University of Rennes 1

The University of Rennes 1 is one of the two universities in the city of Rennes, France. It is a multidisciplinary institution consisting of three main scientific areas:

The University of Rennes 1 has been in existence since 1969, but its heritage stems back to the days of the Breton university founded in 1461. In Rennes, the University is split into three major campuses with all facilities. It also has several departments outside of Rennes, in Brittany.

The University currently welcomes about 26,000 students (including about 3,400 from abroad), plus more than 2,500 in continuing education, all surrounded by 1,800 teachers and full-time researchers and about 1500 administrative and technical staff.

Situated at the extreme West of continental Europe, the University has its headquarters in Rennes, the capital of Brittany.

 

This city of art and history, famous for its cultural and sports dynamism, has a population of more than 212,500 inhabitants. Tenth largest city of France, Rennes combines the advantages of an economic and administrative metropolis with those of a reasonably-sized city. The vitality of the economic base of Rennes and the size of its higher education center attract a dynamic labor force.

Rennes has always successfully staked on the best up-and-coming natural resource: gray matter, of which it made its motto, "Rennes, vivre en intelligence" ("Rennes, living together smartly"). With about 60,000 students and 4,000 researchers, the city of Rennes is a European-famous university center as well as an important center for research and technological innovation within the conurbation of Rennes Métropole.

The city of Rennes is the leading higher education and research center in the West of France, and the University of Rennes 1 is one of the biggest employers of the conurbation.

The University of Rennes 1 dates back to 1461, when the Duke of Brittany, François II, created the Breton university in Nantes. Over the centuries, the university moved to Rennes, with Nantes keeping some university departments. The official separation between Rennes and Nantes came in 1962, therefore creating the University of Nantes and the University of Rennes. The 1968 reform of higher education in France led to the creation of three new universities from the former University of Rennes: Universities of Rennes 1, Rennes 2(Université de Haute-Bretagne, University of Upper Brittany) and Brest (Université de Bretagne Occidentale, University of Western Brittany).

More recently, in 1995, a new university was created in Lorient/Vannes: the Université de Bretagne Sud(University of Southern Brittany).

The University of Rennes 1, situated in the Academy of Rennes, was founded in 1969 following the reform in 1968 and is a State University. It is a public institution governed by law no. 84-52 of the 26th January 1984 for higher education.