Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers.
Established as the University of Grenoble by Humbert II of Viennois, it split in 1970 following the widespread civil unrest of May 1968. Three of the University of Grenoble's successors—
Stendhal University
Stendhal University (, also known as Grenoble III) was a university located in the outskirts of Grenoble, France that offered courses in foreign languages and cultures, ancient and modern literature, language and communication sciences. Having ...
—merged in 2016 to restore the original institution under the name . In 2020, the
Grenoble Institute of Technology
The Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP) (''Institut polytechnique de Grenoble'' , ''Groupe Grenoble INP'' and before INPG) is a French technological university system consisting of eight engineering and management schools.
Grenoble I ...
, the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies, and the Grenoble School of Architecture also merged with the original university.
The university is organized around two closely located urban campuses: Domaine Universitaire, which straddles Saint-Martin-d'Hères and
Villar-d'Arêne
Villar-d'Arêne (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France, between Grenoble and Briançon. It is in the French Alps, in Massif des Écrins. Near this village located in the Romanche valley, there is La Grave a ...
Échirolles
Échirolles (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Isère Departments of France, department, southeastern France. Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration), it is the second-largest suburb of the city of Grenoble, which is immediately ...
, and La Tronche.
The city of Grenoble is one of the largest scientific centers in Europe, hosting facilities of every existing public research institution in France. This enables UGA to have hundreds of research and teaching partnerships, including close collaboration with the
French National Centre for Scientific Research
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...
(CNRS) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). After Paris, Grenoble as a city is the largest research center in France with 22,800 researchers. In April 2019, UGA was selected to host one of the four French institutes in
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
.
History
Early history (1339–1800)
The University of Grenoble was founded on 12 May 1339 by Humbert II of Viennois, the last independent ruler of
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. Its purpose was to teach civil and canon law, medicine, and the liberal arts. It was considered a leader in the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
revival of the classics and development of liberal arts.
Humbert's actions were inspired by his granduncle
Robert, King of Naples
Robert of Anjou (), known as Robert the Wise (; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the thir ...
, at whose royal court Humbert spent his youth. King Robert, known as the Wise, skillfully developed Naples from a small port into a lavish city and had a reputation of a cultured man and a generous patron of the arts, friends with such great minds as
Petrarch
Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists.
Petrarch's redis ...
,
Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was s ...
, and
Giotto
Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...
.
Such rich experience contributed to Humbert's intention to create a university in his own state, and to do so he visited Pope Benedict XII to get a
papal bull
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it.
History
Papal ...
of approval.
Humbert cared deeply about his students, offering generous aid, protection, and even providing a hundred of them with free housing. Humbert's financial losses during the
Smyrniote crusades
The Smyrniote crusades (1343–1351) were two Crusades sent by Pope Clement VI against the Beylik of Aydin under Umur Bey which had as their principal target the coastal city of Smyrna in Asia Minor. The crusade was mostly successful in restric ...
,
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
's attachment to France greatly decreased the activity of the university leading to its closure, since a small mountainous town could not support its activity on its own.
It was reopened again by
Louis XI of France
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
in 1475 in Valence under the name University of Valence, while the original university was restored in Grenoble in 1542 by Francis de Bourbon, Count of St. Pol. The two universities were finally reunited in 1565. At that point Grenoble was an important center of law practice in France, thus law practice was at the center of the university education.
The French Revolution, with its focus on the end to inherited privilege, led to the suppression of most universities in France. To revolutionaries, universities embodied bastions of corporatism and established interests. Moreover, lands owned by the universities represented a source of wealth and therefore were confiscated, just as property possessed by the Church.
Modern period (1800–1968)
In 1805–1808,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
reestablished faculties of law, letters, and science. The Bourbon Restoration had temporarily suppressed the Faculty of Letters and the Faculty of Law, but by the 1850s the university's activity had begun rapidly developing again.
