thumb|Faculty building

thumb|Library

The Trier University (), in the German city of Trier, was founded in 1473. Closed in 1798 by order of the then French administration in Trier, the university was re-established in 1970 after a hiatus of some 172 years. The new university campus is located on top of the Tarforst heights, an urban district on the outskirts of the city. The university has six faculties with around 470 faculty members. In WS 2025/2026 around 10,000 students were matriculated, with 61.66% female; the percentage of foreign students was 17.2%.

University seal

The modern university still uses the seal of the historical university in its corporate design. It contains the Latin motto "" (God completes the favors of wisdom from the city of Trier). In 2000 an alternative logo incorporating that seal was introduced, but this met with resistance.

Faculties

The university is divided into six faculties ("Fachbereiche").

  • FB I – Pedagogy, Philosophy, Psychology (c. 2300 students)
  • FB II – Linguistics, Literature, Media (c. 2700 students)
  • FB III – Egyptology, Papyrology, History, Archeology, Art history, Politics (c. 1700 students)
  • FB IV – Economics, Business, Sociology, Mathematics, Computer Science (c. 3300 students)
  • FB V – Law (c. 1800 students)
  • FB VI – Geography, Geosciences (c. 1600 students)

There is also a Faculty of (Roman Catholic) Theology, affiliated to the university but administratively independent. It has about 300 students.

Student demographics

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"

|-

!colspan=3|Foreign Students at the university (WS 2004/05)

|-

!Country

!Students

!Percentage

|-

|

|424

|22.2%

|-

|

|290

|15.2%

|-

|

|133

|7.0%

|-

|

|86

|4.5%

|-

|

|70

|3.7%

|-

|

|56

|2.9%

|-

|

|52

|2.7%

|-

|

|50

|2.6%

|-

|

|48

|2.5%

|-

|

|43

|2.3%

|}

  • WS 2001/02: 11,867 students
  • WS 2002/03: 12,660 students
  • WS 2003/04: 13,082 students
  • WS 2004/05: 13,327 students
  • WS 2005/06: 13,755 students
  • WS 2006/07: 13,932 students
  • WS 2007/08: 13,982 students
  • WS 2008/09: 14,639 students
  • WS 2009/10: 14,612 students
  • WS 2010/11: 14,931 students
  • WS 2011/12: 15,260 students
  • WS 2012/13: 15,165 students

While there is a considerable number of foreign students in Trier, a large majority of students hail from Rhineland-Palatinate and the adjacent German states of Saarland and Northrhine-Westphalia. This situation has been exacerbated by the introduction of tuition fees in all German states except Rhineland-Palatine, with the University of Trier having experienced an increase in the number of students from other German states—especially the neighbouring states—matriculating or transferring there. The SPD, the governing party in Rhineland-Palatinate, does not plan to introduce tuition fees.

Notable alumni

  • Mutsuko Ayano – Japanese PhD student murdered while work on a doctorate in German
  • Elmar Nass – Catholic theologian, priest, social economist, and academic at the Cologne University of Catholic Theology (KHKT).
  • Mervat Seif el-Din – classical archaeologist and former director of the Graeco-Roman Museum.

See also

  • Institute for Environmental and Technology Law
  • List of medieval universities

References

  • Places of interest near University of Trier and overnight accommodation