RWTH Aachen

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Template:Infobox University RWTH Aachen University is a large university located in Aachen (Germany). "RWTH" is the abbreviation of "Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule" which translates into Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University. However, officially, "RWTH" remains untranslated.

Its main focus are technological studies, especially electrical and mechanical engineering.

1 Campus
2 Organisation
3 Students
4 Faculty
5 History
6 Sister Institution
7 External links

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Campus

The RWTH is not a campus university. Instead, its buildings are spread over the whole city. There are two core areas (midtown and Melaten district), though not very distinct. The Main Building and the Kármán Hall are 500 m away from the city centre with the Aachen Cathedral, the Audimax (biggest lecture hall) and the main refectory are 200 m farther.

The RWTH has external facilities in Jülich and owns, together with the University of Stuttgart, a house in Kleinwalsertal in the Austrian Alps.

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Organisation

RWTH Aachen is run by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. There are tuition fees solely for long-term students and second studies. Almost all basic lectures are held in German, but some graduate programs are offered in English.

The RWTH is divided into nine faculties:

1	mathematics, computer science, and natural sciences
2	architecture
3	civil engineering
4	mechanical engineering
5	geological resources and material sciences
6	electrical engineering and information technology
7	philosophy (actually all humanities)
8	economic sciences
10	medicines (including the Klinikum Aachen)

Faculty nine was pedagogical sciences and abandoned in 1989.

The RWTH is a member of the IDEA League.

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Students

Image:RWTH Aachen Main Building.jpg

Today there are approx. 30,000 students at RWTH Aachen, graduate as well as post-graduate, however that number has been rather variable.

Approx. 20% of the students are of non-German nationality, most of them (over 150 each) that of China, Turkey, India, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Greece, Belgium, Iran, Poland, Luxembourg, Morocco, Indonesia, Russia and the Netherlands.

Annually, 2,200 students graduate and 800 receive their PhD.

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Faculty

There are 260 institutes with chairs, totalling 420 professors. The scientific staff consists of 3,700 people.

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History

In 1870 the "Royal Rhenish-Westphalian Polytechnical School of Aachen" was founded. Its primary purpose was to educate engineers for the mining industry in the Ruhr area. At its beginning there were 32 teachers and 223 students.

In 1880 it became a "Technical University" (or college, as there was still a non-'universal' technical bias) and was abbreviated "RWTH". In 1899 it was granted the right to bestow PhD's.

World War I was a serious setback for the university, but between 1925 and 1932 was a period of prosperity and expansion. Previous student numbers were reached again and many new facilities were built.

During the Third Reich (1933–1945) RWTH was – like all other institutions – assimilated by the Nazis: The freedom of research and teaching was limited, leading lecturers were forced to quit and many students had to leave the university. Due to the vicinity of the borders to the Netherlands and Belgium the university was closed for a year during World War II.

After the war, the RWTH recovered and expanded very quickly. Some new faculties have come into existence.

In 1995 the RWTH was haunted by Third Reich history again. It turned out that the previous rector "Hans Schwerte" (rector for the short duration of 1970 - 1973) had a fake identity. In reality he was Hans Ernst Schneider, an SS member who had worked for the Ahnenerbe. Ironically "Hans Schwerte" had a reputation as a liberal. His pension rights, academic title, etc. were revoked. Summary of the events, in German.

RWTH Aachen University, the TU Munich, and the TU Berlin are the three biggest universities for engineering studies in Germany.

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