Department

The Department of Environmental Sciences (DUW) with its five sites and four external sites covers the two big research areas Integrative Biology and Earth Sciences. In 2025, the DUW comprises 18 professorships as well as more than 300 employees. The DUW offers study programs in Biology, Geosciences, Integrative Prehistory and Archeological Science, and Sustainable Development . Furthermore, it is possible to do doctoral studies in various fields.

Libraries

Botanical Garden

Herbaria Basel

Department Management

Prof. Dr. Ansgar Kahmen

Head of the Department
Email: leitung-duw@unibas.ch,
ansgar kahmen@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 35 71

Prof. Dr. Markus Kalberer

Email: markus.kalberer@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 07 01

Prof. Dr. Oliver Heiri

Email: oliver.heiri@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 08 02

[Translate to English:] Walter Salzburger

Prof. Dr. Walter Salzburger

Email: walter.salzburger@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 03 03

Organigramm DUW

Executive Management

The Offices of the Executive Management are in the Bernoullianum, Bernoullistrasse 30, ground floor.

Sonja Zürcher

Managing Director
Office: 031
Email: sonja.zuercher@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 36 14

Dominique Wyss

Safety Officer
Office: 030
Email: dominique.wyss@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 34 48

Joëlle Zweiacker

Assistant
Office: 030
Email: joelle.zweiacker@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 39 14

Verena Sicking

Operations Coordinator & Deputy of the Managing Director
Office: 013
Email: verena.sicking@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 23 36

Marianne Petrucci

Dezentrales HR
Office: 030
Email: marianne.petrucci@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 16 89

Dr. Jelena Rajkov

PhD and PSC Coordination
Office 013
Email: jelena.rajkov@unibas.ch
Phone: +41 61 207 23 27 more

Organs of the Department

Departement Committee

The members of the committee are being elected by the factions. The committee is called up by the head of the department and consists of:

a. the members of the department management
b. additional representatives of faction I – two of each area of research
c. one representative of faction II – one of each area of research
d. one representative of factions III, IV and V

current representatives of the department committee -> list

Departement Assembly

The Assembly represents the Departement and its members as a whole and consists of the following groups (voting weight in percentage for the entire group)

Group I: professors, associate professors, assistant professors with tenure track, SNSF professors (50%)
Group II: Non-tenure track assistant professors, lecturers, honorary professors, private lecturers, research staff with teaching assignments (20%)
Group III: PhD students and postdocs at the University of Basel (10%)
Group IV: Academic, technical and administrative staff without teaching assignments (10%)
Group V: Students in a BA or MA programs (10%)

The Assembly meets at least once per semester

Teaching Committees

The Teaching Committees are responsible for the conception of the degree program and for all questions concerning tuition.

Teaching Committee Biology:
Biology BSc, Animal Biology MSc, Molecular Biology MSc, Ecology MSc, Plant Science MSc, Infection Biology/Epidemiology MSc
Chair: Prof. Dr. Walter Salzburger

Teaching Committee Geography / Geosciences:
Geosciences BSc, Geosciences MSc, SLA I + II
Chair: Prof. Dr. Dominik Fleitmann

Teaching Committee Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science:
Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science BSc and MSc
Chair: Prof. Dr. D. Verena Schünemann

Teaching Committee Sustainable Development:
Sustainable Development, MSc
Coordination: Camelia Chebbi

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