Vilnius University
Vilnius University (Lithuanian: Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Today, it is Lithuania's leading research institution, ranked among the Top 29% Higher Education Institutions in the world.
Vilniaus universitetas | |
| Latin: Universitas Vilnensis | |
Former names | Academia et Universitas Vilnensis Societatis Jesu (1579) Principal School of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1783) Principal School of Vilnius (1795) Imperial University of Vilnius (1803) Stephen Bathory University (1919) State University of Vilnius (1944) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Hinc itur ad astra (in Latin) |
Motto in English | From here the way leads to the stars |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1579 |
| Founder | King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory |
Religious affiliation | St. John's Church |
| Endowment | ~US$3.7 million (2023) |
| Budget | ~US$200 million (2022) |
| Chancellor | Raimundas Balčiūnaitis |
| Rector | Rimvydas Petrauskas (lt) |
Academic staff | 3,348 |
| Students | 23,517 |
| Undergraduates | 14,025 |
| Postgraduates | 7,071 |
| 797 | |
Other students | 825 (MDs in residency) 1995 (international students) |
| Location | , , 54°40′57″N 25°17′14″E |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Maroon |
| Affiliations | EUA, ARQUS European University Alliance, Santander Network, UNICA, Utrecht Network |
| Website | vu.lt |
The university was founded in 1579 as the Jesuit Academy (College) of Vilnius by Stephen Báthory. It was the third oldest university (after the Cracow Academy and the Albertina) in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Due to the failure of the November Uprising (1830–1831), the university was closed down and suspended its operation until 1919. In the aftermath of World War I, the university saw failed attempts to restart it by the local Poles, Lithuanians, and by invading Soviet forces. It finally resumed operations as Polish Stefan Batory University in August 1919.
After the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, the university was briefly administered by the Lithuanian authorities (from October 1939), and then after Soviet annexation of Lithuania (June 1940), punctuated by a period of German occupation after Operation Barbarossa, from 1941 to 1944, when it was administrated as the Vilnius State University. In 1945, the Polish community of students and scholars of Stefan Batory University was transferred to Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it resumed its status as one of the prominent universities in Lithuania.
The university has facilities in Kaunas and Šiauliai. It has 15 academic faculties that offer more than 200 study programs for over 24,000 students. Non-academic departments of the university include the Cultural Centre, Health and Sports Centre, Library, Museum, Botanical Gardens and other institutions. Since 2016, Vilnius University has been a member of a network of prestigious universities–the Coimbra Group–and since 2019, it has belonged to the European University Alliance (ARQU).
The Vilnius University Foundation was established on 6 April 2016, becoming the first university endowment in Lithuania. Underground beneath the old university's building is the cenotaph of 11 Old Prussian tribes along with the small temple of four gods and four goddesses from Baltic mythology.