TU-Sofia Competitors

Plovdiv University , named in honor of the Bulgarian historian Paisiy Hilendarski, is the city’s leading cultural and scientific institution. It is the largest institution of higher education in Southern Bulgaria, and the second largest Bulgarian university, after St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. The University of Plovdiv is built on the foundation laid by the Higher Teacher-Training Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, which opened in July 1961. The Institute was promoted to university status by government decree on 12 January 1972. In 1973, it became the first higher institution in Plovdiv to offer language and literature studies, offering the B.A. degreee in Bulgarian Language and Literature and Russian Language and Literature. Soon after, a program in Slavonic Languages and Literature (with Specialization in Czech Language and Literature) was added. A degree in Education was offered for the first time in 1984, Law degree programs were introduced in 1992, and Economics degree programs were launched in 1994. Today the University of Plovdiv is a true university by international standarts, since it provides training to students in the four major fields of higher education: natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and economics. “ Paisiy Hilendarski” Plovdiv University has been institutionally accredited by National Certification and Accreditation Board (Protocol No. 1 of 15 February 2001).

The University is the first school of higher education in Bulgaria. Its history is an embodiment and a continuation of centuries of cultural and educational tradition in this country.

The university was founded as a Higher Technical School in 1942. In 1945 it was transformed into a State Polytechnic. In 1953 the Engineering-Construction Institute (ISI) was formed , which in 1963 was renamed as the Higher Institute of Engineering and Construction, and in 1977 - the Higher Institute of Architecture and Construction (VIAS). On July 21, 1995, by decision of the National Assembly VIAS was transformed into the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG). Number of students: 5000 (including 486 part-time students, 352 foreign students and 74 doctoral students). Academic staff - regular faculty - 364 (including 25 professors, 147 associate professors, 168 assistant professors, 24 lecturers, 250 of them are Doctors of Sciences). For the duration of its existence, the University has prepared more than 5700 architects and 25,000 engineers. In five faculties - Architecture, Structural Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Geodesy, Transport Engeneering, and 33 departments senior executives are educated for the following majors: Architecture, Urban planning, Lanscape architecture, Structural Engineering, Construction Management, Transportation Engineering, Water Supply and Sewerage, Hydraulic Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geodesy, Land and Real Estate Management and Planning.