This is a list of universities which were split into more than one new institution. Over the history numerous higher education institutions were split up or some scholars left already established institutions and established new ones. Some of the oldest medieval universities were established when students or faculty moved en masse from one town to another. [1] Many of those splits were rampant, motivated by ideological, political or identity concerns. Among others, they include politically motivate mass breakup of French universities in the aftermath of protests of 1968 when in 1971 the total of fifteen universities was split up into 56 new ones [2] [3] [4] or linguistic and communitarian breakup of Belgian universities. [5]
Following the split up, new institutions may either all be new independent legal entities, one may legally continue earlier institution in some capacity, or the rump institution may stay in place without seceded units. Some initiatives to split up universities were faced with protests or questions on the viability of new institutions. [6] [7]
The Catholic University of Leuven or Louvain was founded in 1834 in Mechelen as the Catholic University of Belgium, and moved its seat to the town of Leuven in 1835, changing its name to Catholic University of Leuven. In 1968, it was split into two universities, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Université catholique de Louvain, following tensions between the Dutch and French-speaking student bodies.
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engineering Campus, Brussels Health Campus, Brussels Technology Campus and Brussels Photonics Campus.
The Free University of Brussels was a university in Brussels, Belgium. Founded in 1834 on the principle of "free inquiry", its founders envisaged the institution as a free-thinker reaction to the traditional dominance of Catholicism in Belgian education. The institution was avowedly secular and particularly associated with Liberal political movements during the era of pillarisation. The Free University was one of Belgium's major universities, together with the Catholic University of Leuven and the state universities of Liège and Ghent.
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. ULB is one of the two institutions tracing their origins to the Free University of Brussels, founded in 1834 by the lawyer and liberal politician Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen.
UCLouvain or Université catholique de Louvain is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve, which was expressly built to house the university, and Brussels, Charleroi, Mons, Tournai and Namur. Since September 2018, the university has used the branding UCLouvain, replacing the acronym UCL, following a merger with Saint-Louis University, Brussels.
The University of 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 world.
The University of Toulouse is a community of universities and establishments (ComUE) based in Toulouse, France. Originally it was established in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the French Revolution in 1793, it was refounded in 1896 as part of the reorganization of higher education. It was finally abolished in 1969, giving birth to the three current universities: Toulouse 1 Capitole University, University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès and Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier University. The ComUE in the Toulouse region was known as Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées. On January 1, 2023, the university was renamed as the University of Toulouse.
The University of Botswana (UB) was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The university is divided into six faculties: Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities, Health Sciences, Science and Social Sciences and the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital.
The name Sorbonne is commonly used to refer to the historic University of Paris in Paris, France or one of its successor institutions. It is also the name of a building in the Latin Quarter of Paris which from 1253 onwards housed the College of Sorbonne, part of one of the first universities in the Western world, later renamed University of Paris and commonly known as "the Sorbonne". Today, it continues to house the successor universities of the University of Paris, such as Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Sorbonne University, Sorbonne Nouvelle University and Paris City University, as well as the Chancellerie des universités de Paris. Sorbonne Université is also now the university resulting from the merger on 1 January 2018 of Paris 6 UPMC and Paris 4 Sorbonne.
The University of Eswatini is the national university of Eswatini.
In France, various types of institution have the term "University" in their name. These include the public universities, which are the autonomous institutions that are distinguished as being state institutes of higher education and research that practice open admissions, and that are designated with the label "Université" by the French ministry of Higher Education and Research. These also include the communities of universities and institutions (COMUEs), which are degree-granting federated groups of universities and other institutes of higher education. The COMUEs replace the earlier Pôles de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur (PRES), which were groupings of universities and institutes of higher education that existed from 2007 to 2013. As opposed to the PRES, the COMUEs can grant degrees in their own names.
University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès is a French public university located in Toulouse, France. It is one of the 3 successor universities of the University of Toulouse.
French university associations known as "pôles de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur" were a form of higher-level organization for universities and other institutions established by French law in effect from 2007 to 2013. The 2013 Law on Higher Education and Research (France) discontinued the PRES; these have been largely replaced by the new Communities of Universities and Institutions. The list below indicates the status of those institutions designated as PRES or related associations before the 2013 law took effect. See the list of public universities in France for the current status of these institutions.
Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT) is a French public academic institution dedicated to Higher Education and Research for Innovation in the fields of engineering and digital technology, organized as a Collegiate University. Created in 1996, it was originally known as the "Groupe des écoles des télécommunications", or GET, followed by the "Institut Télécom". The Mines schools, which were placed under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Industry, joined the Institut in March 2012 when it took on its current name and gained the status of Grand établissement. It combines high academic and scientific legitimacy with a practical proximity to business and a unique positioning in 3 major transformations of the 21st century: Digital Affairs, Energy and Ecology, and Industry. Its training and research for innovation are rolled out in the Mines and Télécom Graduate Schools. The Institut falls under the administrative aegis of the General Council for the Economy, Industry, Energy and Technologies.
KU Leuven is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium.
École nationale vétérinaire de Toulouse, is a veterinary school located in Toulouse, France. Established in 1825, it is also an institution of higher education and research and a teaching hospital.
The University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) was a predecessor to the universities of the respective countries, presently the National University of Lesotho, the University of Botswana, and the University of Eswatini. The University was originally known as the University of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland (UBBS), which had its headquarters in Lesotho between 1964 and 1975. The UBBS had developed from the Pius XII Catholic University College at Roma, which was the product of a long-held desire of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Southern Africa for an institution of higher learning for Africans.
COUPERIN is an academic consortium in France. Formed in 1999, it includes more than 250 universities, research organizations, Grandes écoles (schools), COMUE, and others. The consortium negotiates with publishers the prices and conditions of access to scientific publications and other digital resources for the benefit of its members. It promotes open science, particularly with regard to scientific publications, both nationally and internationally. It is headquartered in Paris.
The Catholic University of Leuven was one of Belgium's major universities. It split along linguistic lines after a period of civil unrest in 1967–68 commonly known as the Leuven Affair in French and Flemish Leuven, based on a contemporary slogan, in Dutch. The crisis shook Belgian politics and led to the fall of the government of Paul Vanden Boeynants. It marked an escalation of the linguistic tension in Belgium after World War II and had lasting consequences for other bilingual institutions in Belgium within higher education and politics alike. In 1970 the first of several state reforms occurred, marking the start of Belgium's transition to a federal state.