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Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (EHU) | |
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| Motto | Eman ta zabal zazu (Give and extend knowledge) |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1980 (1980) |
Academic affiliations | Compostela Group of Universities |
| Budget | €478 million (2009–10) |
| Rector | Joxerramon Bengoetxea [es;eu] |
Academic staff | 3,420 (2009–10)[1] |
| Students | 44,921 (2009–10)[1] |
| Undergraduates | 42,026 (2009–10)[1] |
| Postgraduates | 2,895 (2009–10)[1] |
| Location | ,, Spain 43°19′53″N2°58′14″W / 43.33140590°N 2.97060580°W /43.33140590; -2.97060580 |
| Campus | Urban (3 campuses) |
| Website | www |
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TheUniversity of the Basque Country (Basque:Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea,EHU;Spanish:Universidad del País Vasco,UPV; officiallyEHU) is a Spanish publicuniversity of theBasque Autonomous Community.
Heir of theUniversity of Bilbao [eu], initially it was made up of the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences of Sarriko (1955),Medicine (1968) and Sciences (1968). Following the General Law of Education (1970), the Nautical School (1784), the School of Business Studies of Bilbao (1818) and the Technical Schools of Engineers (1897) joined in, until it grew into the complex of thirty centers that compose it presently.
It has campuses over the three provinces of the autonomous community:Bizkaia Campus (inLeioa,Bilbao,Portugalete andBarakaldo),Gipuzkoa Campus (inSan Sebastián andEibar), andAlava Campus inVitoria-Gasteiz. It stands out as the main research institution in the Basque Country, carrying out 90% of the basic research carried out in that territory and benefiting from the good industrial environment in the region.
The current rector isJoxerramon Bengoetxea [es;eu], full professor of philosophy and law, since 2024.[2][3]
Although there have been numerous institutes of learning in theBasque Country over the centuries, starting with theUniversidad Sancti Spiritus de Oñati, it was not until the 20th century that serious efforts were made to create anofficialuniversity for theBasque people. The first of these opened its doors inBilbao in 1938, largely thanks to the zeal of the Basquepresident (lehendakari) at the time,José Antonio Aguirre, an alumnus of theUniversity of Deusto. However, this was during theSpanish Civil War, and an inopportune moment to open a centre of learning. The northwest of the Basque region mostly sided with theRepublican movement at this time, earning the wrath of GeneralFrancisco Franco. Thus, when Franco's armies entered Bilbao on 19 June 1937, the fledgling university was shut down.
It was not until 1968 that another university in the Basque region was founded. In this year, the University of Bilbao was opened. In 1972, the Leioa premises were finished. They were in a remote place among cultivated fields. As in the case of theSomosaguas campus of theComplutense University of Madrid, the dictatorial authorities wanted to keep the rebellious students away from urban areas. In 1977, additional campuses sprang up inÁlava andGipuzkoa. Finally, in 1980, the university was officially designated to be the University of the Basque Country.
As of 2005, 78 different degrees are offered, and the university's 48,000students can choose from more than 1,300 subjects of study. One can study 90% of the courses in theBasque language.[4] The university is now recognised as one of the foremost inSpain, both in terms of the number of degrees offered and the quality of the typical degree awarded.
In 2009 the EHU project "Euskampus", was labeled as "Campus of International Excellence", highest quality award by the Spanish Minister of Education. The project has been designed with the aggregation of two important international players: Tecnalia Research and Innovation Corporation and Donostia International Physics Center Foundation.
The currentrector isJoxerramon Bengoetxea [es;eu]. Former rectors:
The motto of EHU is a Basque-language verseEman ta zabal zazu ("Give and distribute [the fruit]"), fromGernikako Arbola, aBasque anthem from the 19th century.
The emblem of EHU is an interpretation of theTree of Guernica by sculptorEduardo Chillida.[5]
One of the characteristics of the university is the dispersion of its faculties and schools. The university contains three campuses, one for each of the three provinces of theBasque Autonomous Community.
Biscay Campus is the largest and the busiest campus; its main complex is inLeioa, eleven kilometres away fromBilbao's city centre, in the seat of the former University of Bilbao. Nonetheless, there are other centres and schools within Bilbao, inBarakaldo and inPortugalete. Since 2011, the university also has a representation centre, the Bizkaia Aretoa, in theAbandoibarra neighbourhood of Bilbao, which houses some of the university's offices but also congresses and expositions.
Gipuzkoa Campus is seated inSan Sebastián andEibar. In San Sebastián, faculties and schools that used to be spread out in the city have been grouped together in the neighbourhood ofIbaeta.
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Álava Campus is seated in the south ofVitoria-Gasteiz:
The Master and Doctoral School is responsible for coordinating and managing doctoral programmes and interdisciplinary research training, as well as coordinating and managing official master's degrees, with exception of those with professional attributes. It is common to the three campuses.
There are five schoolsaffiliated with EHU:
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[6] | 401–500 (2023) |
| QS World[7] | =624 (2026) |
| THE World[8] | 601–800 (2024) |
| USNWR Global[9] | =466 (2023) |
EHU conducts its Summer Courses, created in 1981, at theMiramar Palace inSan Sebastián. They consist of a series of lectures, talks, courses, and master classes on diverse subjects from different areas of knowledge. World-renowned lecturers have been invited to the Summer Courses, as for example,Noam Chomsky in 2006.
EHU has an important handball team. The university also has a football team that played in the SpanishTercera División, Grupo 4 in the2006–2007 season. They finished 19th and were relegated to the regional divisions.
The Engineering School of Bilbao and theUniversity of Deusto hold yearly rowing competitions on theEstuary of Bilbao, inspired by theOxford Cambridge boat race.
The University used to offer an English language, distancePostgraduate Diploma in International Election Observation and Electoral Assistance, the first official postgraduate qualification of its kind that provides advanced learning in electoral systems and electoral campaign processes, with a particular focus for those occurring in contexts of developing democracies or post-conflict situations. The programme was allegedly run in cooperation with many organisations in the field of election monitoring, such as TheCarter Center, Electoral Reform International Services (ERIS),International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES),National Democratic Institute (NDI), theOrganization of American States (OAS) and theOSCEOffice for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) but such partnerships were not officially confirmed.[10]
