University of Craiova

The idea of founding a higher school in Craiova was proposed in the 18th century by Nicolae Bălcescu, the leader of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. The establishment of the University of Craiova put in a proposal by Ion Heliade Rădulescu in 1848. However, the failure of the Wallachian Revolution of 1848 did not allow an immediate implementation of this plan. Almost a century later, its establishment was approved based on Act 138/25 April 1947 in the Official Bulletin of the Kingdom of Romania.[2]

The Faculty of Agriculture and the Agricultural Institute were established in 1947 and 1948, respectively.[13] The Technical Institute and the Pedagogical Institute were also established in 1951 and 1959, respectively. The Pedagogical Institute of Craiova included four teaching faculties: Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics & Chemistry, and Natural Sciences.[14]

University of Craiova's main building, 2010

According to the Act No.894/27 August 1965 approved by the Ministerial Council of the Socialist Republic of Romania, the University of Craiova was officially established with seven faculties: Mathematics, Philology, Electrotechnics, Agriculture, Horticulture, Chemistry and Economics.[14] The agreement dissolved the Agricultural Institute, and its facilities were transferred to the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Horticulture. The Pedagogical Institute of Craiova was divided into the Faculty of Letters, the Faculty of Theology, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Natural Sciences.

In 1970, the Faculty of Medicine was established. In 1998, it seceded to become the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova. This has been ranked as one of the best universities for medicine in Romania, and has gained in popularity among students due to its six-year program and no entrance exam.[15]

In 1974, the Faculty of Natural Sciences was divided into the Faculty of Mathematics, the Faculty of Chemistry and the Faculty of Physics. The Faculty of Mathematics later became the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in 1991.

By 1989 it consisted of the following faculties:

• Faculty of Science:[16] programs in Mathematics, Informatics and Physics
• Faculty of Letters: programs in Literature and Foreign Languages (Romanian, English, French, Russian)
• Faculty of Economy and Business Administration: programs in Economy, Finance, Accounting, and Agricultural Economy
• Faculty of Medicine: programs in General Medicine
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering: programs in Electrical Engineering, Automation Technology, Computer Science, and Electromechanics
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering: programs in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Agricultural Engineering

In 1990, its development was characterized by restructuring administrative offices, introducing new faculties, computerizing administrative process and improving faculties, in order to become a member of the European University Association.

Since 1991, the University of Craiova has had two campuses: Craiova and Drobeta-Turnu Severin. The Craiova campus includes technology, economics, informatics and secretarial work, while the Drobeta-Turnu Severin campus has administration and informatics.[17]

The Palace of Justice of Craiova in 1900, later the main building of the University of Craiova

The main building of the University of Craiova, called wing A, is located in the central region of Craiova. Its construction was finished in 1896, and it was designed as Neoclassical architecture by architect Ion N. Socolescu. It was used for the Palace of Justice of Craiova. After its transference to the university, it had several internal modifications.

The main building is made up of two different U-shaped wings united by a central wing, delimitating the two interior courtyards. The main entrance, the entire exterior, and the interior architecture were designed as classical architecture. In 1972, a new wing was added to the main building, which became the university library. Over the time, the entrances has been relocated, to make easy access to faculties and rooms. Some supplementary spaces have been created through the construction of separating walls.

In 1977, when the main building was reconstructed, some faculties (Agriculture, Mechanical Engineering, and Medicine) were relocated to different buildings.

Since 1998, the classrooms, laboratories, offices have been decorated and modernized. The consolidation of the eastern wing of the main building started in 1996 and was finished in 2002. A cafeteria was built in the basement of the building. In 2002, the Blue Hall and the Central Hall were renovated and modernized.

University of Craiova, main building

Currently, 8 of 17 faculties are still located at the main building:

• Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences
• Faculty of Letters
• Faculty of Science[16]
• Faculty of Horticulture
• Faculty of Social Sciences
• Faculty of Theology
• Faculty of Economy and Business Administration

The main building now includes 35 classrooms, 16 seminar halls, 21 laboratories, and a workshop room.

The number of the students enrolled at the University of Craiova rose dramatically since 1947. It accounted for 4.6% of the total number of Romanian students in 2000. It is 336 students per 10,000 inhabitants, which is larger than the average number of 238 students per 10,000 inhabitants in the country.[10]

The University of Craiova started its PhD programs in 1966. Currently, its PhD programs are supervised by 63 professors. The university has awarded honorary doctorates to more than 60 persons from different countries for their contributions to science and education.[10]

According to the University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), the University of Craiova was ranked as 14th in Romania and 1777th in the world in 2014.[18] The SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) ranked the University of Craiova as the 11th best research university among Romanian universities and 1661st worldwide in 2014.[19] According to the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR), based on data collected between 2007 and 2011, the University of Craiova ranked 1645 in the world, 103 regionally and number 10 in the country by number of publications.[21] Webometrics ranked the University of Craiova as the 9th university in Romania and 1787th in the world in 2014.[20] It was ranked as the 12th university in Romania by the 4 International Colleges & Universities.[22]

The University of Craiova[23] comprises fourteen faculties:

• University College of Craiova
• University College of Drobeta Turnu-Severin

Annals of the University of Craiova:

Universitatea Craiova (University of Craiova Football Club)) was created in 1948. The team name was subsequently changed to CSU Craiova (1950), Stiinta Craiova (1950) and finally Universitatea Craiova in 1966.