Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка
Motto	"Utilitas honor et gloria" (Latin)
Motto in English	Utility Honor and Glory
Type	Public
Established	1834
Rector	Leonid Huberskyi
Students	20,000
Location	Kiev, Ukraine
Affiliations	IAU
Website	www.univ.kiev.ua/

Kiev University or officially the National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv (Ukrainian: Київський національний університет ім. Тараса Шевченка) is a university located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was founded in 1834 as the University of Saint Vladimir, and since then it has changed its name several times. Currently, its structure consists of fifteen Faculties (academic departments) and four Institutes.

Overview

Kiev University is named after Taras Shevchenko, a major figure in Ukrainian literature and painting. It is an institution of higher education that trains specialists in many fields of knowledge and carries out research. It is considered the most prestigious university in Ukraine^[1], as of March 2010 it features in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities at 1,346 out of 8,000^[2], and a major centre of advanced learning and progressive thinking^{[citation needed]}. It consists of more faculties and departments and trains specialists in a greater number of academic fields than any other Ukrainian educational institution^{[citation needed]}.

History

Pre-history

Kiev University dates back to the first half of the 17th century. The Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, founded in 1632, provided the foundation upon which Kiev University was subsequently built. This Academy, whose history spanned almost 200 years, was the first establishment of higher education in Ukraine. Among its students are many prominent figures of Ukrainian cultural development: Meletius Smotrytsky, Feofan Prokopovich, Hryhoriy Skovoroda, and many others.

For many years it was realized that the city of Kiev needed a new type of university. Pressure on the authorities to allow the creation of such a school was growing, but it took many decades before this idea was realized. Since the Russian autocracy feared the new school would turn into a centre of Ukrainian national liberation activity,^{[citation needed]} one must say that such fears were not at all groundless. Kiev University did become a focal point of national consciousness.

Saint Vladimir

The University was founded in 1834 and named after Saint Vladimir, the ruler who Christianized the Kievan Rus'. This name was chosen by the authorities of the Russian Empire, where the role of Orthodox Christianity was immense, and may have reflected the ongoing importance of Kiev as the cradle of Eastern Christianity for the entire Empire.

The first 62 students started their studies at the university in 1834, in its one faculty, the Faculty of Philosophy, which had two Departments: The Department of History and Philology and The Department of Physics and Mathematics. There were new additions to the original department in 1835 and 1847: the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine. Later on, the original Faculty of Philosophy was divided into two separate units: the Faculty of History and Philology and the Faculty of Natural Sciences. There were no more additions to the number of departments until the 1920s.

The walls of the main building are painted in red while the tops and bottoms of its columns are painted black. These refer to the colours of Saint Vladimir's Order (created in 1782), whose motto is "Utilitas, Honor et Gloria".

Taras Shevchenko

In 1939, Kiev University was re-named after Taras Shevchenko. Upon graduation from Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the Empire, Taras Shevchenko returned to Kiev, and between 1845-1846, was employed by the Archaeological and Ethnographic Commission at Kiev University until his arrest in 1847.

Notable members

Organization

At present, the student body of Kiev University totals about 20,000 students; this number includes almost 2,000 students at the Institute of International Relations which is attached to Kiev University.

Kiev University maintains contacts with many universities and research centres throughout the world.

These are the 15 faculties and 4 institutes into which the university is divided:

Faculty of Biology
Faculty of Chemistry
Faculty of Cybernetics
Faculty of Geography
Faculty of Geology
Faculty of Economics
Faculty of History
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics
Faculty of Philosophy
Faculty of Physics
Faculty of Radiophysics
Faculty of Psychology
Faculty of Sociology
Preparation Faculty
Institute of Philology
Institute of Journalism
Institute of International Relations
Military Institute

References

^ "200 of the best higher education schools in Ukraine". Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (in Ukrainian). March 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
^ Education problems deeper than language, Kyiv Post (April 1, 2010)

External links

[1] "200 of the best higher education schools in Ukraine". Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (in Ukrainian). March 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-09.

[UkrUnMarch2010-2] Education problems deeper than language, Kyiv Post (April 1, 2010)

[1]

[2]

v t e Universities in Ukraine
Universities	Alfred Nobel University Cherkasy National University Chernivtsi University Classic Private University Donetsk State University of Management Donetsk University East Ukrainian Volodymyr Dahl National University Interregional Academy of Personnel Management International Solomon University International Christian University – Kyiv Kharkiv University Kharkiv National University of Economics Kherson State University Kryvyi Rih National University Kyiv National Linguistic University Kyiv International University Lviv University National Defence University of Ukraine National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy National University Ostroh Academy Odesa University Oles Honchar Dnipro National University Dnipro Academy of Continuing Education Poltava V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Tavrida National V.I. Vernadsky University Transcarpathian State University Ukrainian Catholic University Uzhhorod National University West Ukrainian National University Zaporizhzhia National University
Technical universities	Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding Chernihiv Polytechnic National University Dnipro Polytechnic Dnipro National University of Rail Transport Donetsk National Technical University Donbas State Technical University Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas Kharkiv National University of Radioelectronics Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute Kryvyi Rih National University Kyiv Polytechnic Institute Kyiv National Economic University Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture Prydniprovska State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture Lviv Polytechnic National Aviation University National University of Food Technologies National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine Vinnytsia National Technical University Zaporizhzhia National Technical University
Medical universities	Bogomolets National Medical University Bukovinian State Medical University Cherkasy National University Crimea State Medical University named after S. I. Georgievsky Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University Dnipro State Medical University Donetsk State Medical University Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University Kharkiv National Medical University Luhansk State Medical University Odesa National Medical University Poltava State Medical and Dental University Vinnytsia National Medical University. N. I. Pirogov Zaporizhzhia State Medical University
Pedagogical universities	Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol state pedagogical university Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University of Oleksandr Dovzhenko Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National Pedagogical University National Pedagogical Dragomanov University Nizhyn Pedagogical University H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatyuk National Pedagogical University K. D. Ushinsky South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University Vasyl Stefanyk Prycarpathian National University Vinnytsia State Pedagogical University Dnipro Academy of Continuing Education