Wageningen University & Research | |
Motto in English | To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life |
---|---|
Type | Public university |
Established | 1876 as an agricultural college. Recognized in 1918 as a public university |
Rector | Arthur Mol |
Executive Board President | Louise Fresco |
Students | 12.819 (2019-20) |
Undergraduates | 5.928 (2019-20) |
Postgraduates | 6.409 (2019-20) |
Other students | 482 (2019-20) |
Location | , , |
Colours | Wageningen Green and Wageningen Blue [1] |
Affiliations | Euroleague for Life Sciences, EUA, 4TU |
Mascot | WUR Wolf |
Website | www |
Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in technical and engineering subjects and an important center for life sciences and agricultural research. It is located in a region of the Netherlands known as the Food Valley.
WUR consists of Wageningen University and the former agricultural research institute of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture. Wageningen University trains specialists (BSc, MSc and PhD) in life and social sciences and focuses its research on scientific, social and commercial problems in the field of life sciences and natural resources. It is widely known for its agriculture, forestry, and environmental studies programs. The university has about 12,000 students from over 100 countries. It is also a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS) university network.
WUR has been placed among the top 150 universities in the world by four major ranking tables. Wageningen has been voted the number one university in the Netherlands for fifteen consecutive years. The university is listed number 59 in the world by the Times Higher Education Ranking and the world's best in agriculture and forestry by the QS World University Rankings 2016–2020. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Wageningen University is ranked number one in the fields of plant/animal science, environment/ecology, and agricultural sciences by U.S. News & World Report. The university is widely regarded as the world's top agricultural research institution. [7]
This section needs additional citations for verification . (July 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
In 1876 the Rijkslandbouwschool (National Agricultural College) was established in Wageningen. Due to the development of the training to a higher educational level it changed in 1896 to the Hoogere Land- en Boschbouwschool (Agricultural and Forestry College) and in 1904 in Rijks Hoogere Land-, Tuin- en Boschbouwschool (National Agricultural, Horticulture and Forestry College).
In 1918 the school became academic by law (Academic Education Act). The name changed to Rijks Landbouw Hoogeschool (National Agricultural College). The opening date and official start date is 9 March 1918.
In 1986 the "hogescholen" (comparable to scientific institute of technology) were renamed to University in a modification of the Academic Education Act. The new name became Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen (LUW) (Wageningen Agricultural University (WAU)). The 1986 law changes resulted in the use of the name hogeschool in the Dutch system to be used exclusively for universities of applied science.
Over the years the research and teaching branched out into life sciences in general, while interest for agriculture as a career opportunity waned. In 1997, when the DLO institutes merged with the university, the new organisation was rebranded as Wageningen UR (Wageningen University and Research Centre); with the University being renamed Wageningen University. Under Dutch laws the University and the institutes had to remain separate legal entities.
In 2006, the university of applied sciences Van Hall Larenstein became part of Wageningen UR. The idea was to create better collaboration between applied teaching and research at Van Hall and the academic research at Wageningen University. This would also support students to continue with an academic program upon completing their applied degree. However, due to differences in organizational culture and incompatibility of procedures, the collaboration remained problematic. In 2012 it was decided that Van Hall Larenstein would leave Wageningen UR and continue as an independent school once more. In the spring of 2015 the separation was marked by the move of the final Wageningen-based Van Hall Larenstein studies back to Velp.
In 2009 it was decided that the University would consistently use the English name in its communication, and that university research could be presented under the name of the university: Wageningen University (WU) (as an alternative of using the name Wageningen UR). [8] [9] On 6 September 2016 Wageningen University and the research institutes becameas one joint brand: Wageningen University & Research (WUR).
On 9 March 2018 Wageningen University celebrated her 100 years anniversary. During this year there were many events and festivities around the campus and in the city of Wageningen.
Wageningen University was the first Dutch university or school that was allowed to use the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) label. This label is awarded by the European Commission and guarantees the quality of the study programme. The university consequently applies this system, thus promoteing the mobility of students within Europe and preventing study delay.
The University offers 19 BSc programmes [10] (2018-2019). For some BSc programmes, the language of instruction is English. Other programmes teach in both Dutch and English. The programmes start each year in September, last three years, and consist of 180 ECTS credits. The programmes are in the field of economy and society, health, life sciences and technology, nature and environment, animals and plants.
Wageningen University offers a 36 different MSc programmes [11] (2017-2018) and two online masters programs. [12] The language of instruction for all Master's programmes is English. The programmes start each year in September, they last two years, and consist of 120 ECTS credits. Most programmes offer various specializations and possibilities for majors.
The PhD programme is a four-year programme which consists of a research component (conducting research under supervision and writing a thesis) and a smaller education component (up to 15 percent of the total PhD time). To apply for a PhD position, the applicant must contact one of the six Graduate Schools of Wageningen University. [13] In order to guarantee adequate supervision, the research subject must fit in the research programme of a Graduate School.
