At an early point in time, most universities in Europe belonged to the Church. Heidelberg University was no exception. In the beginning there were only four majors: theology, law, medicine, and literature.
但早期的歐洲大學多半附屬於教會，並無所謂的學術獨立；海大也是如此，開始時只有神學、法律、醫學、文學四個系。