About Us

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 University of Zagreb and the University North are the only public universities operating in Northern and Central Croatia.

The history of the University began on September 23, 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 November 3, 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 January 5, 1874. On October 19, 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.

During the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945), the university was known as the Croatian University (Hrvatsko sveučilište).

The individual departments of the Faculty of Philosophy became separate faculties in 1942, 1946 when the Faculty of Sciences was formed, and finally in 1963.

In 1956, the Faculty of Technology was divided into four faculties:

• Architecture-Construction-Geodesy (Arhitektonsko-građevinsko-geodetski fakultet)
• Electrical engineering (Elektrotehnički fakultet)
• Mechanical engineering-Shipbuilding (Strojarsko-brodograđevni fakultet)
• Chemistry-Food technology-Mining (Tehnološki fakultet)
• These eventually split up into the current layout.

In 1999., the University decided to implement European Credit Transfer System – ECTS. When Croatia signed to be a part of The Bologna declaration, all of the universities in Croatia adopted this system of easily readable and comparable degrees.

University offers 160 undergraduate programmes (ba/bsc), 22 integrated undergraduate-graduate programmes, 9 vocational undergraduate programmes, 174 graduate programmes (ma/msc), 1 vocational graduate programme, 72 doctoral programmes (PhD) and 165 specialist postgraduate programmes.