Areas of research

The University of Fribourg is committed to excellence in research and teaching, and takes pride in a truly interdisciplinary spirit.

There are a total of five faculties, with activities spanning the entire research spectrum, as well as numerous cross-faculty and interdisciplinary projects. In addition, the University is home to an array of centers of scientific excellence.

Information related to research activities (projects, publications, presentations) at the University of Fribourg can be found in the FUTURA database.

Contents:

• Faculty research
• Interdisciplinary research
• National Centres of Competence in Research
• National Research Programmes
  
  

Faculty research

Research activities of the five Faculties at the University of Fribourg:

• Economics and Social Sciences
  Business administration, economics, informatics, mass media and communication, non-profit and technology management.
• Humanities
  Historical science, languages and literature, philosophy, psychology, pedagogy, social science, special education.
• Law
  Commercial law, criminal law, federalism, private and public law, Swiss, European and international law.
• Science
  Biology, chemistry, medicine, geosciences, physics, material sciences, mathematics.
• Theology
  Biblical, oecumenical and liturgical studies, church history, ethics, morals, philosophy, religions and religious languages.
  
  

Interdisciplinary research

The University of Fribourg has several interdisciplinary research units, involving researchers from various faculties, on the following topics:

• Competitiveness
  Role of economic, governmental and social policy on competitiveness, determinants of competitiveness, innovation, cluster mapping, multinational enterprises, competition policy.
• Environmental science
  Environmental protection, climate change, energy and resources shortage, from a point of vue of disciplines like biology, physics, geosciences, philosophy, economics and law.
• Ethics and Human Rights
  Diversité et droits culturels, éthique économique, philosophie politique.
• European Studies
  Management-oriented and cultural issues of European-specific knowledge and competencies, business and international management, European culture, history and politics, European integration and European law.
• Informatics
  Theoretical computer science, information systems, software engineering, decision support, pervasive artificial intelligence, multimedia engineering and data analysis, exascale computing, telecommunication networks and security.
• Multilingualism
  Linguistic, social, political, economic and educational aspects of multilingualism, multilingualism in education, human migration and the workplace, evaluation of language competence.
• Nanoscience
  Bio-nanomaterials, Materials, Nanoparticles self-assembly, Polymer Chemistry.
  
  

National Centres of Competence in Research

Researchers at the University of Fribourg participate in the following National Centres for Competence in Research (NCCRs) funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation:

• Affective Sciences – Emotions in Individual Behaviour and Social Processes
• IM2 – Interactive Multimodal Information Management
• Kidney.CH – Kidney Control of Homeostasis
• MaNEP – Materials with Novel Electronic Properties
• Mediality – Historical Perspectives
• Molecular Oncology – From Basic Research to Therapeutic Approaches
• Neuro – Neural Plasticity and Repair

National Research Programmes

Researchers at the University of Fribourg are currently involved in the following National Research Programmes (NRPs) funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation:

• NRP 60 – Gender Equality
• NRP 62 – Smart Materials
• NRP 64 – Opportunities and Risks of Nanomaterials
• NRP 65 – New Urban Quality
• NRP 66 – Resource Wood
• NRP 67 - End of Life