Lund University facts for kids
|
Lunds universitet
|
|
 |
|
| Latin: Universitas Lundensis | |
|
Former name
|
Royal Caroline Academy Latin: Regia Academia Carolina |
|---|---|
| Motto | Ad utrumque |
|
Motto in English
|
Prepared for both |
| Type | Public research university |
| Established | 1666 |
| Budget | SEK 10.4 billion |
| Vice Chancellor | Erik Renström |
|
Academic staff
|
5,050 (2023) |
|
Administrative staff
|
3,000 (2023) |
| Students | 47,000 (27,000 FTE) |
| Location |
,
,
Sweden
|
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Dark blue and bronze |
| Nickname | LU |
| Affiliations | Universitas 21 LERU EUA ASAIHL |
| Website | https://www.lu.se https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se |
Lund University is a big public university in Sweden. It is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe! You can find it in the city of Lund, in a part of Sweden called Scania.
Its history goes way back to 1425. That's when a special school called a studium generale was started by Franciscans in Lund. Later, after Sweden took over Scania from Denmark in 1658, the university was officially opened in 1666. It was built right where the old school was, next to the famous Lund Cathedral.
Lund University has nine main parts, called faculties. It also has campuses in the cities of Malmö and Helsingborg. About 47,000 students attend Lund University. They study in 241 different programs and 1,450 separate courses. The university works with 560 other universities in about 70 countries. It is part of important groups like the League of European Research Universities and Universitas 21. Many famous people have studied or worked here. This includes five Nobel Prize winners and even prime ministers!
Lund University is home to two major research centers. One is MAX IV, a special lab that uses powerful light beams. It opened in 2016. The other is the European Spallation Source (ESS). This new facility will have super bright neutron beams. It is expected to be ready by the end of 2027.
The university's main area is around Lundagård park, which is next to the Lund Cathedral. Many departments are spread out in the city. But most are in a line stretching north from the park. This area connects to the university hospital. It also goes out to the edge of town, where the big Faculty of Engineering campus is.
Contents
University History
.jpg)
Early Beginnings
The city of Lund has always been a place for learning. It was once the main church center for Denmark. A school for training church leaders, called the Katedralskolan, started in 1085. Today, it is the oldest school in Scandinavia!
In 1425, a studium generale (an old type of university) was founded in Lund. It was next to the Lund Cathedral. This made it the oldest higher education school in Scandinavia. Other similar schools started later in Uppsala (1477) and Copenhagen (1479). The studium generale closed after the Protestant Reformation in 1536. That's why the university founded in 1666 is seen as a new start.
From the 1600s to the 1800s
After Sweden took over Scania from Denmark in 1658, the Swedish king started the university in 1666. The goal was to help make Scania more Swedish. They wanted to train teachers who would teach in Swedish. The university was first called Academia Carolina. This name honored Charles X Gustav of Sweden. By the late 1800s, it was widely known as Lund University. It was the fifth university under the Swedish king.
When it started, the university had four main areas of study: Law, Theology, Medicine, and Philosophy. This system lasted for over 200 years. In the late 1600s, about 100 students attended. Famous early professors included Samuel Pufendorf, a legal historian.
A war in Scania in 1676 caused the university to close until 1682. It reopened thanks to local people who loved the region. But the university did not become very important until the 1800s. There were not many classrooms. Lectures were even held in the Lund Cathedral. Professors were not paid well.
In 1716, King Charles XII of Sweden stayed in Lund for two years. This brought some attention to the university. After the king's death in 1718, the university received more money. The number of students grew to about 500. Even though it wasn't as big as Uppsala University, it became well-known. It attracted many good professors.
Around 1760, the university's reputation went down. Student numbers dropped below 200. Most students were from the local area. But by 1780, its reputation was back up. This was thanks to popular and smart teachers, especially in language studies. A very famous professor was Esaias Tegnér. He was so well-known that he attracted other talented people to Lund.
In 1829, a sad event happened at the university. A student was killed by another student. This event led to discussions about student life. It helped create the Akademiska Föreningen (Academic Society) in the 1830s.
In 1845 and 1862, Lund hosted student meetings with the University of Copenhagen. A student named Elsa Collin was the first woman in Sweden to be in a student comedy show called a spex.
From the 1900s to Today
In the early 1900s, only about a thousand students attended the university. Most were from wealthy families. They trained to become government workers, lawyers, and doctors. In the following years, the university grew a lot. It became one of the largest in Sweden. In 1964, the social sciences became a separate faculty. The Lund Institute of Technology started in 1961. It joined Lund University eight years later.
