University of Bucharest facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
University of Bucharest

Universitatea din București
Latin: Universitas Studiorum Bucurestiensis
Other names	UB, UniBuc
Motto	Virtute et Sapientia (Latin)
Motto in English	Virtue and Wisdom
Type	Public
Established	1694 – Princely Academy of Bucharest 1821 – Saint Sava College 4 July 1864; 160 years ago (1864-07-04)
Academic affiliations	IAU, UNICA, EUA, CIVIS
Endowment	RON 1.14 billion (US$274.76 million) (2018)
Budget	RON 364.7 million (US$87.67 million) (2018)
Rector	Marian Preda
Academic staff	1,300 (2022)
Students	32,576 (2022–2023)
Undergraduates	22,428 (2022–2023)
Postgraduates	8,911 (2022–2023)
Location	Bucharest , Romania
Campus	Urban
Colors	navy blue

The University of Bucharest (also known as UB or UniBuc) is a big public university in Bucharest, Romania. It's a place where people go to learn and do advanced research. The university was officially started on July 4, 1864. Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza signed a special order to change an older school, the Princely Academy of Bucharest, into what is now the University of Bucharest. This makes it one of Romania's oldest universities. It is also part of a special group of top Romanian universities called the Universitaria Consortium.

The University of Bucharest offers many different study programs. You can study in Romanian or English. The Ministry of Education in Romania sees it as an "advanced research and education university." This means it's a very important place for learning and discovering new things.

History of the University

The main building of the university, designed in 1857 by Alexandru Orăscu

A photograph from 1864, taken by Carol Szathmari

The University of Bucharest was officially created on July 4, 1864, by Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. It quickly became a major center for learning and a very important part of society in Romania.

The university has a long and interesting history. It has helped Romanian education, science, and culture grow and become more modern since 1694. Back then, Constantin Brâncoveanu, who ruled Wallachia, started the Princely Academy of Bucharest. Lessons were taught in Greek. Later, in 1776, another ruler named Alexander Ypsilantis updated the school. They started teaching French, Italian, and Latin. After 1821, the Saint Sava College continued the work of the Princely Academy.

In 1857, the first stone was laid for the main University Palace building in Bucharest. Also in 1857, Carol Davila and Nicolae Crețulescu started the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy. In 1859, the Faculty of Law was created.

On July 4, 1864, Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza brought together the Faculties of Law, Sciences, and Letters to form the University of Bucharest. A few years later, in 1869, the National School of Medicine and Pharmacy became the Faculty of Medicine. Over the next years, many new faculties and institutes were added. These included Theology (1884), Geology (1906), Electrotechnology (1913), Veterinary Medicine (1921), Pharmacy (1923), and Forensic Medicine (1924).

In 1956, some students from the university planned a peaceful protest against the government at the time. However, they were stopped. (You can learn more about this in the Bucharest student movement of 1956 article). For a short time in the 1950s and early 1960s, the university was called the "C. I. Parhon University."

Most of the university's main building is still standing today. However, parts of it were badly damaged during the bombings of Bucharest in 1944. The central part had to be rebuilt between 1969 and 1971. Other parts were finished by 1980.

The area around the old university building, called University Square, was a very important place during the Romanian Revolution in 1989. Many protests and gatherings happened there. In April–June 1990, the University of Bucharest was a main spot for protests against the old government system.

In 1996, Emil Constantinescu, who was the head of the University of Bucharest at the time, was elected President of Romania.

Organisation of the University

The University Palace, which is the main building of the University of Bucharest

Faculties at the University

The Faculty of Law at the University of Bucharest

The University of Bucharest has 19 different faculties. A faculty is like a large department that focuses on a specific area of study. These faculties cover many subjects, including science, arts, social studies, and religion:

• The Faculty of Business and Administration
• The Faculty of Biology
• The Faculty of Chemistry
• The Faculty of Law
• The Faculty of Philosophy
• The Faculty of Physics
• The Faculty of Geography
• The Faculty of Geology and Geophysics
• The Faculty of History
• The Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies
• The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures
• The Faculty of Letters
• The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science
• The Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences
• The Faculty of Sociology and Social Work
• The Faculty of Political Science
• The Faculty of Orthodox Theology
• The Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology
• The Faculty of Baptist Theology

Academic and Research Units

The university also has five special departments that work across different subjects:

• Technology Department
• Distance Learning Department
• UNESCO Department for intercultural and interreligious exchanges
• Department of Education Pedagogy
• Francophone Doctoral School of Social Sciences (French: École Doctorale Francophone de l'Europe Centrale et de Sud-Est)

The university also has its own publishing house, where they print books and research papers. There are many research institutes and groups, like the Institute for Political Research and the Center for Nuclear Research. The university offers master's and doctorate programs for advanced studies. It also has many programs for learning throughout life. The University of Bucharest works with over 50 universities in 40 countries. It takes part in European programs like ERASMUS, which allows students to study abroad. It is also recognized by companies like Cisco, Microsoft, and Red Hat for its academic programs.

