This was possible due to the great commitment of Greifswald's lord mayor, Heinrich Rubenow, who was also to become the university's first rector, with the support of Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania and Bishop Henning Iven of the local St Nicolas' Cathedral.

Several professors left Rostock for Greifswald to continue their work there, where Heinrich Rubenow took the chance of establishing his own university.

International co-operation with other institutions of higher education in northern Europe existed already in the earliest years, sparked and accelerated by the transnational trading network Hanse.

Johannes Bugenhagen, an alumnus of the university, was an important figure during the German and Scandinavian reformation as well as a good friend of Martin Luther.

The phrase cuius regio, eius religio as applied to the outcome of the Protestant Reformation is attributed to the early seventeenth century jurist Joachim Stephani (1544–1623) of the University of Greifswald.

The main administrative building – still in use today – was built during the "good old Swedish years" by Andreas Mayer, a mathematician by profession, in the style of North German Baroque.

In 1856, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the university's founding, a monument was unveiled in the presence of King Frederick William IV of Prussia.

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the university in 1856, the "Rubenow-Denkmal" (Rubenow Memorial) was built in front of the main building, which is still there at its historic place.

The painter Caspar David Friedrich was born in Greifswald and received his first painting instruction by one of the university's members.

Beginning in 1999, the University of Greifswald was among the first in Germany to welcome and introduce the international Bachelor/Master degree system as proposed by the Bologna declaration.

A new campus for natural sciences (physics,[13] chemistry, biochemistry), medicine, IT and mathematics is under construction in the eastern part of the city.

As a consequence of the construction of the new Greifswald University Hospital building, all historic 19th and early 20th century buildings that were formerly used by the hospital will be transferred to house other disciplines, thus creating an old-town campus for such departments as law and economics, the humanities and social sciences, and improving research and teaching considerably.

[14] Founded in 2000, the Alfried-Krupp Kolleg promotes the Universities international relations by awarding fellowships to Junior and Senior Fellows.

The buildings of the arts and humanities, law, business studies, and theology are scattered about the historic centre of the town of Greifswald.

The newly built facilities for the natural sciences, mathematics, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry are situated to the east of the city centre, offering first-class research opportunities.

The telescope will enable physicists and astrononomers at Greifswald University to forecast solar activity and has been co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt.

[27] Scientists from the university names a species of freshwater snail, Opacuincola gretathunbergae, after the climate activist Greta Thunberg.

The university's research emphasis lies in the field of plasma physics, landscape ecology, medicine, biotechnology, the Middle Ages and the languages and cultures of countries bordering the Baltic Sea.

Partnerships with foreign universities to foster exchange of people (staff and students alike) and ideas is conducted in two different ways.

In Eastern Europe, partnership agreements have been signed with universities in the Czech Republic (Brno), Estonia (Tartu), Latvia (Riga), Lithuania (Vilnius, Klaipeda), Poland (Poznan, Szczecin), and Russia (Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg).

Co-operation of this kind takes place with numerous prestigious universities, including those in Barcelona, Bergen, Gothenburg, Graz, Copenhagen, Lancaster, Oslo, Prague, Reykjavík, Stockholm, Southampton, Uppsala or Utrecht.

Today, the university again manages some of the land previously owned, including a large forest near Eldena that is open to the public, but the revenue is low compared to other sources of funding.

The university owns various paintings and other artworks as well as a great number of historic books, some of which are lent for exhibition to independent public museums.

[37] Today, the continued efforts to regain academic leadership are mirrored in national top placements, e.g. in the 2009 Die Zeit university ranking,[38] in several subjects including for instance biology (2009[39]), medicine (2009[40]), geography, law (2008[41]) pharmacy, psychology, dentistry (2009[42]), and business administration (2008[43]).

Greifswald is situated near the sea and the area between isles of Rügen and Usedom is among the most picturesque and best sailing and yachting regions in the whole of Germany.

[52] Popular destinations for water- and beach-related activities during the summer are the nearby spa towns on the isles of Rügen and Usedom, e.g. Binz, Sellin, Heringsdorf.

People who enjoy being outdoors make use of the fact that three of Germany's 14 national parks – Jasmund, Müritz and Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft – can be reached within one hour or less from Greifswald.

As landlords often prefer their prospective tenants to be fluent in German, this may cause disadvantages for international students wishing to rent their own place.

For instance, 17th-century lawyer David Mevius, two Nobel Prize laureates as well as two German chancellors have studied or worked in Greifswald.

The university was named in honor of its former student and faculty member, the writer, politician, and poet Ernst Moritz Arndt.