Lund University has become very popular. Many students from Sweden and other countries want to study there. In 2012, Lund received over 11,000 applications from international master's students. This was about one-third of all international applications to Swedish universities.
Women at the University
The first woman to study at Lund was Hildegard Björck in 1880. She had already been the first Swedish woman to get a university degree in Uppsala. Her time in Lund was short. Hedda Andersson, a medical student, started later in 1880. She is often called the first woman at Lund University.
Hilma Borelius was the first woman to finish a doctorate in Lund in 1910. The first woman to become a professor was Birgitta Odén in 1965. She was a historian. Carin Boalt became a professor at the Faculty of Engineering in 1964. In 1992, Boel Flodgren became the head of Lund University. She was the first woman to lead a European university!
University Campuses
Most of the university's buildings are in the small city of Lund. This city is about 15 km from Malmö and 50 km from Copenhagen. With so many students and staff, Lund feels like a university town. Over a hundred university buildings are spread around the city. Most are in an area stretching northeast from Lundagård park. Buildings near Lundagård include the main building, Kungshuset, the Historical Museum, and the Academic Society's main office. The main library is in a park 400 meters north. After that is the large hospital complex.
Lund University also has a campus in nearby Malmö. This is Sweden's third-largest city. The Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts has three schools there: Malmö Art Academy, Malmö Academy of Music, and Malmö Theatre Academy. Malmö is also home to Skåne University Hospital. Lund University does a lot of research and medical training there.
Campus Helsingborg is in the city of Helsingborg, about 50 km from Lund. It opened in 2000. It is a building in the city center, right by the train station and harbor. Nearly 3,000 students study there. The Department of Service Management and the Department of Communication and Media are located at this campus.
Teaching for the School of Aviation (LUSA) happens at an airfield. It is near the town of Ljungbyhed, about 40 km from Lund.
University Museums
The Biological Museum holds between 10 and 13 million plant and animal specimens. It is a research collection, not open to the public. Kilian Stobaeus, a teacher of Carl Linnaeus, founded the museum in 1735. It has three parts: the plant collection (herbarium), insect collections, and animal collections. The collections are especially rich in specimens from Sweden and other Nordic countries. They also hold about 10,000 type specimens (original examples of species).
University Library
Lund University library started in 1668, at the same time as the university. It is one of Sweden's oldest and largest libraries. Since 1698, it has received a copy of everything printed in Sweden. Today, six Swedish libraries get these copies. But only Lund and the Royal Library in Stockholm must keep everything forever. Swedish books make up half of the collections. The library has 170,000 meters of shelves!
The library lends out 620,000 items each year. It has 200 full-time staff. Its 33 smaller branch libraries have 2,600 desks for reading. The main library building opened in 1907. It was named Sweden's most beautiful building in 2019. The old library building was Liberiet, near the city's cathedral. Liberiet was built as a library in the 1400s. Now it is a cafe.
University Hospital
Medical education and research at the university happen with Skåne University Hospital. This hospital is in both Lund and Malmö. Medical training takes place at the Biomedical Centre, next to the hospital in Lund. Nursing and occupational therapy used to be taught nearby. Now, they are in the new Forum Medicum. This building brings all health sciences together. The university also runs the Clinical Research Centre in Malmö. It has many special labs. There are over 100 professors in health sciences.
Student Housing
LU Accommodation helps students find places to live. They offer housing in Lund, Malmö, and Helsingborg. You can find different types of rooms. These include dorm rooms, studio apartments, and apartments with one or two bedrooms.
How the University Works
Administration and Leadership
The University Board is the highest decision-making group. It includes the Vice-Chancellor, teachers, students, and people from the community and businesses. The head of the board is Margot Wallström. The Vice-Chancellor and the University Management Group lead the university day-to-day. Most other administrative groups report to them.
University Faculties
.jpg)
Lund University is divided into nine main faculties:
- Faculties of Humanities and Theology
- Faculty of Engineering (LTH)
- Faculty of Fine & Performing Arts
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- School of Aviation
- School of Economics and Management
Research Centers
The university also has more than 20 institutes and research centers. Some of these are:
- Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)
- Biomedical Centre
- Centre for Biomechanics
- Centre for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering - Kemicentrum
- Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies
- Centre for European Studies
- Centre for Geographical Information Systems (GIS Centrum)
- Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE)
- Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University
- Centre for Molecular Protein Science
- Centre for Risk Analysis and Management (LUCRAM)
- International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University (IIIEE)
- Lund Functional Food Science Centre
- Lund Center for the History of Knowledge (LUCK)
- Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC)
- MAX lab - for physics research
- Pufendorf Institute
- Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
- Swedish South Asian Studies Network
Academics and Discoveries
Education
The university offers about 275 study programs and 1400 courses. Many programs and courses are taught in English. This makes it easy for students from other countries to study here. In 2021, Lund offered 6 of the 10 most popular master's programs in Sweden. Five of these are at the School of Economics and Management (LUSEM). The LUSEM Master's in Finance program ranks 36th in the world. This is according to the Financial Times.