University Campus

The Central University Library, a beautiful building in the neo-baroque style

The University of Bucharest doesn't have just one big campus. Instead, its buildings are spread out across the city of Bucharest. Its two main buildings are:

• The Old Building: This is in University Square, right in the city center. It houses the Faculties of Mathematics and Computer Science, History, Chemistry, Geography, Letters, and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures.
• The Kogălniceanu Building: This building is near the Opera House. It holds the administrative offices and the Faculty of Law.

Other faculties have their own buildings and research places located in different parts of the city. For example:

• The Departments of Germanic, Slavic, and Oriental Languages and Literatures are on Pitar Moș Street.
• The Faculty of Physics is in the small town of Măgurele, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) south of Bucharest.
• The Faculty of Biology and the Faculty of Philosophy are on Splaiul Independenței.
• The Faculty of Psychology is on Șoseaua Panduri.
• The Faculty of Political Science is on Sfântu Ștefan Street.
• The Faculty of Orthodox Theology is on Bibescu Voda Street, near Unirii Square.
• The Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology is on General Berthelot Street.
• The Faculty of Baptist Theology is on Berzei Street.

Each year, the university prints a guide for new students to help them find their way around.

University Rankings

University rankings show how a university compares to others around the world. In 2012, the University of Bucharest was ranked among the Top 601-701 universities globally by the QS World University Rankings. It was one of four Romanian universities to achieve this.

The University of Bucharest has received special awards for its quality. It got the National Academic Excellence Diploma in 2000 and the National Academic Excellence Medal in 2004. All the degrees and diplomas you earn from this university are recognized around the world.

University Affiliations

The University of Bucharest is connected to many international groups and partnerships. These connections help the university work with other schools and organizations worldwide. Some of these include:

Through the ERASMUS program, the University of Bucharest has about 225 agreements with other universities in Europe. This allows many students to study in different countries.

Famous People from the University

Many important and famous people have either taught or studied at the University of Bucharest.

Past and Present Faculty

Here are some of the notable people who have taught at the university:

• Ion Barbu – a mathematician and poet
• Silviu Brucan – a political expert and writer
• Mircea Cărtărescu – a well-known writer
• Emil Constantinescu – who later became the 3rd President of Romania
• Neagu Djuvara – a historian
• Eugène Ionesco – a famous Romanian-French playwright
• Nicolae Iorga – a historian, writer, and politician
• Gabriel Liiceanu – a philosopher
• Solomon Marcus – a mathematician
• George Emil Palade – a cell biologist and Nobel Prize winner
• Dimitrie Pompeiu – a mathematician
• Nicolae Titulescu – a politician

Alumni (People who studied here)

Here are some of the notable people who have studied at the university:

• Albert-László Barabási – a physicist
• Mircea Cărtărescu – a well-known writer
• Zoia Ceaușescu – a mathematician
• Emil Cioran – an essayist and philosopher
• Daniel Dines – a billionaire entrepreneur
• Mircea Eliade – a historian of religion and writer
• Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen – an economist
• Grigore Moisil – a mathematician and computer scientist
• George Emil Palade – a cell biologist and 1974 Nobel Prize winner
• Nicolae Paulescu – a physiologist who discovered insulin
• Andrei Pleșu – a philosopher and writer
• Victor Ponta – a former Prime Minister of Romania
• Mihail Sadoveanu – a writer
• Horia Sima – a political leader
• Șerban Țițeica – a physicist

Rectors (Heads of the University)

The rector is the main leader of the university. Here is a list of the rectors over the years:

• Gheorghe Costaforu (1864–1871)
• Vasile Boerescu (1871)
• Ioan Zalomit (1871–1885)
• Alexandru Orăscu (1885–1892)
• Titu Maiorescu (1892–1897)
• Grigoriu Ștefănescu (1897–1898)
• Constantin Dimitrescu-Iași (1898–1911)
• Ermil Pangrati (1911–1912)
• Ioan Bogdan (1912)
• Thoma Ionescu (1912–1915)
• Ioan Athanasiu (1915–1920)
• Mihail Vlădescu (1920–1923)
• Ermil Pangrati (1923–1929)
• Nicolae Iorga (1929–1932)
• Nicolae Gheorghiu (1932–1936)
• Constantin C. Stoicescu (1936–1940)
• Petre P. Panaitescu (1940–1941)
• Alexandru Otetelișanu (1941)
• Horia Hulubei (1941–1944)
• Daniel Danielopolu (1944)
• Simion Stoilow (1944–1946)
• Alexandru Rosetti (1946–1949)
• Ilie G. Murgulescu (1949–1950)
• Constantin Balmuș (1950–1952)
• Avram Bunaciu (1952–1954)
• Nicolae Sălăgeanu (1954–1957)
• Iorgu Iordan (1957–1958)
• Jean Livescu (1959–1963)
• Gheorghe Mihoc (1963–1968)
• Jean Livescu (1968–1972)
• George Ciucu (1972–1981)
• Ioan-Ioviț Popescu (1981–1988)
• Ion Dodu Bălan (1989)
• Nicolaie D. Cristescu (1990–1992)
• Emil Constantinescu (1992–1996)
• Ioan Mihăilescu (1996–2005)
• Ioan Pânzaru (2005–2012)
• Mircea Dumitru (2012–2019)
• Marian Preda (2019–Present)

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Bucarest para niños

• List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)