University of Padua

The University of Padua (Italian: Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest university in Italy, as well as the world's fifth-oldest surviving university.

The University of Padua was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe, known particularly for the rigor of its Aristotelian logic and science. Together with the University of Bologna, Padua had played a central role in the Italian Renaissance, housing and educating a number of Italian Renaissance mathematicians, amongst them Nicolaus Copernicus. It is also known for its long-standing tradition in medicine and anatomy, linked to great figures such as Andreas Vesalius, the "father of modern anatomy," and Galileo Galilei, who once taught there. The university also proudly houses the world's oldest anatomical theatre (1594), a symbol of Padua's pioneering role in the development of modern medicine.

As of 2021, it is made up of 32 departments and eight schools. Padua is part of a network of historical research universities known as the Coimbra Group. In 2021, the university had approximately 72,000 students including undergraduates, postgraduates, and doctoral students.

History

The university is conventionally said to have been founded in 1222 when a large group of students and professors left the University of Bologna in search of more academic freedom ('Libertas scholastica'), although it is certain that schools of law and medicine with students from various nations existed near Padua for a few years before 1222, more precisely in Vicenza. In reality, the first place where this group of students and professors from Bologna settled was at the University of Vicenza, where they were welcomed. Due to various vicissitudes, the headquarters was permanently moved to Padua. The first subjects to be taught were law and theology. The curriculum expanded rapidly, and by 1399 the institution had divided in two: a Universitas Iuristarum for civil law and Canon law, and a Universitas Artistarum which taught astronomy, dialectic, philosophy, grammar, medicine, and rhetoric. There was also a Universitas Theologorum, established in 1373 by Urban V.

The student body was divided into groups known as "nations" which reflected their places of origin. The nations themselves fell into two groups:

the cismontanes for the Italian students

the ultramontanes for those who came from beyond the Alps

From the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, the university was renowned for its research, particularly in the areas of medicine, astronomy, philosophy and law. At the time it was the most renowned school of medicine internationally. During this time, the university adopted the Latin motto: Universa universis patavina libertas (Paduan Freedom is Universal for Everyone). Nevertheless, the university had a turbulent history, and there was no teaching in 1237–1261, 1509–1517, 1848–1850.

The Botanical Garden of Padova, established by the university in 1545, is one of the oldest gardens of its kind in the world. Its alleged title of oldest academic garden is in controversy because the Medici created one in Pisa in 1544. In addition to the garden, best visited in the spring and summer, the university also manages nine museums, including a History of physics museum.

The university began teaching medicine around 1250. It played a leading role in the identification and treatment of diseases and ailments, specializing in autopsies and the inner workings of the body.

Since 1595, Padua's famous anatomical theatre drew artists and scientists studying the human body during public dissections. It is the oldest surviving permanent anatomical theatre in Europe. Anatomist Andreas Vesalius held the chair of Surgery and Anatomy (explicator chirurgiae) and in 1543 published his anatomical discoveries in De Humani Corporis Fabrica. The book triggered great public interest in dissections and caused many other European cities to establish anatomical theatres.

Organization and administration

Finances

The university foresaw a budget of €831 million for the 2023 fiscal year. Of this, €545 million were contributions paid by the Ministry of Education, University and Research of Italy, the European Union, local administrations like regions and provinces, and other entities. The remaining €232 million were classified as own revenues, of which €106 million came from tuition fees and €125 million from research-related income.

The amount of tuition students pay depends on their major, the financial situation of their household and if they take more time to graduate compared to the established length of their program. Tuition is also significantly lowered for non-EU citizens of certain developing countries. There are also scholarships and fee-waivers based on merit on other factors. Generally, most students who are graduating in time and are not from low income households will pay around €2,700/year for the 2023/24 academic year.

Rankings

The university is constantly ranked among the best Italian universities.

For 2023, in U.S. News & World Report's World Best Global Universities Rankings, the University of Padua is ranked as the 1st place institution in Italy, taking 43rd place in Europe and the world's 115th. ARWU ranks the university in the Italian top 4, tied for 2nd place with the University of Milan and the University of Pisa under the Sapienza University of Rome. ARWU ranks the university in the 151st – 200th range globally for 2023.

The 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings lists the university at 4th place in Italy and in the 201st – 250th range worldwide. QS World University Rankings ranks the university 4th in Italy in 2024 and the best in Italy to study geology and geophysics, earth and sea sciences, biological sciences, psychology, anatomy and physiology. It also places the University of Padua at 219th in the world for 2024. Also, according to QS World University Rankings, the University of Padua is ranked 125th in the field of Medicine.

The NTU ranking, which focuses on productivity and quality of scientific production, places the University of Padua as 82nd worldwide for 2022.

The CWTS Leiden Ranking, based exclusively on bibliometric indicators, places the University of Padua as 2nd place in Italy and 104th worldwide.

Notable people

Alumni

Notable people who have attended the University of Padua include:

• In natural sciences
• Angelo Azzi biochemist, author and academic
• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) Polish mathematician and astronomer, placed Sun at center of Solar System
• John Caius (1510–1573) English physician
• Vesalius (1514–1564) known as founder of modern human anatomy; offered professorship at Padua, but died
• Gabriele Falloppio (1523–1562) anatomist; anatomy of head and internal ear; reproductive organs
• William Harvey (1578–1657) anatomist; described function of heart and circulatory system
• George Ent (1604–1689) English anatomist, supporter of Harvey
• Thomas Browne (1605–1682) English writer and physician

Sir Edward Greaves (1608–1680) English physician.

• Nathaniel Eaton (1610–1674), Ph.D. and M.D., first Head Master of Harvard College
• Tommaso Perelli (1704–1783), Italian astronomer
• Federico Faggin (1941–) designer of the first commercial microprocessor
• Mario Rizzetto (1945–) Italian virologist; worked with Hepatitis D virus

Departments

The University of Padua offers a wide range of degrees, organized by Departments:

• Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and the Environment
• Department of Biology
• Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health
• Department of Biomedical Sciences
• Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences
• Department of Chemical Sciences
• Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
• Department of Communication Sciences
• Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science
• Department of Cultural Heritage: Archaeology and History of Art, Cinema and Music
• Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation
• Department of Economics and Management
• Department of General Psychology
• Department of Geosciences
• Department of Historical and Geographic Sciences and the Ancient World
• Department of Industrial Engineering
• Department of Information Engineering
• Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry
• Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies
• Department of Management and Engineering
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Medicine
• Department of Molecular Medicine
• Department of Neurosciences
• Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences
• Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology
• Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Department of Political and Juridical Sciences and International Studies
• Department of Private Law and Critique of Law
• Department of Public, International and Community Law
• Department of Statistical Sciences
• Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology
• Department of Women's and Children's Health

Schools

Departments have been united in a limited number of Schools:

• Agricultural science and Veterinary medicine
• Economics and Political sciences
• Engineering
• Human and social sciences and cultural heritage
• Law
• Medicine and surgery
• Psychology
• Sciences

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)