Universities
University of Oradea, Emanuel University, Partium University and Agora University
The University of Oradea, Emanuel University, Partium University and Agora University are important components of the Oradea community, which aim to contribute to the social, economic and cultural development of the city.
The University of Oradea, through its extremely varied study programmes and fields, is positioned among the best higher education institutions in the country and in Europe, succeeding in conveying, to as many students and professors as possible from all over the world, the significance and importance of academic education and scientific research in general, and of that carried out within this academic institution in particular.
So, in our city university education is represented by:
In 1780 a "higher institution for philosophical education" was founded in Oradea. Transformed into the Faculty of Law in 1788, the school in Oradea is the oldest faculty, not only in present-day Romania, but also in a vast region of Eastern Europe.
In 1923, following the establishment of the two theological academies of Oradea, the Orthodox Theological Academy (1923) and the Greek-Catholic Theological Academy of Oradea (1924), university life in the city on the Crișul Repede took on new dimensions. The Academy of Law, together with the two theological academies, has taken another step, by integrating a Faculty of Letters, in order to fulfil an old wish, the existence of a University of Crișana, in Oradea.
On October 1, 1963, by an Order of the Ministry of Education, a 3-year Pedagogical Institute was established in Oradea to make up for the shortage of teachers in general education. The new higher education institution in Oradea starts its activity with two faculties: Philology and Mathematics-Physics, to which, from the following year, the Faculty of History-Geography and the Faculty of Physical Education are added.
On the foundation of the prestigious university traditions of Oradea, in May 1990, by a decree of the Romanian government, the Technical University was established, later renamed, University of Oradea, from which moment the institution has experienced a continuous development towards what the university is today.
Being in a continuous expansion and modernization, the heritage of the University of Oradea ensures high standards for the educational process, in accordance with ARACIS requirements.
Currently, the University of Oradea maintains international relations with more than 350 educational and research institutions from 40 countries..
The academic preparation and education offered to students is carried out in 15 faculties, where a complete package of higher education training is offered through bachelor, master, doctoral and postgraduate programmes. In the faculties, the instructive-educational activity is accompanied and enriched by scientific research. Alongside professional performance and moral behaviour, scientific research is the priority criterion for academic evaluation of higher education staff.
Emanuel University of Oradea is a conservative evangelical university dedicated to training and equipping the next generation of pastors, missionaries, business people, teachers, computer scientists, social workers and musicians to fulfill the great commission.
Emanuel University of Oradea is a unique school in Europe. It differs from all other universities in that:
- is the only accredited conservative Baptist university in Europe;
- is dedicated to the balanced spiritual and academic development of students, with a special emphasis on character formation;
- promotes authentic living by integrating all areas of study into the Christian understanding of the world and life.
Since its foundation, Emanuel University has been operating under the spiritual authority of the Emanuel Baptist Church of Oradea. The pastors of the church, together with a group of personalities recognised in the international evangelical space, make up the Board of Guardians. From an academic point of view, Emanuel University of Oradea is integrated into the national education system under the authority of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, through the accreditation granted by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS).
In 1990, The Board of Directors of the Reformed Diocese of Piatra Craiului declares the foundation of the Reformed Higher Institute "Sulyok István" and the establishment of the provisional Institutional Council. On 1 October the Institute starts its activity with 238 students enrolled in the teaching theology section, the "non-attendance" form of education. In 2000, the Pro Universitate Partium Foundation established the Partium Christian University in Oradea as the first independent institution of Hungarian higher education in Romania after 1959.
The aim of the university is to contribute to the development of higher education in the Hungarian language as an organic part of the minority education system in Romania.
According to Romania-4ICU UniRankPartium Christian University, ranks 45th in the top universities in Romania.
Over the years, it has received accreditation from ARACIS one after the other, for various study programs both bachelor and master, and today it holds the following faculties, departments and specializations:
Faculty of Letters and Arts
Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences
Agora Private University was founded in 2000 by decision of the Agora Foundation, taken at the General Assembly of Founders in March 2000.
Agora University is a young but dynamic and active university, small (in terms of number of students and staff) but with prestigious national and international collaborations.
The mission of Agora University is based on the original vision of its founders, who chose as their name, not by chance, a symbol of democracy. Agora University aims to become a cultural and civic centre, intended to contribute to the formation and dissemination of national and universal cultural values, to the promotion of pluralism of options and to the development of political and civic culture, and through its graduates and through its own scientific research to contribute to the improvement of the performance achieved by the economic units in Western Romania.
Agora University has the following infrastructure:
- 2 faculties with 2 departments
- 5 majors for the Bachelor program
- 3 specialisations for the Master programme
The material basis of the Agora University materializes in:
- 1 university campus
- 21 study rooms (of which lecture halls: 3, classrooms: 5, seminar rooms: 9, laboratories: 4)
- 1 library
- 1 publishing house
- 1 print shops
- 1 e-learning platform (Moodle).
In 2015, in the spirit of the ARACIS recommendations of 2010, the Faculty of Law and Economics was split into two faculties:
Faculty of Economics
Faculty of Legal and Administrative Sciences
According to Romania-4ICU UniRank, Agora University ranks 43rd among universities in Romania and holds the TRUST rating awarded by ARACIS.
Faculty of Greek Catholic Theology is a state university educational institution, part of the "Babeș-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca, founded in 1992.
The Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology is a functional component of the "Babeș-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca, with a double subordination, as stipulated in the National Education Law 1/2011, art. 15 (1) for theological university education, respectively in the protocols concluded between the "Babeș-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca and the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic.
This double subordination is justified by its presence in a state university and by the specific nature and objectives of theological studies, which are closely linked to the community and the church hierarchy. In this sense, the Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology is subordinated to the management of the "Babeș-Bolyai" University Cluj-Napoca in organizational (implementation of personnel policies, student recruitment, etc.), administrative, technical and financial terms, as well as to the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic, from a spiritual point of view.
The Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology carries out its activities under the conditions of university autonomy, in accordance with the legal provisions in force (the Romanian Constitution, Law 1/2011, the Law on Religious Denominations), with the provisions of the Charter of "Babeș-Bolyai" University Cluj-Napoca and, insofar as they do not contravene the law and the Charter, with the dogmatic and canonical provisions adopted by the Holy See (mainly: Vatican Council II, Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum Educationis Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana , Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis , Codex Canonum Orientalium Ecclesiarum ) and by the Synod of Bishops of the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic.
The Faculty of Greek-Catholic Theology cultivates theological science and disciplines ancillary to the study of theology in the spirit of freedom of academic research and full respect for the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. (CCEO, can. 606), dialogue with other sciences and contemporary culture, and academic, ecumenical and interreligious openness.
This educational institution is the continuation of a long tradition of higher theological education, particularly pastoral, developed by the Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic. For two centuries, Greek Catholic theological education has gained immense prestige through the contribution its teachers and students have made to the spiritual, national and cultural development of our nation. The first theological educational institutions were founded by Greek Catholic hierarchs as early as the mid-18th century: first in Blaj (11 October 1754), then in Cluj-Napoca (1918) and Oradea (1920).
