Nantes University () is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire and La Roche-sur-Yon. The university ranked between 401-500th in the Times Higher Education of 2016.
On a national scale and regarding the professional insertion after graduation, the University of Nantes oscillates between 3rd and 40th out of 69 universities depending on the field of studies. Currently, the university is attended by approximately 34,500 students. More than 10% of them are international students coming from 110 countries.
Notable alumni include former Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, former Minister of Agriculture Stéphane Le Foll, and United Nations official Clément Nyaletsossi Voule.
History
The current University was founded in 1970 under the terms of the 1968 law which reformed French higher education. This newly established institution replaced the former University of Nantes which had been founded in the early 1960s. This itself was a re-establishment of the original University of Nantes which was established by papal bull in 1460 but was abolished during the French Revolution.
Medieval University
The university of Brittany is found by Bertrand Milon on April 4, 1460, at the initiative of the duke François II of Brittany under the form of a papal bull of the Pope Pie II given to Sienne. This embodies the wish of François II to affirm his independence towards the French king, while near the duchy in Angers in 1432, Poitier in 1432 and Bordeaux in 1441, some universities are created. Found under the structure of a studium generale, this university can teach all traditional disciplines: Arts, Theology, Law and Medecin. The number of students between the end of the 15th century and during the two following centuries reach a thousand or 1500, according to the highest estimates.
The first attempt to move the university of Nantes to Rennes takes place at the end of the 16th century. French king, Henry IV wants to punish Nantes, a ligueuse ville for its support of the duke of Mercoeur. The university receives an order from the king by a letter of August 8, 1589 to move to Rennes, a city remains loyal to the monarchy. The institution is however not moved because of financial issue. A new letter of September 5, 1591 from the king reiterate the order of transfer, but again without application. On April 1598, a last king's letter stabilise the situation by confirming the establishment of the university in Nantes.
Academics
The LMD and ECTS systems
Since 2004, the University has followed the LMD European system that divides the post-secondary education in 3 degrees: the Licence( equivalent of a Bachelor's degree), the Master and the Doctorat (PhD). Each course provides credits according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) developed by the European Commission and a certain number of credits will allow a student to obtain their degree. For instance, the first post-secondary education degree, the Licence, can be obtained with 180 ECTS accumulated within 3 years. A full year gives 60 ECTS while a semester gives 30 ECTS.
List of faculties and schools
Faculty of Medicine
Faculty of Pharmacy
Faculty of Dentistry
Faculty of Psychology
Faculty of Science and Technology
Faculty of Law and Political Science
Department of History, Art History and Archaeology
Department of Humanities and Languages
Department of Languages - International Language Centre (CIL) Department of Sociology Department of Science and Technology of Physical Activities and Sports (STAPS) Institute of Geography and Regional Planning of Université de Nantes (IGARUN) Institute of Economics and Management - Institute of Business Administration (IEMN-IBE) Institute for Research and Education in French as a Foreign Language (IRFFLE) Institute of Teacher Training (ÉSPÉ) Institute of Preparation for General Administration (IPAG) Observatory of Earth and Planetary Sciences (OSUNA) Institute of Technology of Nantes Institute of Technology of La Roche-sur-Yon Institute of Technology of Saint-Nazaire School of Engineering - École Polytechnique de Nantes