Leipzig University was founded back in 1409 and is one of the oldest universities in Europe to have been offering teaching without interruption throughout its existence. Nowadays, the university is home to a total of 14 faculties offering a wide range of academic disciplines in their 120 institutes.

As a traditional university offering a full spectrum of subjects, Leipzig University enables 29,000 students to choose from an impressive and internationally oriented range of over 150 different degree courses, more than any other university in the German state of Saxony. Alongside courses leading to bachelor's or master's degrees such as American Studies, Computer Science and Economics and Management Science, it also offers courses that enable students to take state examinations, for example in Teaching, Medicine and Law. The university not only offers major degree courses, but also so-called “fringe subjects” such as Sorbian Studies and Ancient Oriental Studies, which help to boost its profile and reputation. On top of all this, Leipzig University has also established itself as a centre for teacher training in Saxony. The city of Leipzig boasts a wide variety of collaborations with partner universities outside of Germany, all of which make it an attractive university location on a global level.

The traditional range of subjects taught at the university corresponds with its top-quality pure and applied research activities with an interdisciplinary approach. Leipzig University offers a wide range of different research activities in the fields of life sciences, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. These are reflected in its three strategic fields of research with a total of nine research profile areas, three special research areas and three “transregios”, in which several different faculties work together with partner universities and non-university research institutions. Its research strengths particularly focus on the fields of global interaction, biomedicine, biotechnology, biodiversity, intelligent materials and mathematical sciences, in which it has established itself as a key partner for the transfer of knowledge and technology on an international level.

Leipzig University has been working in cooperation with universities in other German states as a part of the Halle-Jena-Leipzig University Partnership, which enables the participating universities to mutually strengthen their teaching and research activities, since 1995.