The University of Perpignan (french: Université de Perpignan; ca, Universitat de Perpinyà Via Domitia) is a French university, located in Perpignan.

History

The first university of Perpignan was established in 1349 by King Peter IV of Aragon. It is one of the oldest regional universities, following in the steps of more renowned centers of learning, such as the far more influential

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

and

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

. Peter IV, having conquered in 1344 the town of Perpignan and reunited to his estates the Kingdom of Majorca, of which Perpignan became its capital, compensated that city for its loss of power by founding, at the request of the magistrates, 20 March 1349, the University of Perpignan, for the teaching of civil and canon law, and other arts and sciences. In the charter he praised "the deep learning of the professors of Perpignan". By the Bull of 28 November 1379, the

antipope Clement VII Robert of Geneva, (french: Robert de Genève; 1342 – 16 September 1394) elected to the papacy as Clement VII (french: Clément VII) by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI, was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election le ...

confirmed the foundation and privileges, and the university, in a petition addressed to him in 1393, declared him its founder: "Pater et Genitor". In 1381

John I of Aragon John I (27 December 1350 – 19 May 1396), called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance, but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death. Biography John was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third ...

, son of Peter IV, granted permission to the city authorities to build the university near the royal castle. The institution spread in Perpignan an atmosphere of learning, the study of law being specially developed. Theology was taught there during the first years of the fourteenth century, but it was not until 21 July 1447, that the faculty of theology was created by a Bull of

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

and it did not receive its statutes until 1459. The university of Perpignan was closed for two centuries between 1794 and 1971. A new ''University Center'' was established in Perpignan and in 1979 the University became autonomous financially, administratively and educationally.

Organisation

The university is composed of four Faculties: * Faculty of Pure and Experimental Science * Faculty of Law and Economics * Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences * Faculty of Sports and Physical Activities and three institutes: * University Institute of Technology * Institute of Business Administration * Institute of Franco-Catalan Studies

Notable people

Faculty

* Claude Combes (born 1935, in Perpignan) - biologist and parasitologist *

Jean Meyer Jean Meyer Barth (born February 8, 1942) is a French-Mexican historian and author, known for his writings on early 20th-century Mexican history. He has published extensively on the Mexican Revolution and Cristero War, the history of Nayarit, and ...

(born 1942, in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

) - historian * Jean-Marcel Goger (born 1954 in Nancy, France) - historian * Jacqueline Assaël (born 1957,

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

) - Hellenist, essayist and poet * Christophe Euzet (born 1967) - politician LREM *

Pere Aragonès Pere Aragonès i Garcia (; born 16 November 1982) is a Catalan lawyer and politician from Spain, serving as the President of the Government of Catalonia since 22 May 2021. He previously served between 2018 and 2021 as Vice President and Ministe ...

(born 1982) - Catalan lawyer and politician;

President of the Government of Catalonia The President of the Government of Catalonia ( ca, President de la Generalitat de Catalunya, ) is one of the bodies that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia stipulates as part of the Generalitat de Catalunya, others being the Parliament, the go ...

Alumni

* Lídia Armengol i Vila (1948 – 1991) - historian and civil servant

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

* Jeannie Mah (born 1952, in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

) - Canadian ceramic artist * Chadi Massaad (born 1959, in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

) - architect * Chafik Rachadi (born 1963, in Marrakech, Morocco) - politician. *

Asmaa Rhlalou Asmaa Rhlalou is a Moroccan journalist and politician of the National Rally of Independents(RNI). She has been a member of the Moroccan Parliament and was elected as the mayor of the Moroccan capital Rabat by the municipal council in September ...

- Moroccan journalist and politician * Nicolas Lebourg (born 1979) - historian * Nsah Mala (born 1988), writer and poet

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Recipient of honorary degree

Predrag Matvejević Predrag Matvejević (7 October 1932 – 2 February 2017) was a Bosnian and Croatian writer and scholar. A literature scholar who taught at universities in Zagreb, Paris and Rome, he is best known for his 1987 non-fiction book ''Mediterranean: A ...

(1932 – 2017) - Bosnian and Croatian writer and scholar

Notes

;Attribution

External links

Official site
{{authority control Educational institutions established in the 14th century University of Perpignan Via Domitia Educational institutions established in 1979 Universities and colleges in Perpignan 1979 establishments in France 1349 establishments in Europe 1340s establishments in France