The University of Bayreuth is a public research university situated in Bayreuth, Germany. It was founded in 1975 as a campus university focusing on international collaboration and interdisciplinarity. It is broadly organized into six undergraduate and graduate faculties, with each faculty defining its own admission standards and academic programs in near autonomy. The university offers several interdisciplinary courses such as Philosophy & Economics, Global Change Ecology, Theatre and Media studies, and Health Economics. In 2017 the university was ranked on place number 29 in the Times Higher Education world university ranking for universities founded less than 50 years ago. It is a member of the Elite Network of Bavaria (Elitenetzwerk Bayern), a coalition of research universities jointly offering graduate programs and international doctorate programs. The University of Bayreuth (UBT) is a research-orientated campus university. The mission of the university focuses on furthering interdisciplinary research and science as well as profile creation and the development of interdisciplinary subjects. UBT has a tightly knit network of strategically selected, international partner universities and research project partnerships. The research programs and offered courses encompass nature and engineering sciences, law and economics studies as well as language, literature and culture studies which are constantly being developed. Several undergraduate and graduate study programs as well as numerous individual courses and seminars are offered in English. Research and PhD programs as well as UBT’s international summer programs are conducted in English in general. UBT has defined the following focal areas in research: Nonlinear Dynamics, Polymer and Colloid Science, Molecular Biosciences, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, New Materials, African Studies, High Pressure and High Temperature Research, Cross-cultural Comparison and Intercultural Processes, Innovation and Consumer Protection, Food and Health Sciences, Energy Research and Energy Technology and Governance and Responsibility. The African studies at the University of Bayreuth have held a top international ranking position for years. The Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) is part of the federal and state excellence initiative.