Research
Lund University is known as one of Scandinavia's biggest research universities. It is among the top universities in the European Union for scientific papers published. It also receives the most research money from the EU in Sweden. It ranks fifth among European universities for funding from Horizon Europe. The university does important research in many areas. These include brain studies, tiny technology (nanotechnology), climate change, and stem cell biology.
Innovations and Discoveries
Lund University research has led to many amazing inventions. One of the most famous is diagnostic ultrasound. This is a common way doctors examine people in hospitals today. Other important inventions include the artificial kidney. This helped create the company Gambro and makes life better for dialysis patients. Bluetooth technology, which lets devices talk to each other wirelessly, also came from Lund.
Here are some other cool discoveries from Lund over the years:
- 1847: Ice Age theory
- 1887: Rydberg's constant (important in physics)
- 1926: The first respirator (breathing machine)
- 1946: The artificial kidney
- 1953: Medical ultrasound
- 1956: Figuring out the number of human chromosomes
- 1957: Discovery of dopamine (a brain chemical)
- 1967: Nicorette (to help quit smoking)
- 1972: The Inkjet printer
- 1994: Bluetooth
- 2005: Hövding invisible cycling helmet
- 2012: The world's most water-efficient shower
University Rankings
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World | 151-200 (2023) |
| QS World | 75 (2025) |
| RUR World | 55 (2024) |
| THE World | 106 (2024) |
| USNWR Global | 95 (2022) |
Lund University is always ranked among the top 100 universities in the world. Many of its subjects are in the top 50. In 2025, QS World University Rankings placed Lund 75th globally. This makes it the top all-around university in Sweden. It is the most popular university in Sweden for international students. In 2021, Times Higher ranked it as the 40th most international university. Lund was also 8th in the 2024 QS World University Sustainability Ranking.
For specific subjects in 2021, QS ranked Lund in the top 50 for: Geography (24th), Development Studies (32nd), Environmental Sciences (44th), and Nursing (47th). Lund's Master's in Marketing was 42nd and Finance was 47th in 2022. Times Higher also ranked Lund 65th in Law in 2021.
In the RUR World University Rankings, Lund is 55th. RUR measures universities based on teaching, research, international diversity, and money. Lund is highly ranked in these areas: Humanities (32nd), Life Sciences (12th), Medical Sciences (35th), Natural Sciences (18th), Social Sciences (89th), and Technical Sciences (38th).
In 2018, Lund was 82nd in the Times Higher Global University Employability Ranking. This ranking looks at how well universities prepare students for jobs. In 2020, Lund was ranked 91–100 in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Ranking.
Student Life at Lund
Student life at Lund is built around three main groups: the student nations, the Academic Society (AF), and the student unions. Before 2010, students had to join these groups. Now, it's optional, but many still do!
Student Nations
The nations in Lund are a big part of the university's history. They used to be like dorms for students, grouped by where they came from. Östgöta Nation, the oldest, started in 1668. Today, they are more like student clubs.
Students can join any nation they like. Each nation offers different activities. All nations have some student housing, but it's not enough for everyone. Most nations have a pub night and a nightclub each week. A big event is the student ball, held once a year. The "Gustaf II Adolf Ball" by Göteborgs Nation is very famous. Many nations also host dinners each week. Nations also have activities for sports, arts, or parties. Students volunteer to run all these activities.
The Academic Society
In 1830, Professor Carl Adolph Agardh started Akademiska Föreningen (The Academic Society), or AF. Its goal was to bring students and teachers together. Prince Oscar helped fund the society. In 1848, they started building AF-borgen (the AF Fortress). It's across from the Main Building in Lundagård.
Today, AF is still a central place for student life. It has many theater groups and a student radio station (Radio AF). AF also organizes the huge Lundakarnevalen (Lund Carnival) every four years. "AF Bostäder," a group linked to AF, manages over 5,700 student homes in Lund.
