue ...

, artist and musician * Adam Cwejman (born 1985), politician *

Östen Dahl Östen Dahl (; born 4 November 1945 in Stockholm) is a Swedish linguist and professor best known for pioneering a marker-based approach to tense and aspect in linguistic typology. Dahl finished his PhD at the University of Gothenburg and subsequ ...

, linguist (member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities also called simply the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademien abbreviated KVHAA ( or or ) is the Sweden, Swedish Swedish Royal Academies, royal academy for the Humanities. Its ...

and

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

) *

Åke Edwardson Åke Edwardson (born 10 March 1953 in Eksjö, Småland) is a Swedish author of detective fiction, and was previously a lecturer in journalism at University of Gothenburg, the city where many of his ''Inspector Winter'' novels are set. Edwardso ...

, author (used to teach journalism) *

Jan Eliasson Jan Kenneth Eliasson (born 17 September 1940) is a Swedish diplomat who was Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations from July 2012 to December 2016. A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Eliasson served as Minister for Foreign ...

, diplomat and politician (former President of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden) *

Carl Henrik Fredriksson Carl Henrik Fredriksson (born 1 October 1965 in Jönköping, Sweden) is a Swedish literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator living in Vienna, Austria. For fifteen years, until March 2015, he was the editor-in-chief of the European cul ...

, literary critic, columnist, essayist, and translator * José González, singer *

Hans Hagnell Hans Hagnell (December 15, 1919 – June 16, 2006) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician, governor and economist. Hagnell was born in Gothenburg, Sweden on December 15, 1919, to Axel Hagnell, an author and illustrator, and Maria Hagnell. He ...

, politician * Gunnar D Hansson, author *

Eli Heckscher Eli Filip Heckscher (24 November 1879 – 23 December 1952) was a Swedish political economist and economic historian who was a professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. He is known for the Heckscher–Ohlin theorem, an influential model of ...

(1879–1952), political economist and economic historian, professor at the Stockholm School of Economics *

Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir (born 21 February 1971) is an Icelandic politician and the Mayor of Reykjavík since 21 February 2025. Heiða served as the vice chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance from February 2017 until October 2022. She i ...

, Icelandic politician *

Tore Janson Tore Janson (born 1936) is a Swedish linguist. Janson was professor of Latin at the University of Gothenburg, and later became professor of African languages at the same alma mater. He retired in 2001, but has since been affiliated with the Stoc ...

, linguist. * Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor and former Head of Design for H&M *

Jonas Jonasson Pär-Ola Jonas Jonasson (born Per Ola Jonasson; 6 July 1961) is a Swedish journalist and writer, best known as the author of the best-seller '' The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared''. Biography The son of an ambu ...

, author of '' The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared''. Lotass

Bernhard Karlgren Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conduct ...

, sinologist *

Nils Kock Nils G. Kock (January 29, 1924 – August 24, 2011) was a professor of surgery who taught and practiced at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Kock was noted for his research, experimentation, and colorectal surgical techniques. T ...

, developer of the

Kock pouch A Kock pouch is a continent pouch formed by the terminal ileum after colectomy. The procedure was detailed and first performed in 1969 by Dr. Nils Kock. __TOC__ Indications Kock pouch ileostomy is indicated for patients who are unfit for ileal ...

surgical procedure *

Juri Kurol Dr. Juri Kurol (1942–2011) was a Swedish orthodontist who was the president of the European Federation of Orthodontic Specialists Association until 2002. He is known for his contributions made in the field of orthodontics related to diagnosing an ...

, orthodontist *

Erik Lönnroth Erik Lönnroth (1 August 1910 in Gothenburg – 10 March 2002) was one of the most notable Swedish historians of the 20th century. He was a life member of the Swedish Academy from 1962 and member of various faculties.Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy (), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body t ...

) *

Lotta Lotass Britt Inger Liselott "Lotta" Lotass Hagström (born 28 February 1964) is a Swedish writer. She holds a PhD of Comparative literature from the University of Gothenburg, and lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. Lotass made her literary debut in 2000, and ...

, writer and literary scholar (former Member of the

) *

Cecilia Malmström Anna Cecilia Malmström (born 15 May 1968) is a Swedish politician who served as European Commissioner for Trade from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as European Commissioner for Home Affairs from 2010 to 2014 and Minister for European ...

, former European Commissioner *

Aleksandra Mir Aleksandra Mir (born 1967) is a Swedish-American contemporary artist known for her large scale collaborative projects and for her anthropological methods, involving rigorous archival research, oral history and field work. Her work deals with tra ...