The development of the sciences at the university was spearheaded by the transformation of Grenoble from a regional center to a major supplier of industrial motors and electrical equipment in 1880s. The faculties were formally inaugurated as the University of Grenoble in 1879 in the newly constructed Place de Verdun. There were around 3000 students in 1930. Significant enrollment growth in the 1960s created pressures on the academic infrastructure of the university; the Suzanne Dobelmann library helped expand facilities, especially those relating to science and medicine.
Recent history (1968–present)
In the aftermath of the
May 1968 events in France
May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that began in May 1968 and became one of the most significant social uprisings in modern European history. Initially sparked by student demonstrations agains ...
and the , many French universities were subdivided by both area of study and political ideology between 1968 and 1971. As part of this trend, the
Stendhal University
Stendhal University (, also known as Grenoble III) was a university located in the outskirts of Grenoble, France that offered courses in foreign languages and cultures, ancient and modern literature, language and communication sciences. Having ...
about 1987
* , later [
Grenoble Institute of Technology
The Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP) (''Institut polytechnique de Grenoble'' , ''Groupe Grenoble INP'' and before INPG) is a French technological university system consisting of eight engineering and management schools.
Grenoble I ...
Grenoble Institute of Technology
The Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP) (''Institut polytechnique de Grenoble'' , ''Groupe Grenoble INP'' and before INPG) is a French technological university system consisting of eight engineering and management schools.
Grenoble I ...
French Parliament
The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...
UGA facilities are mainly located in the Grenoble Agglomeration, centered around the Domaine Universitaire campus, GIANT campus, and La Tronche medical campus. However, there are many facilities that are located in other places in and outside of Grenoble, including the Valence campus and an important number of laboratories and research centres.
Domaine Universitaire (Grenoble)
The Domaine Universitaire, also known as the ''University Campus'' and ''Campus de Saint-Martin-d'Hères'', is the main UGA campus covering an area of 175 hectares. It is an autonomous part of the
although it is located 20 km away from Paris and not in a direct proximity to the city.
The campus boast 3 000 trees, including Arboretum Robert Ruffier-Lanche with over 250 different species of trees and shrubs from around the world. Due to its rich vegetation, surrounded by
Isère (river)
The Isère ( , ; ; ) is a river in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. Its source, a glacier known as the ''Sources de l'Isère'', lies in the Vanoise National Park in the Graian Alps of Savoie, near the ski resort in Val-d' ...
, in proximity of three mountain chains, and in immediate adjacency to the city, the campus is known for student quality of life. The university is ranked among the most beautiful universities and campuses in France and Europe. The campus has a rich network of public transport, including the
Grenoble tramway
The Grenoble tramway () is the tram system in the city of Grenoble in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. In 1987, Grenoble became the second French city to reintroduce trams, the first being the Nantes tramway. The current network is long, and ...
Campus GIANT (Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies) is an inter-organizational campus located on the old military grounds of a
presque-isle
Presque-isle (from the French ''presqu'île'', meaning ''almost island'') is a geographical term denoting a piece of land which is closer to being an island than most peninsulas because of its being joined to the mainland by an extremely narr ...
between
Isère
Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.
and Drac that formed Polygone Scientifique. The Campus hosts several educational institutions, primarily UGA (particularly the INPG) and the Grenoble School of Management. Among other members of the campus are also large state research organizations
CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...
Minatec
Minatec (initially called the Micro and Nanotechnology Innovation Centre) is a research complex specializing in micro/nano technologies in Grenoble, France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western ...
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to molecular biology research and is supported by 29 member states, two prospect member states, and one associate member state. EMBL was created in ...
, and
Institut Laue–Langevin
The Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL) is an internationally financed scientific facility, situated on the Polygone Scientifique in Grenoble, France. It is one of the world centres for research using neutrons. Founded in 1967 and honouring the phy ...
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational corporation that specializes in digital automation and energy management.
