Kiev University

National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv
Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка
Motto	"Utilitas honor et gloria" (Latin)
Motto in English	Utility Honor and Glory
Established	1834
Type	Public
Rector	Leonid Guberskyi
Staff	--
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] 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

An early 20th century Russian postcard picturing Saint Vladimir University in Kiev.

Kiev University today.

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.

The newly acquired independence of and changing situation in Ukraine have created new challenges for Kiev University, which is contributing to the effort to create a radically new political, social, and economic structure in the country. Kiev University is obliged to improve its system of training since its graduates are to work in various segments of the political, social, and economic system of independent Ukraine. Kiev University graduates are expected to be highly qualified, patriotic, and aware of the tasks facing the new Ukraine; they must be open to the national ideals, and feel responsible for what they are required to do; they are expected to be able to demonstrate a creative approach in solving the pressing problems of today and tomorrow, and to think in terms of long-term and wide-ranging reforms. In other words, the university is striving to achieve a truly universal character in the training of its students.

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev

• Kiev University Website (Ukrainian)/(Russian)/(English)
• (Biological Department)
• (Mechanics and Mathematics Department)
• (Radiophysics Department)
• (Physics Department)
• (Chemistry Department)
• (Department of Cybernetics)