University of Poitiers

The University of Poitiers (UP; French: Université de Poitiers, pronounced [ynivɛʁsite də pwatje]) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France by welcoming nearly 28,000 students in 2017.

The University of Poitiers represents a global operating budget of around 150 million euros per year, one-third of which is for operating and investment costs and two-thirds for personnel costs. As of July 2015 it is a member of the regional university association Leonardo da Vinci consolidated University.

Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and arts.

In the 16th century, the university exerted its influence over the town cultural life, and was ranked second only to Paris. Of the 4,000 students who attended it at the time, some were to become famous: Joachim Du Bellay, Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, François Rabelais, René Descartes, and Scévole de Sainte-Marthe, to name but a few.

After temporary closure during the French Revolution when provincial universities were abolished, the University of Poitiers reopened in 1796. The reinstated university was merged from several schools and contained new faculties such as the faculty of science and the faculty of letters.

They established the École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Poitiers, a department which trains engineers, in 1984 after having created the Institut de sciences et techniques de Poitiers, its predecessor.

The first Confucius Institute in France was created on the campus in 2005 with the cooperation of Nanchang University and Jiujiang University.

After having managed its payroll and budget since January 1, 2010, the University of Poitiers is the third university in France to have its premises.