University of Zadar

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University of Zadar
Sveučilište u Zadru

Latin: Universitas Studiorum Jadertina
Established:	2003
Type:	Public
Rector:	Damir Magas
Faculty:	over 20
Staff:	240
Students:	5,000
Location:	Zadar, Croatia
Website:	www.unizd.hr/

The University of Zadar (Croatian Sveučilište u Zadru, Latin Universitas Studiorum Jadertina) is a university located in Zadar, Croatia. It was founded in 2003 and is organized in over 20 Departments.

1 History
2 Profile
3 University Departments
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The old University building

Zadar is an ancient university city: as early as in 1396 the university was founded here, which was active until 1807, and since then other institutions of higher education performed their activities until the foundation of the renewed University of Zadar in 2002. The tradition of 607 years (the founder of University Iadertina was the supreme head of the Dominican order Rajmund de Vineis form Capua, and the implementation was entrusted to fra Ivan of Drač) speaks for itself and it classifies this city with the oldest university cities in Europe, (Padova 1222, Paris 1229, Cambridge, Barcelona, Perpignan 1303 , Canterbury 1320, Prague, 1347, Pavia 1361, Krakow 1364, Vienna 1365, Pecs 1367, Florence 1378, Prague 1383, Heidelberg 1385, Köln 1388, Erfurt 1389, Zadar 1396, Salamanca 1421, Avila 1504, Sevilla 1504, Budim 1507, and in Croatia Lepoglava 1656 and Zagreb 1669).

In 1955 the Faculty of Arts was founded and it started its activity in 1956 as a part of the only University at that time in Croatia - University of Zagreb and it was the first institution of higher education outside of Zagreb . Since 1975 it works as a part of the University of Split , as its biggest institution: university in miniature, and during its first years as his quite a large part. By number of its departments, teachers and students, the Faculty was until not long ago the biggest institution of higher education on the Croatian Adriatic. During year 2002, 46 years after its foundation, the Faculty of Arts has 16 departments and 17 different groups of study, 6 postgraduate studies, part-time and additional studies with about 3400 students (together with undergraduate ABDs), 240 employees, and among them 180 teachers and associates (and another 60 subcontractors, which includes the foreign lectors). In 1961 Teacher training college was founded (which was affiliated to the Faculty of Arts in 1979). In 1998 Teacher-training higher education institution was separated. With the foundation of the University these institutions along with the Students` Center, and according to the Law, were reformed into 16 academic and 9 administrative departments of the University.

Zadar, as an ancient center of the Croatian Adriatic coast, is a city of a strong pre-ancient, ancient and medieval tradition that was living its economic and spiritual blooming exactly in the second half of the 14 th century. Since 1154, Zadar is recognized archdiocese and metropolis, and it seems that only the metropolis in the Middle Ages could have the right to a university. It is the center of the Dominican province Dalmatia since 1380, and that is why, according to the settings of the Order, it has the right of founding the university.

For a long time, Zadar was the first class center of a political, cultural and religious life of all the southern Croatian Dalmatian territory. Large inland, with great economical and strategic importance gravitates towards Zadar. T he center of Liburnian thalassocracy was developed in Zadar. Liburnian Iader was transformed into Roman colony, and during the early Middle-Ages the Roman city grows into powerful city commune which has a big role in Croatian historical and geographical development. Zadar was the place from which the monitoring of the naval sailboats route from the fertile valley of the river Po towards the Gate of Otranto and Adriatic Sea was the easiest. The geographical location is important today also, and it puts Zadar into the range of scientific interest of Alps - Adria community, and the essential factor of traffic connection of Zadar with the rest of Europe is represented also by the construction of the highway and the tunnel St. Rok. All of that is being realized in the context of so-called regional longitudinal of Adriatic-Ionic region, as well as vertical Pannonia-Adriatic-Apennines.

