The University of Geneva (French: Université de Genève) is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873 it dropped its religious affiliations and became officially secular. Today, the university is the second-largest university in Switzerland. It has programs in various fields but is particularly acknowledged for its academic and research programs in international relations (with Geneva being hostess to a dense agglomeration of international organizations), law, astrophysics, astronomy, genetics (with a record of prominent contributions to the fields of planetary science and genetics) and theology. Classes are taught mainly in French. The university holds and actively pursues teaching, research, and community service as its primary objectives. It was ranked number one generalist university in continental Europe, thirty-second world wide amongst the "Top 100 Global Universities" by Newsweek in 2006 and 81-83rd worldwide by the Global University Ranking in 2009.