Student Unions
Student unions speak for students in university decisions. They also help students with their rights, housing, and job choices. There are nine student unions. One for each faculty, and one for students doing their doctorates.
The unions are part of the Association of Lund University Student Unions (LUS). LUS has two full-time representatives. They meet weekly with the Vice-Chancellor and other university leaders. The student union association offers services like a loan office and a daycare center. It also publishes the monthly Lundagård magazine.
Famous People from Lund University
Many famous people have studied or worked at Lund University. They are linked to: five Nobel Prizes, a Fields Medal, the first implantable pacemaker, the development of echocardiography (heart ultrasound), and the spread of modern physiotherapy. They also discovered dopamine as a brain chemical. They figured out the number of human chromosomes. They helped develop Bluetooth technology and modern medical ventilators.
Here are some notable people connected to Lund University:
Humanities and Economics
- Samuel Pufendorf (1632–1694): A famous legal thinker whose ideas influenced Adam Smith.
- Olof von Dalin (1708–1763): An important Swedish writer and historian.
- Knut Wicksell (1851–1926): A very important economist, seen as a founder of modern macroeconomics.
- Bertil Ohlin (1899–1979): Won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1977 for his work on international trade.
- Torsten Hägerstrand (1916–2004): A world-famous geographer, known for "time geography."
Biology and Medicine
- Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778): Started his studies in Lund. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy (how we classify living things).
- Pehr Henrik Ling (1776–1839): Considered the father of Swedish massage and modern physical therapy.
- Nils Alwall (1904–1986): A pioneer in hemodialysis, he built the first practical dialysis machine.
- Rune Elmqvist (1906–1996): Developed the first implantable pacemaker.
- Inge Edler (1911–2001): Developed medical ultrasonography (ultrasound for the body) in 1953.
- Sune Bergström (1916–2004) and Bengt Samuelsson (1934–): Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1982 for discoveries about prostaglandins.
- Arvid Carlsson (1923–2018): Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000 for discovering the role of dopamine in the nervous system.
Math, Engineering, and Physical Sciences
- Johannes Rydberg (1854–1919): A famous physicist known for the Rydberg formula.
- Manne Siegbahn (1886–1978): Won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 for his work on X-ray spectroscopy.
- Oskar Klein (1894–1977): A world-famous theoretical physicist.
- Hellmuth Hertz (1920–1990): Developed echocardiography and the inkjet printing technology.
- Lars Hörmander
(1931–2012): Won the Fields Medal in 1962 for his work in mathematics. - Sven Mattisson (1955–): One of the people who developed Bluetooth technology.
- Anne L'Huillier (1958-): A professor since 1997, she won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023 for her work in attosecond physics.
Politics and Law
- Tage Erlander (1901–1985): Served as Sweden's prime minister for a very long time (1945–1969).
- Ingvar Carlsson (1934–): Also served as Sweden's prime minister (1986–1991 and 1994–1996).
- Rupiah Banda (1937–): Was the president of Zambia from 2008–2011.
- Marianne Lundius (1949–): Was the first female president of the Supreme Court of Sweden.
Literature and Culture
- Esaias Tegnér (1782–1846): An important writer, poet, and professor.
- Viktor Rydberg (1828–1895): A famous writer and researcher.
- Frans G Bengtsson (1894–1954): A Swedish writer famous for his novel The Long Ships.
- Hans Alfredsson (1931–2017): A well-known Swedish comedian, author, and actor.
- Axwell (Born Axel Hedfors, 1977–): A world-famous DJ, known from the Swedish House Mafia.
Business and Entrepreneurship
- Hans Rausing (1926–2019): Was a leader at Tetra Pak, a huge packaging company.
- Pehr G. Gyllenhammar (1935–): A businessman who was CEO and chairman of Volvo.
- Bertil Hult (1941–): Founded EF Education from his dorm room in Lund!
- Stefan Persson (1947–): Was the CEO of H&M and is one of the richest people in the world.
- Anders Dahlvig (1957–): Was the CEO and President of the IKEA group.
Partner Universities
Lund University works with universities all over the world. They cooperate on research and student exchange programs.
Some partners include the University of California system, Nanyang Technological University, Heidelberg University, and the University of Tokyo.
Lund University is part of the LERU and Universitas 21 networks. It also takes part in the European Erasmus and Nordplus programs. It leads many international projects, especially through the Erasmus Mundus program.
See Also
- List of early modern universities in Europe
- Royal Swedish Physiographic Society in Lund
- Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association, of which Lund University Library is a member
- Fernström Prize
