Klaipėda University

Klaipėda University

Klaipėdos Universitetas
Type	Public
Established	1991
Administrative staff	600
Students	~5800
Location	Klaipėda, Lithuania
Campus	Urban
Website	http://www.ku.lt/

Klaipėda University (Lithuanian: Klaipėdos Universitetas or KU) is a university in the Lithuanian seaport Klaipėda.

The University was formally founded on January 1, 1991 by a decree of Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament). The new university incorporated existing institutions of higher education in the city. At its inception, it comprised 3,000 students and three faculties (Humanities and natural sciences, Marine Engineering, and Pedagogy). It has since grown to seven faculties and eight institutes: faculties of Natural Science and Mathematics, Humanities, Marine Engineering, Art, Pedagogy, Social Sciences, and Health Sciences; Maritime Institute, Seascape Institute, Institute of Continuing Studies, Coastal Research and Planning Institute, Institute of Baltic Sea Region History and Archaeology, Institute of Regional Policy and Planning, Mechatronics Institute, and Musicology Institute. Having 9,700 students and 600 persons in educational staff (in 2006), the University offers 67 undergraduate (bachelor's degree), 4 specialized professional, 48 graduate (master's degree), and 3 postgraduate (doctoral) study programs.

Klaipėda University occupies a former military campus. The territory of 23.6 hectares (58 acres) contains six Neo-Gothic buildings that have been declared architectural monuments. In the first half of the 20th century these four-story red brick buildings, erected by the Germans in 1904–1907, comprised two residential blocks for servicemen, a chapel-canteen-club, HQ and a guardhouse, a residential block for officers and an storehouse for uniforms. During the 20th century it was a base for, successively, German, French, Lithuanian and Soviet troops.

Klaipėda University offers a developed three-level study system: 58 bachelor, 2 specialized vocational, 56 master, 10 doctoral study programs. It also offers 7 international study programs for foreign students. Its location in a seaport determined that the university develops academic programs not found in other Lithuanian universities, including marine environment research and engineering of marine transport, hydrology and oceanography, port technologies and engineering, history and languages of Lithuania Minor and Baltic region, ecological engineering, landscape architecture, underwater archaeology, port technology, and naval engineering.