The University is pervaded by significant cultural heritage of Zadar: the preserved remains of the monumental ancient architecture (Forvm, etc.), the most valuable monuments of the early MA in Croatia (St. Donat, etc.), Romanic cathedral of St. Anastasia, Krševan, St. Simon, St. Mary` s church-tower. Franciscan and Dominican churches are the oldest examples of gothic style on the Croatian coast. Romanic and gothic murals, goldsmiths` works (monumental St. Simon's chest and gold and silver of Zadar and Nin ), as well as marble baroque altars, altar paintings, portraits and miniatures give us the complete picture of artistic heritage in Zadar. The Scientific Library , one of the richest in Croatia , libraries in church property (Capitol library, "Zmajević" library, the library in St. Francis, in St. Michael), the University and City library are treasuries of valuable manuscripts, incunabula and books of more recent age. The State Archive, the archive of the St. Mary's monastery, the archive of St. Francis` monastery and the Archive of the Zadar's Archdiocese are guarding the documents descending from the age of Croatian national rulers. Especially important are the Museum of Archaeology , Institute for Historic Sciences of CAAS, Permanent exhibition of sacred art and National museum.

The first memory of the songs sung on Croatian language is connected to the visit of the pope Alexander III to Zadar (1177), and at the beginning of the 15 th century in Zadar, in Benedictine monastery of St. Krševan there is the first Croatian humanistic circle . This is where the first Croatian novel Planine by Petar Zoranić ( Venice , 1569) is created, and at the end of the 15 th century Jerolim Vidulić, a liric poet, writes here. Juraj Baraković, originated from Zadar, is the author of complicated and the most explicitly manneristic epic Vila Slovinka ( Venice , 1613). Bartol Kašić translates the Bible and sets the first rules of writing on Croatian language. The first newspapers on Croatian language are published in Zadar ( Kra glski Dalmatin - Il Regio Dalmata , 1806-10) as well as the first literary magazine in Dalmatia ( Zora Dalmatinska , 1844 - 49). In the 19 th century Zadar is, together with Zagreb , the second publishing center in Croatia , and in the sixties of that century it is the center of the national revival in Dalmatia , with leading bilingual newspaper ( Narodni list - Il Nazionale , 1862-1919).

[edit] Profile

The University of Zadar was registered in January 2003, which classifies it as the youngest university in Croatia , but from the historical point of view, it is the oldest university in our country. Namely, in 1396 the Dominican general institution of higher education, called UNIVERSITAS IADERTINA, had been founded in Zadar. That event had determined the beginning of the university tradition in Zadar, which had been lasting uninterruptedly until today, although UNIVERSITAS IADERTINA had been dissolved in 1807, some of its studies had continued their activities. This fact classifies Zadar among the oldest university centers in Europe, and Croatia becomes one of the countries with the oldest university tradition. In 1956, on that basis, the Faculty of Arts in Zadar was founded.

The year 1996, on the occasion of the celebration of the 600 th anniversary of the first university on Croatian soil, represented a strong impulse to the idea of instituting, or rather reviving the University of Zadar, which yielded the Law of Instituting the University of Zadar, passed by Croatian National Parliament in July 2002, and the registration of the University of 29 th January 2003.

The first session of the Senate was held on the 25 th March 2003 , and on that occasion the Statute was adopted. Therefore, that day is marked as the University day (Dies Academicus).

At the University there are 330 employees (240 academic staff and 90 administrative staff) and among them 95 PhDs (doctors of philosophy), 51 M As (Masters of Arts) and a considerable number of lecturers, assistant lecturers and foreign-language instructors; about 5000 students on every educational level (undergraduate, postgraduate, additional and part-time studies) enrolled in the academic year 2005/2006. The University is developing its activities on two locations, one is the old campus, situated in a very attractive location in the historical center of the city (postal address: Mihovila Pavlinovića, bb) and the other is the new campus, in one of the renewed barracks (postal address: Dr. Franje Tuđmana, 24i).

The University of Zadar is an entirely integrated university, consisting of 21 departments: Archaeology, English Language and Literature, Philosophy, French Language and Literature, Geography, Informatics and Communication Sciences, Classical Philology, Croatian and Slavic Studies, German Language and Literature, Pedagogy, History, Psychology, Sociology, Italian Language and Literature, Department of Teachers and Pre-school educators, Ethnology and Socio-cultural Anthropology, Librarianship, Maritime Affairs and Traffic, Economics and Agriculture and Mediterranean Aquaculture.

In the academic year 2005/2006 the University of Zadar has started with the implementation of the Bologna process, introducing ECTS, three level study structure, diploma supplement, and learning agreement with the aim of facilitating student mobility. By its status, all the studies on the University of Zadar are either single-major or double-major study (A1 + A2). Double-major studies can be combined according to the students' free choice.