University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb (Croatian: Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Latin: Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is a public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe.

The history of the University began on 23 September 1669, when the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I issued a decree granting the establishment of the Jesuit Academy of the Royal Free City of Zagreb. The decree was accepted at the Council of the Croatian Kingdom on 3 November 1671. The Academy was run by the Jesuits for more than a century until the order was dissolved by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. In 1776, Empress Maria Theresa issued a decree founding the Royal Academy of Science which succeeded the previous Jesuit Academy. Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer proposed the founding of a University to the Croatian Parliament in 1861. Emperor Franz Joseph signed the decree on the establishment of the University of Zagreb in 1869. The Act of Founding was passed by the Parliament in 1874, and was ratified by the Emperor on 5 January 1874. On 19 October 1874 the Royal University of Franz Joseph I was officially opened.

The University is composed of 29 faculties, 3 art academies and 1 university center with more than 70,000 students.

History

Academy

The beginnings of the later university date back to 23 September 1669 when Emperor and King Leopold I Habsburg issued a decree granting the establishment of the Jesuit Academy of the Royal Free City of Zagreb. According to that document the study of philosophy in Zagreb acquired a formal and legal status as Neoacademia Zagrabiensis and officially became a public institution of higher education.

The academy was run by the Jesuits for more than a century until the order was dissolved by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. Under a new leadership in 1772 the academy enrolled a total of 200 students.

In 1776 Empress and Queen Maria Theresa issued a decree founding the Royal Academy of Science (Latin: Regia Scientiarum Academia). It consisted of three studies or faculties of philosophy, theology, and law. The former political-cameral studies became part of the newly established faculty of law, and thus were integrated into the academy. Each of the faculties of the Royal Academy of Sciences had several chairs teaching one or several courses. During the Austro-Turkish War of 1788–1791 and following the Austrian occupation of Belgrade on 8 October 1789 the Royal Academy requested to be granted the university status with the following argumentation:

If we consider the current circumstances in which serious consideration is given not only to the removal of obstacles to science, but also to the appointment of our local citizens to all services in these kingdoms, and if we also consider for a moment future opportunities, not only that the part of Croatia that is still sobbing under the Turkish yoke but also the kingdoms of Bosnia and Serbia – [...] – will be liberated and that these glorious kingdoms will be almost expanded. We believe that it is not only proud and useful, but also absolutely necessary to have in our environment such a university in which – when all obstacles to scientific work are removed and when funds for its development are obtained – number of local youth will be educated in all the sciences and noble skills for performing various services in their homeland.

The academy in Zagreb remained until 1874, despite numerous organizational changes, the focal institution of higher education in Croatia, educating most of the members of the Croatian intelligentsia.

University

Bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer in 1861 proposed to the Croatian Parliament the founding of a university at Zagreb. During his visit in 1869, the Emperor Franz Joseph signed the decree on the establishment of the University of Zagreb. Five years later, the Parliament passed the Act of Founding, which was ratified by the Emperor on 5 January 1874. On 19 October 1874, a ceremony was held in the name of the founding of the Royal University of Franz Joseph I in Zagreb, making it the third university in the Hungarian realm of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Faculties

• Natural sciences
• Faculty of Science
• Engineering
• Faculty of Architecture
• Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology
• Faculty of Civil Engineering
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing
• Faculty of Geodesy
• Faculty of Geotechnics (in Varaždin)
• Faculty of Graphic Arts
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture
• Faculty of Metallurgy (in Sisak)
• Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering
• Faculty of Textile Technology
• Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences
• Biomedical sciences
• Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry
• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• School of Dental Medicine
• School of Medicine
• Biotechnology
• Faculty of Agriculture
• Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology
• Faculty of Forestry
• Social sciences
• Faculty of Economics and Business
• Faculty of Kinesiology
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin
• Faculty of Political Science
• Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation
• Faculty of Teacher Education
• Humanities
• Catholic Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Croatian Studies
• Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Sciences
• The arts
• Academy of Dramatic Art
• Academy of Fine Arts
• Academy of Music

Philosophy and Religious Sciences

Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Sciences (FFRZ) is a part of the University of Zagreb, Croatia It remains a work of the Society of Jesus and traces its origins to 1662.

FFRZ in Zagreb began as a Jesuit school of philosophy on 6 November 1662 with the establishment of the Philosophy Department at Zagreb College, which would become the University of Zagreb.

The Faculty of Philosophy of the Society of Jesus (FFDI) closed in 1773 due to the suppression of the Society of Jesus, and the Jesuit philosophy school in Zagreb did not reopen until 1937, when it offered a three-year course leading to the licentiate in philosophy, as it does today.

On 31 July 1989 the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See decreed that the Faculty of Philosophy could confer the baccalaureate, licentiate, and doctorate in philosophy.

With a decision of 7 October 1992, the Ministry of Science and Technology entered FFDI into the register as a Scientific Research Organization in philosophy and it became a part of the Croatian Studies Department of the University of Zagreb.

On 8 December 2016, the Senate of the University of Zagreb determined that FFDI would become a faculty and equal component of the University under the title Faculty of Philosophy and Religious Sciences (FFRZ).

Undergraduates may major in Philosophy and Religious Sciences, Philosophy, or Philosophy and Latin Language. Graduate students may major in Philosophy or Religious Science. FFRZ also offers post-graduate studies.

Rectors

* Ivančić was elected rector in 2001, but resigned for health reasons before his term started.

Source: List of rectors at the University of Zagreb website

Rankings

As of 2020, the university ranked 801–1000 by QS, ranking 575 by USN, ranking 512 by CWUR, ranked 401–500 by ARWU, and 1001+ by THE.

Legacy

Since 1874, more than 200,000 students have received a bachelor's degree, more than 18,000 a master's, and more than 8,000 a doctorate from the University of Zagreb.

Sports

The University of Zagreb was a co-organiser (with the University of Rijeka) of the 2016 European Universities Games.

The university was also awarded by EUSA as the best (2016, 2019, 2023) and the most active European university in sport activities (2019 and 2023).

Awards

Rector's award

The Rector's award (Rektorova nagrada) is awarded as part of the University of Zagreb Week (Tjedan Sveučilišta u Zagrebu) in November. The award committee consists of two professors from each of the seven scientific fields covered by the University.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)