, Swedish-American visual artist *

Njuguna Ndungu Njuguna S. Ndung'u is a Kenyan economist who is the ex-Cabinet Secretary, Finance (Kenya), Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of Kenya, cabinet of President of Kenya, President William Samoei Ruto from October 2022 to July 2024. Ndung'u previou ...

, economist, Governor and chairman of the Board of the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) () is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Kamau Thugge, CBS is the current Governor a ...

* Joakim Norbeck, scientist in molecular biotechnology at Chalmers University *

Leif Pagrotsky Leif Pagrotsky (born 20 October 1951 in Gothenburg) is a Swedish politician, economist, and diplomat. He served as minister of culture from 2004 to 2006 and minister for industry, employment and communications from 2002 to 2004 under Prime Minis ...

(born 1951), politician, economist, and diplomat *

Bo Ralph Bo Rune Ingemar Ralph (born 4 October 1945) is a Swedish linguist, member of the Swedish Academy, and professor of Nordic Languages at the Department of Swedish Language at University of Gothenburg. He was elected to the Swedish Academy on 15 Apr ...

, linguist (Member of the

) *

Bo Rothstein Bo Abraham Mendel Rothstein (born 12 June 1954) is a Swedish political scientist. He currently holds the August Röhss Chair in Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, and is a former professor of Government and Public Policy at the Un ...

, political scientist * Susanna Roxman, Anglophone poet and critic *

Ferdinando Sardella Ferdinando Sardella, born July 16, 1960, in Vicenza, Italy, is an Italian scholar of the history of religions, Hinduism, and religious studies, the former director and coordinator of the Forum for South Asia Studies at Uppsala University. Academ ...

(born 1960), scholar of the history of religions * Gudrun Slettengren-Fernholm, artist *

Elisabeth Söderberg Elisabeth Pauline Therese Söderberg née Weixlgärtner (21 January 1912, Vienna — 9 March 1991, Gothenburg) was an Austrian-born Swedish painter, textile artist and art teacher who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. As a result of ...

(née Weixlgärtner; 1912–1991), Austrian-born Swedish painter, textile artist, and art teacher *

Anna Wåhlin Anna Wåhlin is a Swedish researcher on the Antarctic and the polar seas. She is a professor of physical oceanography at the University of Gothenburg and co-chair of the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS), Southern Ocean Observing System. An ...

, Antarctic researcher, oceanographer *

Martin Wallström Carl Martin Gunnar Wallström Milkéwitz (born 7 July 1983) is a Swedish television and film actor. A successful actor in his home country, he is best known internationally for his 2015 American debut role as Tyrell Wellick in the USA Network c ...

, actor * Maria Wetterstrand, politician (

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

) *

Agnes Wold Agnes Wold (born 7 January 1955) is a professor of clinical bacteriology specializing in the normal flora of the body, at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. She is a nationally known commentator on telev ...

, professor of clinical

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

Vice-Chancellors of the University of Gothenburg

* 1891 Axel Kock * 1891–1893 Hjalmar Edgren * 1893–1899 Johannes Paulson * 1899–1909 Johan Vising * 1909–1914 Ludvig Stavenow * 1914–1931 Otto Sylwan * 1931–1936

* 1936–1951

Curt Weibull Curt Weibull (19 August 1886 – 10 November 1991) was a Swedish historian, educator and author. Biography Curt Hugo Johannes Weibull was born in Lund, Sweden. He was a member of the Weibull family. He was the son of professor Martin Weibul ...

* 1951–1966

Hjalmar Frisk Hjalmar Frisk (4 August 1900, in Gothenburg – 1 August 1984, in Gothenburg) was a Swedish linguist and etymologist in Indo-European studies. He was also rector of the University of Gothenburg from 1951 to 1966.

* 1966–1972 Bo Eric Ingelmark * 1972–1982 Georg Lundgren * 1982–1986 Kjell Härnqvist * 1986–1992 Jan S. Nilsson * 1992–1997 Jan Ling * 1997–2003 Bo Samuelsson * 2003–2006

Gunnar Svedberg Professor Gunnar Svedberg (born 12 August 1947 in Annefors, Bollnäs Municipality) is a former Rector of the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden. Svedberg studied at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm and received a PhD in chemic ...

* 2006–2017

Pam Fredman Pam Fredman (born 13 May 1950, in Gothenburg, Sweden) is a Swedish professor of neuroscience and former rector of the University of Gothenburg. From 2016, Fredman is the President of the International Association of Universities Biography Fredman ...

* 2017–2023 Eva Wiberg * 1 July 2023 Malin Broberg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Gothenburg

Universities and colleges established in 1891 1891 establishments in Sweden Higher education in Gothenburg 19th-century establishments in Gothenburg and Bohus County