History
The heritage of Siegen as a home for education and research dates back to the 16th century, when William the Rich assigned to Saxon educator and theologian Erasmus Sarcerius the task of reconstituting a Siegen-based Latin school to establish what we call today a high school. Later the “Wiesenbauschule”, a landscaping school, was established in 1853. Following World War Two, its focus was shifted towards civil engineering and, in 1962, it was renamed to “State School of Civil Engineering”. With the foundation of Educational University Siegerland in 1964, Siegen’s academic heritage saw a revival. In 1972, the merger of the technical college and educational university paved the way for the establishment of University of Siegen. The new university started by offering nine university programmes. The mission was to bring together theoretical and practical training, to implement enhanced permeability and equality of opportunity in the educational system while driving a more regional approach to study programmes and research.
Today
Nowadays the university of Siegen is a modern, high-profile university with an international orientation. The University of Siegen is guided by the central principle: “Creating a humane future”. Students and academics from overseas are very welcome. Today the University of Siegen hosts more than 19.000 students and more than 11% come from other countries.