The Saints Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje ( mk, Универзитет „Св. Кирил и Методиј“ во Скопје) is the oldest and largest

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private unive ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. It is named after the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Christian theologians and missionaries

Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wit ...

. As of 2018–19 school year, a total of 25,220 students are enrolled at the university. Furthermore, the teaching and research staff number 2,390 people; this is further supported by over 300 members in the university's institutions. The primary language of instruction is Macedonian, but there are a number of courses which are carried out in English, German, French, Italian. There are also courses in the second official language of North Macedonia, in Albanian.

History

During the Bulgarian occupation of

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( mk, Вардарска бановина, Vardarska banovina; sr, Вардарска бановина, translit=Vardarska Banovina; al, Banovina e Vardarit, italics=no), was a province ( banate) of the Kin ...

(1941–1944) the new authorities established in 1943, in Skopje, Macedonia's first institute of higher education – the Tsar

Boris III Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until h ...

University. Due to the withdrawal of the Bulgarian army in the Autumn of 1944, the University stopped its educational activity. However, after the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, on the third session of the Presidium of the Antifascist Council of the National Liberation of Macedonia, held in April 1945, one of the items on the agenda was the question of opening a Macedonian university to replace the Bulgarian one. At the end of 1946, the concept of a university began to be realized and the official opening ceremony for the Faculty of Philosophy, the cornerstone of the University of Skopje, took place on 29 November of that year. This marked the beginning of a Macedonian

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univer ...

. The first faculty consisted of the Department of History and

Philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and the Department of Mathematics and Natural Science, while the Medical Faculty and the Faculty of Agriculture and

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

were added in 1947. Fifty-eight students enrolled during the first academic year of 1946–1947; in the next year this number grew to 907. The development of higher education in North Macedonia was characterized by rapid growth, and several other faculties were added in the following years. Parallel to the education activities in the existing faculties, scholarly research was undertaken with the development of independent institutes of research. Thus, the Institute of National History was founded in 1948, followed by Institute of Folklore in 1949, and the Institute of Economics in 1952. Today, there are 10 research institutes affiliated with the University of Skopje. After the great

1963 Skopje earthquake The 1963 Skopje earthquake ( mk, Скопски земјотрес од 1963 година, Skopski zemjotres od 1963 godina) was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred in Skopje, SR Macedonia (present-day North Macedonia), then part of ...

, which destroyed most of the city of Skopje, the university was leveled and some of the most modern laboratories in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

were destroyed. By this time the University of Skopje was the third largest in Yugoslavia. It was quickly rebuilt on the premises of a much larger and modern urban campus. At the request of Yugoslav authorities, scientists from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's Department of Natural Sciences were sent to meet with the university's scientists to develop plans for the rehabilitation of the university's science laboratories. As a result, a large donation of equipment for science teaching and research was gathered from around the world through UNESCO's international programme of aid to Skopje. At present, the University of Skopje is carried out in the spirit of the 1991 Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, which incorporated the social, economic and political changes that had taken place after North Macedonia proclaimed its independence from the Former Yugoslav Federate State. On 3 August 2000 the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia brought the new Law on Higher Education which adopted the overall European standards of higher education. The management organs of the university are the University Senate, consisting of two staff members from each faculty and scientific research institutes, five appointed members by the government of the Republic of North Macedonia and five students delegated from the Student Organization; the University Board, consisting of the rector, the vice-rectors, the secretary general, the deans of the faculties, the directors of the scientific-research institutes and one student representative; and the rector. The university represents a functional community of 25 faculties and 10 research institutes.

Departments and faculties

The university is divided into 23 faculties and 10 research institutes:

Faculties

* Faculty of Philosophy **Founded in 1946 **12 undergraduate study programmes **17 postgraduate study programmes * "

Blaže Koneski Blaže Koneski ( mk, Блаже Конески; 19 December 1921 – 7 December 1993) was a Macedonian poet, writer, literary translator, and linguistic scholar. His major contribution was to the codification of standard Macedonian. He is the key ...

" Faculty of

**Founded in 1946 **11 undergraduate study programmes **13 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics **Founded in 1946 **24 undergraduate study programmes **31 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food **Founded in 1947 **10 undergraduate study programmes **24 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Forestry **Founded in 1947 **4 undergraduate study programmes **17 postgraduate study programmes * Medical Faculty **Founded in 1947 **3 undergraduate study programmes **24 postgraduate study programmes * "St.

Clement of Ohrid Saint Clement of Ohrid ( Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian: Свети Климент Охридски, ; el, Ἅγιος Κλήμης τῆς Ἀχρίδας; sk, svätý Kliment Ochridský; – 916) was one of the first medieval Bulgarian ...

