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University of Belgrade

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The University of Belgrade (Serbian: Универзитет у Београду) is the oldest and most important higher education institution in Belgrade and Serbia. It is also one of the largest universities in the Balkan region counting over 78,000 students and 2,500 teaching staff.

The University has 30 faculties, 8 scientific research institutes and a system of university libraries and information centres. The faculties or academic departments are clustered into five groups based on their academic characteristics and they include: faculties for biotechnical sciences, social sciences, medical sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, and faculties of technical sciences.

The University has over 78,000 students which can choose from around 150 basic educational programs, around 1,700 postgraduate students also study at the University of Belgrade in various programmes. Since its founding, the University has educated almost 260,000 bachelors, around 14,000 masters and 8,500 doctors.

Contents

History

Though its roots go back to 1808 when the Great School was founded in Belgrade, it officially became a university on February 27, 1905 when a royal charter was granted to the institution. At the time it had three faculties: engineering, law and philosophy. The University was located in Captain Miša's building where its Rectorate is still located.

The university experiences massive growth and expansion in the years preceding the WWII and especially after the establishment of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. In the 1960s and 1970s the University of Belgrade greatly increased its resources and space. The enrollment grew exponentinally as the university developed into a notable regional and international educational institution. Many students from the countries participating in the Non-Alignment Movement were educated in Belgrade. The university is noted for its exceptional programmes in engineering, architecture, philosophy and social sciences.

Ever since the 1980s, the quality of university's programs began to deteriorate due to political instability in the country, subsequent war in Bosnia and Croatia and chronic lack of investment in the resources, students and the faculty. As a result many of the university structures are delapitated and lack modern teaching equipment worthy of a higher education institution of this size and reputation. During the socialist era, the university faculty, especially in the social sciences, tended to be populated according to political affiliation which seriously impaired the quality and impartiality of academic research and teaching. The state had de facto control over the university. This trend continued well into the era of Slobodan Milošević's rule in Serbia, when the university in Belgrade often struggled with outside political pressure and lack of academic and administrative autonomy. Often faculty and university leading figures would be changed and scores of professors and students be removed or retired for dubious reasons; these issues are still largely unresolved. Understandably, Belgrade university was a recognizable centre of political opposition during the 1990s in Serbia. Massive anti-government portests were staged by Belgrade university students and professors during late 1996 and early 1997 which seriously shook down Milošević's regime and forged a strong democratic movement that eventually toppled his government in the autmn of 2000.

Ever since October 5, 2000 overthrow the university has made strides to improve its facilities, resources and teaching quality. There have been several innitiatives to reform the higher education legislation in the country. The governmetn has nevertheless been extremely slow to move and the innitiatives mainly remain mulled over at various committees without any real results coming about. University has lately made great efforts to reform its internal structure and adapt better to the Bologna convention of higher education in Europe. Even though positive changes have been made lately and the university has improved the quality of its services and academics it still has a long way to go before crucial measures are taken for the university to become truly independent of political influence rebuild its resources.

University of Belgrade has been the driving force for the establishment of almost all other universities today present in Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia as well as many universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

University of Belgrade has also been very popular with students from the Middle East and Africa for the good educations and low cost of living in Belgrade. Famously Muammar Qaddafi's son studied at Belgrade for a short time. 



Faculties

University of Belgrade is divided into 29 faculties:





See also



External links










 Universities in Serbia 





 Public


 Belgrade | Kragujevac | Niš | Novi Sad | Priština | Academy of Fine Arts


 Private


  BK | European | Megatrend | Novi Pazar | Singidunum 














 





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