Registered as a Societas Europaea, Schneider Electric is a ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, publicly traded on the Euronex ...
,
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
, and
STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics Naamloze vennootschap, NV (commonly referred to as ST or STMicro) is a European multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the largest of such companies in Europe. ...
.
Contrary to the Domaine Universitaire campus, which hosts UGA and shares both educational and research roles in a wide variety of disciplines, the GIANT Campus is inter-organizational and leans heavily towards research-industry collaboration in natural and applied sciences.
The Valence campus is home to over 4000 students in undergraduate and post-graduate programs. It is located in the department of
Drôme
Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
. The University of Valence was closed in 1792 sharing the fate of most French universities during the French Revolution.
Other locations
University facilities are also located outside of main campuses.
* An alpine botanical garden
Col du Lautaret
Col du Lautaret () is a high mountain pass in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France.
It marks the boundary between the valleys of the Romanche and the Guisane, a tributary of the Durance which has its source at the col. The valleys are linked ...
.
* IUT2 runs a department of management of companies and administration (GEA) in Vienne.
* A center for agricultural research and teaching is run inside the ''Olivier de Serres'' domain in
Grenoble Institute of Technology
The Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP) (''Institut polytechnique de Grenoble'' , ''Groupe Grenoble INP'' and before INPG) is a French technological university system consisting of eight engineering and management schools.
Grenoble I ...
Minatec
Minatec (initially called the Micro and Nanotechnology Innovation Centre) is a research complex specializing in micro/nano technologies in Grenoble, France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western ...
, an international center on micro-nano technologies, uniting over 3000 researchers and 1200 students.
The university hosts one of 4 French national Institutes of Artificial Intelligence.
PhD training is administered and governed by the Doctoral College, which creates rules and standards for UGA's 13 doctoral schools.
Notable people
UGA has a considerable number of notable alumni in several different fields, ranging from academics to political leaders, executives, and artists.
Marlène Schiappa
Marlène Schiappa (; born 18 November 1982) is a French writer and politician who served as State Secretary for the Social and Solidarity Economy and Associative Life, attached to the Prime Minister, in the Borne government (2022–2023), as Mi ...
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
Abdoulaye Wade
Abdoulaye Wade (, ; born 29 May 1926) is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded ...
, President of Senegal; Driss Basri, Interior Minister of
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
; Åženkal Atasagun, Chief of the National Intelligence Organization of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
Bill Morneau
William Francis Morneau Jr. (born October 7, 1962) is a Canadian businessman and former politician who served as minister of finance and member of Parliament (MP) for Toronto Centre from 2015 to 2020.
Morneau was the executive chairman of ...
, Canadian Minister of Finance; Souvanna Phouma, Prime Minister of
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
MI5
MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
during the time of the
Nazi regime
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
File:Silver Pitcher presented to White House (Portrait).jpg,
Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...
, First Lady of the United States
File:Crown Princess Masako of Japan.jpg, Masako Owada, Empress of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
Abdoulaye Wade
Abdoulaye Wade (, ; born 29 May 1926) is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded ...
, President of
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
Higgs Boson
The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field,
one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...
Turing Award
The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in the fi ...
laureate; Claude Boutron, French glaciologist; Jean-Louis Coatrieux, French researcher in
medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to revea ...
; Michel Cosnard, French computer scientist; Paul Trendelenburg, German pharmacologist;
Marlon Dumas
Marlon Gerardo Dumas Menjivar (born 22 August 1975) is a Honduras, Honduran computer scientist, and Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Tartu in Estonia, known for his contributions in the field of Business Process Management.
...
Nobel laureate
The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...
File:Jean-Jacques Favier.jpg, Jean-Jacques Favier, CNES Astronaut
File:Charles Elachi in 2014.jpg,
Charles Elachi
Charles Elachi (born April 18, 1947 . ''Cedars Network''. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.) is a ...
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...