Portuguese-speaking world.[2] In 2013, UNESCO declared the university a World Heritage Site, noting its architecture, unique culture and traditions, and historical role.[2]
The contemporary university is organized into eight
master's (mestre) and doctorate (doutor) degrees in nearly all major fields. It lends its name to the Coimbra Group of European research universities founded in 1985, of which it was a founding member. Enrolling over 25,000 students, more than 15% of whom are international, it is one of Portugal's most cosmopolitan universities.[3][4]
in Portugal in 1290.
Statue of King Dinis, in Coimbra
The university was founded, or ratified, in 1290 by
Monastery of Santa Cruz
. The university was then established on the site known as "Estudos Velhos", which corresponds roughly to the area where the Main Library now stands.
In 1338, during the reign of Afonso IV, it was once again transferred to Lisbon, from whence it returned in 1354, this time to the centre of the town which was then in full expansion. In 1377, during the reign of King Fernando, it was transferred yet again to Lisbon, where it would remain for over a century and a half. The authorization for a Faculty of Theology probably dates from this period – around 1380.
In 1537, during the reign of João III (1521–57), the university moved definitively to Coimbra, where it was installed in the Alcaçova Palace which was subsequently purchased from the royal family in 1597.[9]
During the same 1521-57 period, significant reforms were carried out. Both the university as an institution, and all of its library's books were moved from Lisbon to Coimbra. Most of the new faculty, previously affiliated to the Spanish
Martin de Azpilcueta (Doctor Navarrus), Manuel de Costa, and Antonio Francisco Suárez, all three from Salamanca. Meanwhile, Francisco Franco (chamber physician to John III) and Rodrigo Reinoso taught at the School of Medicine. Classical languages and literatures were taught by professors such as Cipriano Suárez, the author of a famous treatise on rhetoric (De arte rhetorica libri tres, ex Aristotele, Cicerone et Quintiliano praecipue deprompti), at the Colegio de la Artes, which young students learnt as a preparation for further academic studies; this college, independent at first, was eventually merged with the college of Theology, and entrusted to the Jesuits. One of its first professors was the Scotch Latinist George Buchanan, later a follower of John Knox and a reviler of Mary Stuart
. The colleges of Sao Pedro and São Paulo were founded for graduates (doctors) intending to pursue teaching careers; other colleges received students of various religious orders.
In 1770 (23 December), King José I, following the ambitious Marquis de Pombal's initiative, appointed a commission in charge of reorganizing the university. This commission advised the creation of two new faculties, Mathematics and Natural philosophy, leaving intact the older faculties of Theology, Canon law, Civil law, and Medicine. In the end, however, the former and hitherto successful Jesuit college was turned over to the faculty of Medicine, as it would profit from its clinics and laboratories, before being finally confiscated at the time of the expulsion of the Society from Portugal, in 1759 (Coimbra University colleges).
Among the main readings at the University of Coimbra during the Jesuit period were the books composing the influential Cursus conimbricensesa group of 11 volumes on Aristotle produced as part of King John III of Portugal's efforts to rival the University of Paris.[1]
and anticlerical creed.
During many decades it was the only university in Portugal, since its foundation in 1290 until 1559 (a university in Évora operated between 1559 and 1759), and again between 1759 and 1911 (University of Lisbon and University of Porto were created in 1911). The long history and past predominance of the University of Coimbra made it an important focus of influence in Portugal, not only educational, but also political and social.
Initial steps towards some convergence of European higher education systems were taken with the signature of the
Its governance is assured by the Rector, the Senate and the University Assembly, the last responsible for the election of the Rector and the Senate. The Rector has the main responsibility for the strategic direction and the overall administration of the university, together with the Senate and assisted by the Administrative Council.
The university is divided into eight different
university hospital known as a centre of research with a broad range of clinical services and medical specialties, are managed by the Faculty of Medicine (FMUC).[10]
(Sacred Art Museum of the University of Coimbra), and an academic museum (Academic Museum of the University of Coimbra).
A mosaic of the university's seal in front of the main gate.
