The University of Ljubljana was founded in 1919. The Prince Regent – the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia – signed the Act establishing the University of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in Ljubljana (today’s University of Ljubljana) on 23 July 1919. At its founding, it consisted of five faculties: Arts, Medicine, Law, Engineering, Theology. The date regarded as the official birthday of the University of Ljubljana is 3 December 1919, since this was the date of the first lecture in Slovene, given by the Slavic scholar Fran Ramovš in what was then the home of the Carniolan Provincial Assembly, a building that is still the seat of the University of Ljubljana today.
The number of students grew steadily and a new era began for the University after the end of the Second World War. The university’s original five faculties began expanding the range of study programmes they offered, since there were growing needs for experts in various fields. By the 1960s the university had nine faculties, while in the 1970s this number rose to 20.
Today the University of Ljubljana is among the top three per cent of universities in the world. Its 23 faculties and three academies offer opportunities to study in all fields – natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, engineering, medicine and art. Today the University of Ljubljana is the oldest and largest higher education and research institution in Slovenia.
Boštjan Botas Kenda,
Vice-Rector of the University of Ljubljana
