The university was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philipp as the first Protestant university in the world. It started with four subjects: Theology, Law, Medicine and Philosophy. Today it has 17 departments that offer a wide range of subjects in the natural sciences and liberal arts. Numerous famous people studied or taught in Marburg. The University is an integral part of the scenic town of Marburg situated on the river Lahn. A saying goes "Other towns have a university, Marburg is a university". Transcripts are issued by the Philipps-University Marburg, which is recognized by Federal Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Germany.

International Undergraduate Study Program (IUSP)

This program is designed to meet the needs of international students who do not have sufficient German to follow regular university courses and who want to follow an American semester. With the exception of the German language and German Culture and History classes, International Undergraduate Study Program courses are part of the regular Philipps-University curriculum and are in the University course catalog.