The university has five main campuses or other sites:
Pólo I (the monumental ancient university core centre, with the main library and administration services, as well as faculties of law, medicine, letters, psychology, and natural sciences – active since the early university times before the 16th century, with major expansions in the 18th century and from the 1940s to the 1960s, during Estado Novo)
Pólo II (engineering, sciences & technology – built during the 1990s and 2000s)
Pólo III (medicine, pharmacy & the university hospital – built in the 1980s with major expansions in the 2000s)
Faculdade de Economia (economics, social sciences – founded in the 1970s)
Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e Educação Física (sports sciences – founded in the late 1990s in the
university sports complex
)
Students
Main article:
Associação Académica de Coimbra
The students' union of the university logoCoimbra University, students in robes, for the first week of classes (2019)
Students are represented by the students' union
Associação Académica de Coimbra
(AAC). Formed on 3 November 1887, it is the oldest university students' union in Portugal, with a long history of struggle against unpopular state policies, forming notable politicians and intellectuals along the way. It also harbours a very dynamic associative life, with its numerous sports and cultural sections, as well as a number of other autonomous organizations. It is an important structure of extracurricular formation of the University of Coimbra's students and a major institution of the city itself. The AAC develops activities such as theatre, cinema, radio and television broadcast, music, choral singing, journalism or philately, as well as rowing, athletics and many other sports. Every student, and occasionally some non-students, are entitled to belong to these sections.
The university's academic traditions and institutions color the life of the city. The old "Republics" (autonomous students' residences) remain, as well as some traditional festivities, most notably the "
, now sung in organized shows rather than the traditional street serenades), and the academic ceremonies (namely the conferring of doctorate degrees).
The university's Queima das Fitas Parade.
The official colors of the Faculties of the University of Coimbra are:
These colors are used in the institutional seal and other symbols of each faculty, in the university ceremonies conferring doctorate degrees, and are also used by the students in their ribbons related with the academic traditions (see Queima das Fitas(The Burning of the Ribbons)). The color of the university seal and of the Rector's office, representing the entire institution as a whole, is dark green. The flag of the University of Coimbra (white flag with the dark green seal in the middle) is always erected, over the top of the old university tower, on 1 March, which is the day of the university, being an occasion for a week of debates, conferences, workshops, and special events related with multiple aspects of the institution.
São Miguel Chapel
.
The
AAC
, Coimbra's student organisation, there are anti-Praxe groups and people who advocate for more thorough reforms in traditional rituals. The Freshman (1st yr.) period (the lowest category in the Praxe hierarchy) is, for many students, a time of good and lasting memories of never to be repeated events. One of the most visible and distinctive traditions is the use of the academic costume of the University of Coimbra, a black suit and cape worn on special occasions by the students, which was adopted by other Portuguese universities and is actually used by students of almost all higher education institutions in the city and across the country.
Praxis almost disappeared in the years after the
25 de Abril revolution of 1974. Timidly it was reinstated in the 1980s. However the significance of the traditional academic attire changed substantially. In earlier centuries it was common practice for a student to wear if for the length of his studies. Students occasionally slept in it when consumption of wine frustrated their efforts to reach home. The academic attire could be completely torn at the end of studies,[11] with the exception of the cape that would not get torn in that ritual (but could have been cut before with a different symbolism[12]), and would be used by former students when attending Queima das Fitas
. Today the academic attire is used less frequently, but it is, arguably, still used more often by students in Coimbra, than in other universities.
A student who had been enrolled more than the years of his course was a "veteran". In the past, when University enrollment was a matter of social class, some students would accumulate quite a number of enrollments. The individual who had the most was Dux Veteranorum, a notable figure in the student scene at the university. In the middle 1980s for instance, the Dux Veteranorum had more than 20 enrollments in Law School but had graduated in only 2 or 3 courses. This tradition is disappearing as the university is putting constraints in the number of years a student can enroll. Most student costs are supported with public money and it is no longer found acceptable that some individuals burden finances to extend their stays without graduating. However, with the increasing tuition fees a student has to pay to attend the university and the attraction of new types of mature students (almost always as part-time or evening class students) like employees, businessmen, parents, and pensioners, many departments make a substantial profit from every additional student enrolled in courses, with benefits for the university's gross tuition revenue and without loss of educational quality (teacher per student, computer per student, classroom size per student, etc.).
The university's Palace Gate.
