General Presentation

Short History

The traditions of higher education in Oradea, metaphorically speaking, go back to time immemorial. This year (2011) there are 231 years since the inauguration of higher education in Oradea and 48 years of continuous higher education in Oradea.

At the end of the 18th century, "a higher institution for philosophic teaching" is founded in Oradea in 1780, which was to become in 1788 the Faculty of Law, the oldest faculty not only within the Romanian borders but also in a vast region of Eastern Europe.

After 1921, all the courses at the Law Faculty were taught in Romanian. In 1923, the foundation of two theological academies gave new dimensions to the academic life in Oradea.

The Law Academy of Oradea, together with the two theological academies, was to make another step forward by integrating a faculty of letters, thus achieving the old desideratum of creating a University of Crisana in Oradea. But in 1934, under inauspicious circumstances and after 150 years of longstanding activity, the Law Faculty - the academic nucleus of Oradea - is transferred to Cluj.

After a thirty-year break in the activity of the Law Academy of Oradea, on 1 October 1963, an order of the Ministry of Education established in Oradea a 3-year Pedagogic Institute meant to do away with the scarcity of teachers in secondary education. The new institution of higher education began its activity with two faculties: Philology and Mathematics-Physics, and a year later other two faculties (History-Geography and Physical Education) were added. One by one, the new sections obtained an academic status until 1983, when due to a poor educational policy, the didactic and Humanist specialization diminished their activity, and from a prosperous institution of higher education, Oradea turned into an engineering college affiliated to the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca.

In May 1990 a decree of the Romanian Government established the Technical University of Oradea, later called the University of Oradea, and based on impressive traditions of academic life in the town. It was an act of scientific and cultural restoration long expected in the life of the Romanian society, a major gain of the people's Revolution of December 1989, one of the greatest Romanian achievements in Crisana after the Great Union on 1 December 1918. This is how the dream of several generations of scholars came true, clearly expressed by a historian of Oradea: "As regarding the future, the desire of all well-meant Romanians is to establish in Oradea a complete university, the lights of which will shine across the entire western border of Romania".

Today, the University of Oradea is an integrated institution of higher education of this kind, comprising 18 faculties.

The mission of the University of Oradea is to train and educate on a large scale both the students and also the high education graduates, as well as to approache certain domains of science and technology at high level.

The structure of the University contains academic education, postgraduate education and scientific research.

The University of Oradea expanded itself by developing new faculties and research teams, as well as by developing certain specializations inside the existing faculties.

Inside the University of Oradea the education and research activity is developing in the area of natural and physical sciences, as well as in the area of social and human sciences, covering the following: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Sciences of Life, Agricultural Sciences, Medical Sciences, Technological Sciences, Economical Sciences, Geography, History, Juridical Sciences and Law, Linguistics, Pedagogy, Political Sciences, Psychology, Letters and Arts, Sociology, Philosophy. The educational process is based on the curricula for long term studies, short term studies, postgraduate’s studies, master, doctoral studies and programs of continuous education and Distance Open Education.

To create flexible education structures, according with the necessities and adapted to the labour market conditions, inside the University of Oradea was established a Department for Distance Education. This form of training offers a great flexibility, liberating the students from the strains of time, space and rhythm of work, representing a special attraction for the working population. Distance education fills a critical niche for intellectual growth for individuals who do not otherwise have access to institutions of higher education. Unhampered by geography, individual schedules, weather, or limiting class-size requirements, courses offered via a variety of distance education technologies have flexibility in meeting the needs of people whom universities have trouble reaching with traditional delivery systems. Distance education courses are not easy, fast-paced replacements for regular on-campus classes. Instead, distance education is a collaborative, interactive system in which a dialogue is established between instructor and student and among students, where individual motivation is essential and a serious approach to learning is of the utmost importance. Fortunately, distance education programmes are becoming more numerous and more visible as employees and employers alike have come to achnoledge the importance of lifelong learning. Students appreciate the fact that distance education gives them access to outstanding faculty and library resources at institutions worldwide.

The University of Oradea adopted the European System of Transferable Credits, facilitating the didactical process.

We all have to admit that there is no other financial or real estate investment more profitable for students. Education itself will always be the best long-term investment, as nothing is as precious as the knowledge gained during academic instruction.