" Faculty of

Pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

**Founded in 1947 **6 undergraduate study programmes * Faculty of Architecture **Founded in 1949 **1 undergraduate study programme **4 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

**Founded in 1949 **5 undergraduate study programmes **4 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Economics **Founded in 1950 **7 undergraduate study programmes **10 postgraduate study programmes * " Iustinianus Primus" Faculty of Law **Founded in 1951 **3 undergraduate study programmes **6 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

**Founded in 1959 **9 undergraduate study programmes **6 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Electrical Engineering and

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

**Founded in 1959 **8 undergraduate study programmes **9 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy **Founded in 1959 **9 undergraduate study programmes **16 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Stomatology **Founded in 1959 **3 undergraduate study programmes **7 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Music **Founded in 1966 **27 undergraduate study programmes **36 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of

Dramatic Arts Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

**Founded in 1969 **7 undergraduate study programmes **13 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

**Founded in 1977 **2 undergraduate study programmes **2 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Pharmacy **Founded in 1977 **2 undergraduate study programme **9 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Fine Arts **Founded in 1980 **4 undergraduate study programmes **3 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of

Veterinary Medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

**Founded in 1991 **1 undergraduate study programme **5 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of

Design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

and Technologies of Furniture and Interior **Founded in 2010 **2 undergraduate study programmes **8 postgraduate study programmes * Faculty of Computer Science and Computer Engineering **Founded in 2010 by uniting of institutes (institutes founded 1982) **8 undergraduate study programmes **16 postgraduate study programmes

Research Institutes

* Institute of Agriculture **Founded in 1923 * Institute of National History **Founded in 1948 * " Marko Cepenkov" Institute of

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

**Founded in 1950 * Institute of Cattle Breeding **Founded in 1952 * Institute of Economics **Founded in 1952 * "

Krste Misirkov Krste Petkov Misirkov ( bg, Кръсте (Кръстьо) Петков Мисирков; mk, Крсте Петков Мисирков, ; 18 November 1874 – 26 July 1926) was a philologist, journalist, historian and ethnographer from the regio ...

Institute of the Macedonian Language" **Founded in 1953 * Institute of Sociological, Political, and Juridical Research **Founded in 1965 * Institute of Earthquake and

Seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

Engineering **Founded in 1965 * "St. Clement of Ohrid" Faculty of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

**Founded in 1977 * Institute of Macedonian Literature **Founded in 1998

Mission

The Ss. Cyril and Methodius University's mission is to be an: * autonomous, scientific and higher educational university that provides teaching, scholar and applicative activities in technical, natural sciences and mathematics, bio-technical, artistic, medical and social sciences; * university devoted to the cherishing as well as the international affirmation of the traditional features and values of the Macedonian people such as: the Macedonian language, the history, the literature and culture of the Macedonian people and also the cultural values of the ethnic communities in the Republic of North Macedonia; * university open for all students on the basis of equality and their results regardless of their ideological, political, cultural and social background; * university that concords its academic offer to the needs of its social surrounding and has a continuously dynamic relationship with it; * university that creates stimulative surrounding for its employees providing them a progress of their abilities in order to accomplish its mission; * university that develops long-life and continuous education; * university determined to achieve the European norms and standards in all spheres of its activities.

Alumni

* Nina Angelovska – Finance minister * Džordže Arsov – Mayor of Kisela Voda *

Ljube Boškoski Ljube Boškoski ( mk, Љубе Бошкоски, ) (born 24 October 1960 in Čelopek, Brvenica Municipality, SR Macedonia, now North Macedonia), known among his supporters as "Brother Ljube" ( mk, Брат Љубе, Brat Ljube), is a Macedonian ...

– Former Minister of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia *

Vlado Bučkovski Vlado Bučkovski ( mk, Владо Бучковски; born 2 December 1962) is a former prime minister of the Republic of Macedonia, elected by parliament on 17 December 2004. He was previously the defense minister of Macedonia from May 2001 to No ...

– Former Prime Minister of North Macedonia *

Branko Crvenkovski Branko Crvenkovski ( mk, Бранко Црвенковски, pronounced ; born 12 October 1962) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2004, and as President of Macedonia f ...

– 3rd President of North Macedonia *

Živko Čingo Živko Čingo (also spelt Zhivko Chingo) (13 August 1935 – 11 August 1987) Macedonian writer, born in Velgosti, near Ohrid, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Biography He studied literature at the University of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. He w ...

– Writer * Georgi Efremov – Macedonian

Academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

and scientist at

Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( mk, Македонска Академија на Науките и Уметностите, МАНУ) is an academic institution in North Macedonia. History The Academy of Sciences and Arts was establ ...

in the field of Genetic Engineering and

Biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

Fatmir Besimi Fatmir Besimi ( mk, Фатмир Бесими; born 18 November 1975) is a Macedonian politician and economist of Albanian ethnicity. He currently served for Minister of Finance in North Macedonia, He also served twice as Minister of Economy ...

– Minister of Economy *

Nikola Dimitrov Nikola Dimitrov (born 30 September 1972) is a Macedonian politician and diplomat, who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for North Macedonia from 31 May 2017 to 30 August 2020. He also served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2000 ...