The sports sections of the
AAC
play a significant role in Coimbra's sport life, often being the city's main representative in that area. They include rugby, handball, basketball, baseball, martial arts, athletics, gymnastic or swimming, among others. Just as with the cultural sections, every student, including professional or semi-professional athletes, may belong to them.
The city's main
Portuguese Football Cup
, in 1939.
Recepção ao Caloiro
In Portugal, the
public university of Portugal the homecoming is celebrated yearly. The events are followed in varying degrees by other less traditional or smaller institutions. A street parade of students, concerts, and sports events are always organized for the freshmen's reception. The street parade organized in several major Portuguese universities is known as Latada, and its name comes from the tradition of tying tin cans to the freshmen's legs (the word lata is tin can in Portuguese).[13]
History
"The Freshman's Reception" (Recepção ao Caloiro, the Portuguese name for university homecoming) goes back to the 19th century when the law students of the University of Coimbra felt the need to express their joy at finishing the school year in as loud a way as possible, using everything at their disposal that would make noise, namely
tin cans, which is the original root of "The Tin Can Parade".[13]
Coimbra
The university's Grand Examination Room.
In Coimbra, where the oldest Portuguese university was founded in the
praxe académica
(student praxis) in Coimbra, followed by the city population as an ancient cultural manifestation and local tradition, and has become a tourist attraction for a number of visitors every year.
Events
João III
, who based the university permanently in Coimbra.
The highlight of this homecoming, which now takes place at the beginning of the academic year (October/November) is the special parade known as the Latada. After marching through the streets of the city the new students are baptized in the Mondego River thus entering into the Coimbra academic fraternity. The second-year students are awarded their Grelos (a small ribbon). The Grelo is a small, woollen ribbon with the color(s) of the student's faculty, that is attached to a student's briefcase. Before this, the students must have visited the Dom Pedro V market during the morning, where they must get a turnip to sustain the Caloiros during the day's festivities. Besides the tin cans they have tied to their legs, the new students wear all kinds of costumes made up according to the creativity and imagination of their godmothers or godfathers, who are older students. They also carry placards with ironic criticisms alluding to certain teachers, the educational system, national events and leaders. The homecoming includes the "Tin Can Festival" week, with concerts and several other cultural events and sports activities beyond the parade, which always happens on a Tuesday. These include the historical night-time
student fado serenade which happens in the stairs of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra to a crowd of thousands of students and other spectators, every year during the celebrations.[13]
Coimbra's Queima das Fitas (Burning of the Ribbons), the oldest and most famous in the country, is organized by a students' commission formed by members of the students' union of the University of Coimbra, the
Associação Académica de Coimbra
. Celebrating the end of graduation courses, symbolized by the ritual burning of the ribbons representing each faculty, it takes place at the second semester (first weekend of May), being among the biggest student festivities in Europe. It lasts for 8 days, one for each Faculty: Letters, Law, Medicine, Sciences & Technology, Pharmacy, Economics, Psychology & Education Sciences and Sports Sciences & Physical Education. During this period, a series of concerts and performances are held, turning Coimbra in a lively and vibrant city.
Students Lore
Stories passed along over generations of students, the university folklore is plentiful. One student usually asked his father for money, stating "Rent 20, Food 30". One day he asked "Rent 20, Food 30, Hammering 20, Fixing of the hammer and medication 40." Another student had oral examinations at Law School. Unresponsive to the simplest of questions, the professor already impatient, turned to the bailiff and asked "Bring in a stack of hay" to which the student very quickly added "And I'll have a glass of water please."
The university's Joanine Library, founded in 1717
The years of dictatorship were gruesome. Apart from the students that got 7 years in prison for toasting to freedom which led directly to the foundation of
matches
industry.
Other items are plain local knowledge:
"Black it is, Chicken made it" (a pun on a children's charade, "White it is, chicken hatched it", to which the answer is "the
egg
")—it happens that the gates of the Botanical Garden are black, and were made by a person named Chicken (Galinha).
Bet you can't climb the Monumental Stairs, two steps at a time, as there are 125 steps in 5 installments of 25 steps each.
Freshmen on first day of classes may have rough stuff to go through. In the escalator of the Mathematics Department it is common to see them buying season tickets to take the ride all year round, and at least once, as urban myth has it, a poster announcing "Flight Insurance For This Elevator, At Sale in The Lobby", was inquired about by the newcomers.
