The University of Novi Sad (; ) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad is one of the most important educational and research institutions in Serbia and South Eastern Europe and the flagship institution of higher education in Vojvodina. The University of Novi Sad, with almost 50,000 students and more than 5,000 employees, is one of the largest educational and research centers in Central Europe. It belongs to the group of comprehensive universities, which are characterized by providing nearly all fields of science and higher education. It is composed of 14 faculties and three scientific institutes located in four university cities - Novi Sad, Sombor, Subotica and Zrenjanin. Institution belongs to the group of comprehensive research universities with significant level of research activities.
History
The University of Novi Sad was created in a special milieu built by generations of foremost intellectuals, as well as institutions of particular national significance, in the towns of Vojvodina with their duration being measured in centuries. In today's Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, and Serbia as a whole, the roots of higher education were laid around 1740, with the establishment of the seminary named Collegium Vissariono-Pawlovicsianum Petrovaradinense in Novi Sad. Among the most prominent forerunners of the University of Novi Sad were Norma - school for the education of Serbian teachers, founded in Sombor in 1778, and Preparandija, a teacher training college founded in 1812 in Szentendre, whose seat moved to Sombor in 1816.
The most significant role in the development of scientific thought from the 19th century onwards is held by Matica Srpska, the oldest cultural and scientific institution of the Serbian people, founded in 1826 in Pest, whose seat was relocated to Novi Sad in 1864. The development of legal sciences and education on the territory of today's Vojvodina was especially influenced by the Faculty of Law in Subotica, established in 1920.
The great synthesis of aspirations, visions, ideas and achievements in the field of science and education took place in 1960, when the National Assembly adopted the Law on establishment of the University of Novi Sad, which brought together previously founded faculties into a unique academic community of Novi Sad.
Organization
Faculties and Institutes
The faculties and institutes of the University of Novi Sad are situated in four historic cities of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in the north of the Republic of Serbia. The seat of the university is in Novi Sad, with the central campus situated on the bank of the river Danube, in the vicinity of Petrovaradin Fortress (built in the 18th century), and the old city center.
Studies
The University of Novi Sad offers around 320 accredited study programs at the level of Bachelor, Master, Specialist and Doctoral studies, carried out at its faculties and within its University Center for Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies and Research. Along with the Faculties and Centers, three Scientific Institutes have a significant role in creating a solid scientific base for the process of continuous modernization of the educational offer.
About 56% of students at all study levels studies are women.
Science
The University of Novi Sad has a well-developed research infrastructure and great potential for innovation. The Central Library and the faculties' and institute libraries offer a rich array of publications that cover all relevant scientific areas and enable access to large electronic databases. Resulting from a special agreement on cooperation, researchers, professors and students have access to the Matica Srpska Library, the oldest Serbian scientific and cultural institution, founded in 1826, which offers more than three million publications.