The University of Bern offers top quality across the board: it enjoys special recognition in leading-edge disciplines, is reputed for the excellent quality of its teaching, offers a delightful setting, and a campus environment intimately linked to the social, economic and political life of the city. The university’s comprehensive offering includes 8 faculties and some 160 institutes that date back to the XVIth century. Teaching and research is conducted on an interdisciplinary basis. The university is actively involved in a wide range of European and worldwide research projects, notably in the field of space research. With its central geographic location and attractive programs, it draws students from all Switzerland’s language communities and from abroad. The city of Bern is listed among the cities that offer the best quality of life in the world: the people of Bern are welcoming and peaceable, and the old town of Bern, nestling in a breath-taking setting surrounded by the Swiss Alps, is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The Swiss capital also has an outstandingly broad range of cultural activities. The cost of living remains very affordable and there is a vast choice of rented accommodation. There are plenty of green areas in which to relax, and, for the local, there is nothing more vivifying than a daily dip in the Aare river.