St. Ignatius University Centre, Antwerp (UCSIA) is an independent continuation of the Jesuit effort to keep the Christian influence alive on to education after its predecessor the Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen (UFSIA) joined two other universities to become the public
University of Antwerp in 2003.
History
Early history
The roots of UCSIA go back to Sint-Ignatius Handelshogeschool (Saint-Ignatius School for Higher Education in Commerce) founded by the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
(Society of Jesus) in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
in 1852. This was one of the first European business schools to offer formal university degrees. It later opened a Faculty of Literature and Philosophy (including Law) and a Faculty of Political and Social Sciences. It was renamed Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen (UFSIA) in the 1960s when the
Belgian Government granted it university status.
In the early 1970s UFSIA joined into a confederation with "Rijksuniversitair Centrum Antwerpen" (RUCA) and "Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen" (UIA), public institutions.
In 2003 UFSIA, RUCA, and UIA merged into the
University of Antwerp to become the first explicitly pluralistic university in Belgium, offering philosophical, ethical, and spiritual discourse and openness towards religious and intercultural dialogue. It soon became the third largest university in
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
with 20,000 students.
[
Since UFSIA became a part of a public university, the Jesuits maintains a think-tank. This think-tank became the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp (UCSIA), an independent, non-profit, international, and interdisciplinary organisation whose aim is to maintain the Jesuit influence in higher education.]
See also
* List of Jesuit sites
References
{{coord missing, Belgium
Universities and colleges in Belgium
Universities and colleges established in 1852
Jesuit development centres
1852 establishments in Belgium