Faculty of Science (,lit. the Faculty of natural sciences and mathematics

abbr An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing perio ...

: ''PMF'') is a faculty of the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

that comprises seven departments -

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

and

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

. The Faculty has 288

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

s, associate and assistant professors, 180 junior researchers and about 6000 students. The Faculty of Science was formally established in 1946, although the teaching of these subjects had existed in the university since 1876. The Faculty offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate study programmes, and pursues research in the fields of

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

and mathematics. It also encompasses the seismological service, the mareographic and

meteorological station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

s, and the Zagreb Botanical Garden. The Faculty of Science is engaged in excellent cooperation with numerous universities and institutes abroad. Professors of the Faculty have been invited as visiting lecturers to European and American universities, and young staff members, as well as postgraduate students, are regularly sent to international universities and institutes for further research.

History

On 23 September 1669. Leopold I certified at the Jesuit Neoacademica Zagrebiensis, a three-year higher education institution, which gradually developed the studies of Philosophy, Law and Theology. At the Jesuit School philosophy was taught even earlier, and part of its first year studies were

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

, and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

. Neither Jesuit School (until 1773), nor royal Regia Scientiarum Academica (until 1850) represented a real university.

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

and

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, introduced the Law on founding the

. Soon after the establishing of the University of Zagreb, Faculties of Law, Theology and Philosophy started operating. The Chairs of the Faculty of Philosophy were appointed gradually. In the field of natural sciences the teaching started in 1876, with first lectures in

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

and geology, and then in botany, physics, mathematics, chemistry and

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and geography. Dr. Fran Tućan (1878 - 1954), a popularizer of science in Croatia, who was also president of

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska () is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyrian movement during ...

, was appointed as the first dean of the Faculty of Science. A long endeavour of the Science Department of the Faculty of Philosophy to attain the status of Faculty, finally materialized in 1946, when the Faculty of Science was established.

Departments

The Faculty consists of following departments: *Department of

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

*Department of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

*Department of

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

*Department of

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

*Department of

Geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

*Department of

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

*Department of Geology

Department of Geography

Department of Geography at the Faculty of Science in Zagreb is the oldest and the biggest geographic department in Croatia. The Department of Geography consists of three divisions:

physical geography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

human geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography which studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment, examples of which include urban sprawl and urban ...

, and

regional geography Regional geography is one of the major traditions of geography. It focuses on the interaction of different cultural and natural geofactors in a specific land or landscape, while its counterpart, systematic geography, concentrates on a specific geo ...

and teaching methods. The Cartographic-technical Centre with a rich Cartographic Collection and the Central Geographic Library are also part of the department. It was founded on 27 December 1883 by Petar Matković. In 1927 Institute for

is being established within the department and twenty years later incorporated in the newly established Faculty of science. Central geographical library was opened in 1910 and, until 1994 it was the only geographical library in Croatia. Professor Ivan Crkvenčić launched ''Geographical papers''

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...

that is still being released, as well as ''Acta Geographica Croatica''.

Department of Geophysics

The Department of Geophysics encompasses three major fields of study: meteorology, oceanography and seismology. It also includes the Croatian Seismological Survey, a scientific organization which monitors earthquake activity in Croatia.

Study programmes

The Faculty of Science has eight undergraduate study programmes (

Bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (d ...

) encompassing 3 years of studies (180 credits), 26 graduate study programmes (

Master degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practi ...

) encompassing two years of studies (120 credits) or five years of studies (300 credits) and seven postgraduate study programmes (

PhD degree A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

) encompassing 3 years of studies (180 credits). Education is at all levels characterized by teaching and supervision at a high academic level by staff actively involved in research. Departments of the Faculty are placed on several locations in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. The Departments of Physics, Mathematics, Geophysics, Chemistry, Geology, and the main administration of the Faculty are set at Horvatovac where a "campus of science" is being built. Departments of Biology and Geography are also going to be set at the same location in the near future. The education of students in science and mathematics is a part of a comprehensive science education that qualifies them to work in research institutes, different branches of industry and production, the civil service (environmental protection, regional planning), public institutions (

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

s, reserves) and elsewhere, or as teachers in primary, secondary, and vocational schools.

List of study programmes

Bachelor of Science programmes (3 years study; 180 credits):

Molecular Biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

, Geology,

, Environmental Science. Master of Science programmes (2 years study; 120 credits):

Applied Mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and Mathematics, Ecology and Conservation, Environmental Science, Experimental Biology, Financial and

Business Mathematics Business mathematics are mathematics used by commercial enterprises to record and manage business operations. Commercial organizations use mathematics in accounting, inventory management, marketing, sales forecasting, and financial analysis.J. Oli ...

, Geology, Geophysics, Mathematics,

Mathematical Statistics Mathematical statistics is the application of probability theory and other mathematical concepts to statistics, as opposed to techniques for collecting statistical data. Specific mathematical techniques that are commonly used in statistics inc ...

Mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

Pure Mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications ...

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

programmes (2 years study; 120 credits): Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, Geography. Master of Science programmes (integrated undergraduate and graduate five years study; 300 credits): Physics.

programmes (integrated undergraduate and graduate 5 years study; 300 credits): Biology and Chemistry, Geography and History, Mathematics and Physics,

, Physics and Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science, Physics and Technology. Faculty also offers PhD degree programmes.

Notable affiliates

Alumni

*Dr. Tanja Bosak – professor at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

* Arsen Bauk – Minister of Public Administration (Croatia) * Mladen Bestvina – professor at

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

Jakša Cvitanić Jakša Cvitanić (born 1962 in Split, Croatia, Yugoslavia) is a Richard N. Merkin Professor of Mathematical Finance at the California Institute of Technology. His main research interests are in mathematical finance, contract theory, stochastic cont ...

– professor at

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

*Silvija Gradečak, PhD – professor at

*Dragan Miličić – professor at

* Petrica Novosel Žic – professor at

*Dr. Aleksandra Radenovic – professor at

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (, EPFL) is a public university, public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1969 with the mission to "train talented engineers in Switzerland". Like its sister institution E ...

*Dr. Ana Sunčana Smith – professor at

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

*Dr. Vernesa Smolčić – professor at

*Dr. Iva Tolić – senior scientist at Ruđer Bošković Institute *Krešimir Veselić – professor emeritus at

University of Hagen The University of Hagen (, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a Public university, public research university that is primarily focused on distance education, distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rhine- ...

Notes

References

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Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...