University of Iceland
The University of Iceland was established 17th June 1911, on the centenary of the national hero of Iceland, 19th century Icelandic statesman Jón Sigurðsson, usually referred to as "president".
The University of Iceland was founded on 17th June 1911, on the centenary of 19th century Icelandic statesman Jón Sigurðsson, usually referred to as "president". The university was located in the Parliament House at Austurvöllur for the first 29 years. The University of Iceland was formed in a merger of the Seminary, the School of Medicine and the School of Law, which each formed a faculty, in addition to the newly-established Faculty of Philosophy.
Only 45 students, one of which was female, were enrolled during the academic year 1911 to 1912; the academic year 2008 to 2009 will see more than thirteen thousand students, around two thirds of which are female, studying at the University of Iceland. The university offers a variety of academic programmes on the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels.
The university relocated to the Main Building at Suðurgata in 1940. The university´s facilities have grown considerably since then; the newest addition to the campus is the University Centre, which was taken into use on 1st December 2007.
A new structure and governance system for the University of Iceland came into force on 1stJuly 2008. At the same time the university merged with Iceland University of Education on its centenary. The new University of Iceland has five academic schools, each comprised of a number of faculties. The academic schools are the School of Education, the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, the School of Health Sciences, the School of Humanities and the School of Social Sciences. In addition the university operates a number of research and service institutions.
The Rector of the University of Iceland is Kristín Ingólfsdóttir, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
University of Iceland 1911-2011
An historical timeline, is available here in icelandic. This web contains photos and text based short texts about University of Iceland for 100 years.
Here you can view the Centennial Anniversary Web in icelandic. Various milestones in the history of the University are published on the centennial website, as are interviews with interesting individuals connected to the University, video clips and photos from University life. Each of the University’s five schools will be in the limelight for a month at a time; during which faculties of the respective schools offer an ambitious programme.
Saga Háskóla Íslands: Yfirlit um hálfrar aldar starf (pdf-file 849 kb) (The history of the University of Iceland: An overview of operations through half a century.) Written and published in connection with the 50th anniversary of the university in 1961. Author: Professor Guðni Jónsson.
A superb historical account of the University of Iceland, Aldarsaga Háskóla Íslands 1911-2011, was published on its centenary in 2011. Editor: Professor Gunnar Karlsson.
