The University of Tirana (, abbreviated UT) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

located at the central borough of Tirana 10 in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. It was established as the State University of Tirana (SUT) in 1957 through merging of five existing institutes of higher education. The main building was planned by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

architect,

Gherardo Bosio Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of Tirana, the capital of Albania.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiper ...

at the beginning of 1940. It is situated at the Mother Teresa Square, south of the city center of

. The primary language of instruction is

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, but there are a number of faculties of foreign languages which are carried out in English, French,

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German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, Chinese and other languages. The University of Tirana was founded in 1957 as the ''State University of Tirana'' (), through the merging of five existing

institute An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

s of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

, the most important of which was the Institute of Sciences, founded in 1947. Immediately after the death of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

in 1985, the university was renamed the ''Enver Hoxha University of Tirana'' () until 1992.

Academics and size

The university is the largest and highest

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university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. It includes eight colleges, 50 academic departments, and 41 study programs or majors. Most programs are offered in

; a few smaller affiliated campuses are located in other Albanian cities, including Saranda in the southern part of the country and

Kukës Kukës (; sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës County, Kukës, one of 12 constituent Counties of Albania, counties of the republic. It spans and had a ...

in the north. It offers three-year

Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

, one- or two-year

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

, and three- to five-year

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

degree programs, in accordance with the

Bologna system 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries to ensure comparability in ...

. The current campus is urban and decentralised. A new large and centralised campus has been planned in the southeast periphery of

. Students dorms are grouped in a separate location called Student City (Qyteti Studenti) in southeast Tirana. UT is the biggest university in Albania, and among the biggest in Europe with 35,000 students. In 2013 the college accepted 95 new Ph.D. students. These are students in possession of bachelor's degrees.

Faculties and departments

* Faculty of Social Sciences * Faculty of Natural Sciences * Faculty of History and Philology * Faculty of Law * Faculty of Economic Sciences * Faculty of Foreign Languages * Department of Physical Education

Notable people

Sali Berisha Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...

(born 1944), cardiologist, President of Albania and Prime Minister * Shpresa Gjongecaj (born 1952), Professor of Numismatics *

Odhise Grillo Odhise Kristo Grillo (1932–2003) was an Albanian writer of children's books. Biography Grillo was born in 1932 in Vuno, where he went to elementary school. He completed middle school in the capital of Albania, Tirana. In 1962 he graduated in F ...

, writer of children's books * Nexhmije Hoxha (1921–2020), politician * Shefki Hysa, writer and journalist * Helena Kadare (born 1943), author *

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; 28 January 1936 – 1 July 2024) was an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter and playwright. He was a leading international literary figure and intellectual, focusing on poetry until the publication of his first novel ...

(1936—2024), novelist and poet, winner of the 2005

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

, the 2009

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, and the 2015

Jerusalem Prize The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously kn ...

. * Harilla Papajorgji (1933–2019), politician and professor *

Ardian Klosi Ardian Klosi (9 July 1957 – 26 April 2012) was an Albanian publicist, albanologist, writer, translator and social activist. He graduated Albanian literature at the University of Tirana in 1981 and received his PhD on German and Comparative Li ...

(1957–2012), publicist and activist * Dhori Kule (born 1957), Rector of the University of Tirana *

Pandeli Majko Pandeli Sotir Majko (born 15 November 1967) is an Albanian socialist politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of Albania; once from 1998 to 1999, and again in 2002. Political career Early career Majko has been a member of the "Euro-Social ...

(born 1967), politician *

Jakup Mato Jakup Halil Mato (16 September 1934 in Fterra, Albania – 30 August 2005 in Tirana, Albania) was an Albanians, Albanian publicist, educational administrator and lector of Tirana University. He started publishing his articles and research stud ...

(1934–2005), publicist and educational administrator *

Laura Mersini-Houghton Laura Mersini-Houghton (''née'' Mersini) is an Albanian-American cosmologist and theoretical physicist, and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a proponent of the multiverse hypothesis and the author of a theor ...

, cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and professor *

Ilir Meta Ilir Rexhep Meta (; born 24 March 1969) is an Albanian former politician who served as President of Albania from 2017 to 2022. Previously Meta served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and he was Speaker of the Parliament of Albania from 2013 ...

(born 1969), Albanian President *

Fatos Nano Fatos Thanas Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and ...

(born 1952), Prime Minister of Albania, member of the Albanian Parliament *

Anila Paparisto Anila Paparisto is an entomologist and taxonomist from Albania, who was appointed in 2021 as Vice Rector for Teaching at the University of Tirana. She is also Professor in Invertebrate Zoology and Teaching Didactics there. Her career began at the u ...

, entomologist and 2002 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards recipient. *

Drita Ziri Drita Ziri (born 26 May 2005) is an Albanian beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Earth 2023. She is the first Albanian to win the Miss Earth title and to win one of the Big Four beauty pageants. Winning the title at 18 years and 21 ...

, tv host and

Miss Earth 2023 Miss Earth 2023 was the 23rd edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the Vạn Phúc City Water Music Square in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on December 22, 2023. Mina Sue Choi of South Korea crowned Drita Ziri of Albania as her successor ...

References

External links

unitir.edu.al
– Official Website * https://unitir.edu.al/eng/ niversity of Tirana (english) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tirana, University Of Universities and colleges established in 1957 Universities and colleges in Tirana 1957 establishments in Albania

Academics and size

Faculties and departments

Notable people

See also

References

External links