The University of Coimbra is a public university and one of the oldest universities in the world still in operation, being the oldest and one of the largest in the country. Comprising 3 campuses, 8 faculties, and 18 museums, the institution also includes the Botanical Garden and the University Stadium of Coimbra in a space with 24,815 students in 2010.
Its history dates back to the century following the foundation of the Portuguese nation, as it was created on March 1, 1290, when King D. Dinis I signed the document “Scientiae thesaurus mirabilis” in the city of Leiria, creating the university, which was intermediated and confirmed by the Pope. Definitively established in the city of Coimbra in 1537, seven years later all its faculties were installed in the old Royal Palace of the Alcáçova (called the Paço das Escolas after its acquisition by the University of Coimbra in 1597).
Organized into eight faculties, covering a variety of fields of knowledge, the university offers all academic degrees in Architecture, Education, Engineering, Humanities, Law, Mathematics, Medicine, Natural Sciences, Psychology, Social Sciences, and Sports.
The University of Coimbra has approximately 25,000 students, encompassing one of the largest communities of international students in Portugal, making it the most cosmopolitan university. Additionally, it is the founding member of the so-called Coimbra Group, a network of European universities whose aim is academic collaboration among the group’s members.
On June 22, 2013, it was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
