The University of Bologna is a research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (hence studiorum), it is the oldest university in continuous operation in the world, and the first university in the sense of a higher-learning and degree-awarding institute, as the word universitas was coined at its foundation.
It is one of the most prestigious Italian universities, commonly ranking in the first places of national, European and international rankings both as a whole and for individual subjects.
Since its foundation, the University of Bologna, has attracted numerous scholars, intellectuals and students from all over Italy and the world, establishing itself as one of the main international centers of learning.
It was the first place of study to use the term universitas for the corporations of students and masters, which came to define the institution (especially its famous law school) located in Bologna. The university’s emblem carries the motto Alma mater studiorum (“Nourishing mother of studies”) and the date A.D. 1088, and it has about 86,500 students in its 11 schools.
It has campuses in Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini and a branch center abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It also has a school of excellence named Collegio Superiore di Bologna. An associate publisher of the University of Bologna is the Bononia University Press.
The University of Bologna saw the first woman to earn a university degree and teach at a university, Bettisia Gozzadini, and the first woman to earn both a doctorate in science and a salaried position as a university professor, Laura Bassi.
The 11 Schools (which replace the preexisting 23 faculties) are:
- School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
- School of Economics, Management and Statistics
- School of Engineering and Architecture
- School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Interpretation and Translation
- School of Law
- School of Arts, Humanities, and Cultural Heritage
- School of Medicine and Surgery
- School of Pharmacy, Biotechnologies and Sport Sciences
- School of Political Sciences
- School of Psychology and Education Sciences
- School of Sciences
The university is structured in 33 departments[34] (there were 66 until 2012), organized by homogeneous research domains that integrate activities related to one or more faculty. A new department of Latin history was added in 2015.
The 33 departments are:
- Architecture – DA
- Cultural Heritage – DBC
- Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician” – CHIM
- Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari” – CHIMIND
- Arts – DARvipem
- Pharmacy and Biotechnology – FaBiT
- Classical Philology and Italian Studies – FICLIT
- Philosophy and Communication Studies – FILCOM
- Physics and Astronomy – DIFA
- Computer Science and Engineering – DISI
- Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering – DICAM
- Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering “Guglielmo Marconi” – DEI
- Industrial Engineering – DIN
- Interpreting and Translation – DIT
- Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures – LILEC
- Mathematics – MAT
- Experimental Medicine, Diagnostic Medicine and Specialty Medicine – DIMES
- Psychology – PSI
- Agricultural Sciences – DipSA
- Management – DiSA
- Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences – BiGeA
- Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences – DIBINEM
- Education Studies “Giovanni Maria Bertin” – EDU
- Agricultural and Food Sciences – DISTAL
- Economics – DSE
- Legal Studies – DSG
- Medical and Surgical Sciences – DIMEC
- Veterinary Medical Sciences – DIMEVET
- Department for Life Quality Studies – QUVI
- Political and Social Sciences – SPS
- Statistical Sciences “Paolo Fortunati” – STAT
- Sociology and Business Law – SDE
- History and Cultures – DiSCi