The following research institutes are part of Wageningen Research:
Wageningen University and Research has come under fire due to claims of partiality in research. [26] [27] One case regards a research concerning bee colony collapse disorder. [28] Research conducted by Tjeerd Blacquière on the topic has caused controversy due to funding received for the research from the German pesticide producer Bayer, [28] the world's biggest producer of neonicotinoid insecticides, a suspect factor for the colony collapse disorder. [29] [30]
In 2018 the Dutch magazine OneWorld went to court in an attempt to demand access to contracts between WUR and Bayer, Syngenta and Monsanto, but OneWorld ultimately lost the court case. [31]
University rankings | |
---|---|
Global – Overall | |
ARWU World [32] | 151-200 (2020) |
CWTS World [33] | 59 (2020) |
QS World [34] | =115 (2021) |
THE World [35] | =62 (2021) |
USNWR Global [36] | =83 (2021) |
Global – Life sciences and medicine | |
ARWU Life sciences [37] | 36 (2016) |
QS Agriculture and Forestry [38] | 1 (2021) |
QS Life Sciences & Medicine [39] | 59 (2021) |
THE Life Sciences [40] | 18 (2021) |
Global – Science and engineering | |
THE Engineering & Tech. [41] | 97 (2021) |
In the field of life sciences, agricultural and environmental science, the university is considered world-class. [42] [43] [44] According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings it is the best university in the Netherlands and No. 1 worldwide, in agriculture and forestry for 2017 on the QS World University Rankings charts. [45]
The Eindhoven University of Technology, abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven.
The Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), is the second oldest public autonomous research university in Singapore and is considered to be one of the top universities in the world. NTU is consistently ranked within the top 15 universities in the world and has been ranked as overall 1st in the ranking of young universities in the QS World University Rankings since 2015 as of August 2020. It has 23,951 full-time enrolled students and 3846 full-time teaching staff; it has achieved 13th in the overall ranking of current QS World University Rankings as of August 2020.
Leiden University is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a reward to the town of Leiden for its defense against Spanish attacks during the Eighty Years' War, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the Netherlands.
The University of Twente is a public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands.
Wageningen is a municipality and a historic town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of 38,774 in 2019, of which many thousands are students from over 150 countries.
Delft University of Technology also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technological university. Located in Delft Netherlands, it is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the Netherlands and as of 2020, it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among the top 15 engineering and technology universities in the world.
The University of Groningen is a public research university in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1614 and is the second-oldest university in the Netherlands. In 2014, the university celebrated its 400th anniversary. Currently, RUG is placed in the top 100 universities worldwide according to three international ranking tables.
The University of Amsterdam is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Established in 1632 by municipal authorities and later renamed for the city of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands. It is one of the largest research universities in Europe with 31,186 students, 4,794 staff, 1,340 PhD students and an annual budget of €600 million. It is the largest university in the Netherlands by enrollment. The main campus is located in central Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs. The university is organised into seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Science, Law, Medicine, Dentistry.
Kasetsart University, commonly known and referred to as Kaset or KU, is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It was Thailand's first agricultural university and Thailand's third oldest university. It was established on 2 February 1943 to promote subjects related to agricultural science. Since then, Kasetsart University has expanded its subject areas to cover life sciences, science, engineering, social sciences, and humanities. Kasetsart University's main campus is in Bangkhen, northern Bangkok, with several other campuses throughout Thailand. It is one of the largest university in Thailand.
The University of Antwerp is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is UA, but UAntwerpen is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third largest university in Flanders. The University of Antwerp is characterised by its high standards in education, internationally competitive research and entrepreneurial approach. It was founded in 2003 after the merger of three smaller universities.
Beijing Forestry University is a university in Haidian District, Beijing focusing on forestry.
Tilburg University is a public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Erasmus University Rotterdam is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humanist and theologian.
Tallinn University is a public research university in Estonia. Located in the centre of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn University is one of the three largest institutions of higher education in the country. Both QS World University and Times Higher Education rankings place it among the top 1000 universities in the world.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) was officially established on 24 November 1994 as the ninth public university in Malaysia. The university is located on a 999-acre site at Sepanggar Bay in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah. With Mount Kinabalu and the South China Sea as its background, UMS is often considered as among the most beautiful campuses in Southeast Asia.
QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). Previously known as Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings, the publisher had collaborated with Times Higher Education (THE) magazine to publish its international league tables from 2004 to 2009 before both started to announce their own versions. QS then chose to continue using the pre-existing methodology, while THE adopted a new methodology to create their rankings.
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is one of the 11 constituent faculties of University College London (UCL).
Anne Willem van den Ban was a Dutch scholar, whose work focused on agricultural extension.
The TUM School of Life Sciences is a school of the Technical University of Munich, located at its Weihenstephan campus in Freising. It encompasses the life sciences, in particular biology, agricultural science, food technology, landscape architecture, biotechnology, and nutrition.
Media related to Wageningen University at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 51°58′01.52″N5°39′30.97″E / 51.9670889°N 5.6586028°E