Софийски университет | |
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Former name | Higher Pedagogical Course |
|---|---|
| Motto | Ipsa scientia potestas est |
Motto in English | Knowledge itself is power |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1 October 1888 (1888-10-01) |
| Affiliation | EUA |
| Endowment | $125 million |
| Rector | Georgi Valchev |
Academic staff | 1,700 |
| Students | 21,000 (2023) |
| Address | ,, 42°41′37″N23°20′6″E / 42.69361°N 23.33500°E /42.69361; 23.33500 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Language | Bulgarian |
| Colors | Purple |
| Website | uni-sofia |
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| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| QS World[1] | 731-740 (2026) |
| THE World[2] | > 800 (2020) |
| Regional – Overall | |
| QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia[3] | 44 (2022) |
Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (Bulgarian:Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“) is apublicresearch university inSofia,Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution ofhigher education in Bulgaria.
Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constructed between 1924 and 1934 with the financial support of the brothersEvlogi Georgiev andHristo Georgiev (whose sculptures are now featured on its façade) and has an area of 18,624 m2 and a total of 324 premises. The university has 16 faculties and three departments, where over 21,000 students receive their education. The currentrector is Georgi Valchev.
The university was founded on 1 October 1888—ten years after theliberation of Bulgaria—to serve as Bulgaria's primary institution of higher education.[4]
The university's first iteration was as a year-long "Higher Pedagogical Course" extending the curriculum of an already existing secondary school inSofia. The course's founders "consciously built the foundations of an institution of higher learning" within their curriculum, drawing upon the subject matter of Austrian and German Universities from which four of them had received their doctorates.[5] Subsisting of seven initial lecturers and forty-three students, the Higher Pedagogical Course aimed to educate elementary school teachers at the Gymnasium to fill national gaps among civil servants in "education and scholarship."[6]
With aid from provisional statutes provided by founderIvan Shishmanov in January 1889, the initial Higher Pedagogical Course was legally extended into a multi-departmental "Higher School" with three-year study tracks before the end of its first year.[7] As the demand for educators was met, Sofia's Higher School and its staff continued to organize, expand, and refine their efforts across disciplines. And though it would take 15 years for its fully-actualized "vision" to come to fruition, according to historian Marin Pundeff (Bulgarian:Марин Пундев[1]), by the mid 1890's the Higher School was a respected national hub for scholarship with all "the functions and earmarks of a university."[8] Shishmanov became Minister of Education in 1903, and by 1904 he passed a law through the National Assembly which expanded the Higher School's now four-year magistrate program into an officially instituted university.[9][10] Sofia University's first rector was Bulgarian linguistAleksandar Teodorov-Balan.
During its first years, Sofia University had three faculties, namely a Faculty ofHistory andPhilology (since 1888), a Faculty ofMathematics andPhysics (since 1889) and a Faculty ofLaw (since 1892). History, geography,Slavic philology,philosophy andpedagogics, mathematics and physics,chemistry, natural sciences and law were also taught.[9] The first women (16 in number) were welcomed to the university in 1901 and 25 November (8 DecemberN.S.), the day of St.Kliment of Ohrid, became the university's official holiday the following year.
AsPrince Ferdinand opened theNational Theatre in 1907, he was booed by Sofia University students, for which the university was closed for six months and all lecturers were fired. Not until a new government withAleksandar Malinov at the head came into power in January 1908 was the crisis resolved.
At the beginning of theBalkan Wars, 1,379 students (725 men and 654 women) were recorded to attend the university. A fourth faculty was established in 1917, the Faculty ofMedicine, the fifth, the Faculty ofAgronomy following in 1921, the Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine and the Faculty ofTheology being founded in 1923. In 1922–1923, Sofia University had 111 chairs, 205 lecturers and assistants and 2,388 students, of which 1,702 men and 686 women.
Thefoundation stone of Sofia University's new edifice was laid on 30 June 1924. Funds were secured by the brothers Evlogi Georgiev and Hristo Georgiev. The rectorate was built according to the initial plans of the French architect Henri Bréançon, who had won a competition for the purpose in 1907. The plans were developed byNikola Lazarov and revised byYordan Milanov, who also directed the construction, but died before the official opening on 16 December 1934.
On 27 October 1929, the firstdoctoral thesis in natural science of the university was defended bygeologistVassil Tzankov. The second one in chemistry followed on 1 July 1930 and the title doctor was granted to Aleksandar Spasov. In 1930–1931, the university had four more doctors.
After the political changes of 9 September 1944 and the emergence of thePeople's Republic of Bulgaria, radical alterations were made in the university system of the country. At that time in 1944–1945, 13,627 students attended the university, taught by 182 professors and readers and 286 assistants.Communist professors were introduced to the higher ranks of university authority, with others that did not share these views being removed. Specific party-related chairs were established and the university was restricted after theSoviet model. Three new faculties were founded in 1947, one offorestry, one of zootechnics and one ofeconomics and major changes occurred, with many departments seceding in later years to form separate institutions.
In 2001, the Sofia University was the first Bulgarian Athenaeum to open a Theological Faculty ruled by the nationalOrthodox Church after thefall of communism.[11]
Sofia University Mountains onAlexander Island,Antarctica were named for the university in commemoration of its centennial celebrated in 1988 and in appreciation of the university's contribution to the Antarctic exploration.
Sofia University offers a wide range of degrees in 16 faculties:
Elisaveta Bagryana, poet
Anthony Bailey, businessmanPepka Boyadjieva, sociologistKiril Bratanov, scientist
Iván Cepeda, politician and senator of ColombiaLjubomir Chakaloff, mathematician/
Boris Christoff, opera singer
Raymond Detrez, historianPhilip Dimitrov, politician and lawyer, formerPrime Minister of Bulgaria and member of theConstitutional Court of BulgariaTodor Georgiev, scientist and inventorKhristo Ivanov, scientistRostislaw Kaischew, scientistMimoza Konteva, geographerIvan Kostov, politician and economist, formerPrime Minister of Bulgaria/
Julia Kristeva, philosopher and writerMaxim, cleric and head of theBulgarian Orthodox ChurchGeorgi Nadjakov, physicistIvan Kostov Nikolov, geologist and mineralogist
Ya'akov Nitzani, politician,Knesset memberGeorgi Parvanov, formerPresident of Bulgaria/
Ivan Georgiev Petrov, physicistAssen Razcvetnikov, poet, writer and translatorDimitar Sasselov, astronomerLachezara Stoeva, diplomatPetar Stoyanov, former president of Bulgaria/
Ivan Stranski, physical chemist/Tzvetan Todorov, philosopherOrlin D. Velev, professor and scientist
Mikhail Wehbe, diplomat
Rashid Yassin, journalist and poetZhelyu Zhelev, formerPresident of BulgariaMaria Zheleva, filmmaker and formerFirst Lady of BulgariaLyudmila Zhivkova, politicianIliana Iotova, currentPresident of BulgariaHumboldt-Universität Berlin,Technische Universität Dresden,Université de Genève,Université libre de Bruxelles and others.
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