Portuguese-speaking countries, and number 394 in the world (234 in Natural Sciences, 260 in Engineering & IT, 282 in Social Sciences, 290 in Arts & Humanities, 325 in Life Sciences).[23] In addition, it has students from 70 different nationalities; almost 20% of its students are foreigners, being among Portugal's most international universities.[4]
The University of Coimbra is among the major science and technology hubs for applied and fundamental research in Portugal. One of the most powerful supercomputers in Portugal belongs to the University of Coimbra and is managed by the Laboratory for Advanced Computing of the Department of Physics at the University of Coimbra.[24] Built in the mid-2000s, the supercomputer was called Milipeia, using 528 processors and 1000 GB of memory. Its capacity has been expanded since then. The main tasks of the university's supercomputer include modeling and calculus in molecular biology, genetics, particle physics, astrophysics, mathematics, engineering, geophysics, condensed matter physics, etc. Besides University of Coimbra's researchers, other Portuguese scientific community members are allowed to work with Milipeia.[25]
The university is also notorious in Portugal for being the national university with the highest rate of
academic inbreeding, with 80% of its hired faculty having obtained their doctoral degrees at the University of Coimbra,[26][27] this factor is most pronounced at the Faculty of Law (100%) and the Faculty of Medicine (97%).[28]
Organisation and length of courses
Courtyard of the old Faculty of Pharmacy
School year calendar starts in October and finishes in July. In 2004, it was among the first universities in Portugal limiting the time for degree completion. The degree programmes have a specified minimum and maximum time for completion. The time limit is 6 years from the date of first enrolment for the 4 years degrees, and 8 years from the date of first enrolment for 6 years degrees (i.e. Medicine). After that, students have to pay the entire costs of their courses. The tuition fee for undergraduate degrees was €356/year in 2002/2003. It was increased to €880/year in 2004/2005 and to €901,23/year in 2005/2006, the maximum fee allowed to state universities by law. Even with the time limit and the increased tuition fees, the university has had a high number of applicants every year. Like other universities in Portugal, and unlike the polytechnical institutes and many private universities, the university does not have special classes for workers or night classes. Overcrowded classrooms have been frequent in some disciplines at the Faculties of Science and Technology, Law, and Economics. In those occasions, students may stand during the classes or even stay outside the classroom. These faculties have the highest abandon rate and the biggest average time for degree completion. New buildings, campus expansion and modernized infrastructures since the late 1990s and the 2000s, have solved almost all these problems.
Admission
University's botanical garden
Admission is strictly merit-based, and the university has several departments which are known for higher-than-average selectiveness.
academic transfer
), former students (readmission), etc., which are subject to specific standards and regulations set by each department or faculty.
Many Portuguese historical figures and renowned personalities noted for their activity in fields ranging from politics to culture to the sciences, attended the University of Coimbra as students or lecturers. The long list of personalities includes:
Aristides de Sousa Mendes, consul-general in Bordeaux, who in June 1940 defied Salazar's regime to issue tens of thousands of visas to fleeing Jewish and other refugees, was subsequently stripped of his position, and 12 years after his death became the first diplomat Israel recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations;
Pedro Nunes, a famous 16th-century mathematician considered one of the greatest Portuguese mathematicians ever;
Courtyard of the old Royal Palace turned UniversityCourtyard of the old Royal Palace turned UniversityView from the top of the bell-tower of the old Royal Palace
List of research units
Research and Studies centers of the University of Coimbra include:
In chapter 6 of Voltaire's novella Candide, first published in 1759, the narrator remarks that the University of Coimbra had decided that "the burning of a few people alive by a slow fire, and with great ceremony, is an infallible secret to hinder the earth from quaking."[29]
In the comics series Tintin, Senhor Pedro João Dos Santos is a Portuguese Physicist of the University of Coimbra. He was a member of Decimus Phostle's expedition team to recover samples from a fallen meteorite in the Arctic Ocean, the Aurora Expedition. He is seen only in The Shooting Star, the tenth volume of The Adventures of Tintin. The story was serialised daily in Le Soir, Belgium's leading francophone newspaper, from October 1941 to May 1942.[30]
