We think ahead - and shape the future
Roskilde University was originally established in order to challenge academic traditions and to experiment with new ways to create and acquire knowledge. At RUC we cultivate a project and problem oriented approach to knowledge creation, because we believe that the most relevant results are obtained by solving real problems in collaboration with others. We employ an interdisciplinary approach because no major problems are ever resolved on the basis of any single academic discipline alone. We also cultivate transparency, because we passionately believe that participation and knowledge-sharing are prerequisites for freedom of thought, democracy, tolerance and development.
Facts
- 6.800 students
- 970 employees (full-time equivalent)
- 788 million DKK in annual turnover
Ranking
Roskilde University is ranked 188 in the Times Higher Education Young Universities Rankings.
We shall create the opportunities that no one can yet imagine.
We must also help to develop sustainable solutions to the major challenges we will face in the future, both nationally and globally, in areas such as the environment, inequality, democracy, health and cultural coexistence.
Hanne Leth Andersen, Rector, Roskilde University
European Reform University Alliance
Together with four other European universities, Roskilde University forms the European Reform University Alliance. The partners in the alliance will create a network based on shared goals and values, such as interdisciplinary and critical thinking in research, learning and teaching, and institutional development. The alliance will also help to ensure the exchange of innovative teaching and learning methods, just as the collaboration will promote student mobility by flexible learning pathways across Europe.
The ambition is to create a community for students and staff - both physically and virtually - across universities in different countries and to educate a new generation of creative Europeans able to collaborate across languages, borders and disciplines to find new solutions to the great societal challenges of our time. The alliance is supported by the European Commission.
Critical Edge Alliance
Roskilde University is a part of Critical Edge Alliance - a global collaborative framework for universities that focus on student-centred learning, critical thinking, interdisciplinary learning, teaching and research, and social engagement. The Critical Edge Alliance aims to continue, develop and renew these traditions.
Magna Charta Universitatum
Roskilde University is a Magna Charta Universitatum member institution. The Magna Charta Universitatum is a document that was signed by 388 rectors and heads of universities from all over Europe and beyond on 18 September 1988, the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna. In 2024 Roskilde University signed the new version of the Magna Charta Universitatum: the MCU 2020. The documents contains principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy as a guideline for good governance and self-understanding of universities in the future.
Academic freedom is the foundation for the independent search for truth and a barrier against undue intervention for both government and interest groups.