– former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

* Elizabeta Dimitrova – art historian * Igor Durlovski – opera singer *

Lazar Elenovski Lazar Elenovski (born 19 March 1971 Macedonian : Лазар Еленовски) is a Republic of Macedonia politician, former Minister of Defence, elected on 26 August 2006 until 26 July 2008. He was Ambassador of Macedonia to Belgium and L ...

– former Minister of Defense * Taki Fiti – former Minister of Finance *

Ljubomir Frčkoski Ljubomir Danailov Frčkoski ( Macedonian: Љубомир Данаилов Фрчкоски; born 12 December 1957, in Skopje) is a Macedonian diplomat who is current Permanent Representative of North Macedonia to the United Nations and a full-tim ...

– author of the

Constitution of North Macedonia The Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia is a codified constitution outlining North Macedonia's system of government and basic human rights. It was adopted in the Parliament of the then-Republic of Macedonia on 17 November 1991. In 20 ...

Ljubčo Georgievski Ljubčo Georgievski or Lyubcho Georgievski ( mk, Љубчо Георгиевски, ; bg, Любчо Георгиевски; born 17 January 1966) is a politician from North Macedonia who served as the only Vice President of Macedonia and as the ...

– former Prime Minister of North Macedonia * Sofija Grandakovska, author in the field of comparative literature studies and interdisciplinary studies in

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Maja Hill Maja Hill (born Maja Dzartovska on 26 January 1976) is a Macedonian artist. Hill was born in Skopje, Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia) in 1976, she currently works and lives in the UK. While her oeuvre largely consists of oil paintings, notably p ...

– Artist, formerly Maja Dzartovska *

Gjorge Ivanov Gjorge Ivanov ( mk, Ѓорге Иванов, ; born 2 May 1960) is a Macedonian politician, who served as the 4th President of North Macedonia from 2009 to 2019. Early and personal life Born at Valandovo, Ivanov finished primary and secondary sc ...

– President of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Macedonian Army *

Zoran Jolevski Zoran Jolevski ( mk, Зоран Јолевски; born 16 July 1959) is a Macedonian diplomat and the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Defense, he served as Macedonia's Ambassador to ...

–

and Negotiator for the

Macedonia naming dispute The use of the country name "Macedonia (terminology), Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and the North Macedonia, Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. The dispute was a source of instability in the Balkans#W ...

* Sashko Kedev – former Presidential Candidate * Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska – Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration *

Trifun Kostovski Trifun Kostovski ( mk, Трифун Костовски; born 27 December 1946 in Skopje)

– businessman and former Mayor of

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

* Tamara Kotevska - Filmmaker, best known for the documentary

Honeyland ''Honeyland'' ( mk, Медена земја, transliterated: ''Medena zemja'') is a 2019 Macedonian documentary film that was directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. It portrays the life of Hatidže Muratova, a loner beekeeper of ...

which won three awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and received two nominations at the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 p ...

* Jagnula Kunovska – Member of Parliament * Denko Maleski - intellectual, diplomat, and professor * Sehadete Mekuli – gynecologist *

Antonio Milošoski Antonio Milošoski (born January 29, 1976) is a Macedonian politician, former minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Macedonia from 2006 to 2011 and a member of VMRO-DPMNE. Early life and education In 1999, Milošoski graduated from t ...

– Minister of Foreign Affairs * Zan Mitrev - General Manager of the Zan Mitrev Clinic *

Tito Petkovski Tito Petkovski ( mk, Тито Петковски) (born 23 January 1945) is a politician of the Republic of North Macedonia, and leads the New Social Democratic Party. Early life Petkovski was born in Kriva Palanka, DFR Yugoslavia and was named af ...

– Member of Parliament * Filip Petrovski – former Member of Parliament and Director of the City Library * Petar Popovski – Full professor at

Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is a Danish public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen founded in 1974. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subjects within humanitie ...

and

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

fellow *

Nikola Ristanovski Nikola "Kole" Ristanovski (born 23 January 1969) is a Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation ...

- actor * Luan Starova – writer and scholar * Zoran Stavrevski – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finances of North Macedonia *General Miroslav Stojanovski – Chief of General Staff of North Macedonia *Sir

Boris Trajkovski Boris Trajkovski ( GCMG) ( mk, Борис Трајковски, pronounced ; 25 June 1956 – 26 February 2004) was a Macedonian politician who served as the second President of Macedonia from 1999 until his death in 2004 in a plane crash. Tra ...

– 2nd President of North Macedonia *

Simon Trpčeski Simon Trpcheski (Simon Trpčeski), OMM ( mk, Симон Трпчески, ) (born September 18, 1979, in Skopje, Yugoslavia), is a Macedonian classical pianist. Trpčeski is the youngest of three children; his father was a judge and his mother ...

- World-renowned classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Vasil Tupurkovski Vasil Tupurkovski ( mk, Васил Тупурковски; born 8 April 1951) is a Macedonian academic, politician and the former president of the Olympic Committee of North Macedonia. Tupurkovski was born in Skopje, PR Macedonia, FPR Yugoslavi ...

– Macedonian politician.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1946 establishments in Yugoslavia Education in Skopje Law schools in Yugoslavia