University of Coimbra - Organization

Organization

The University's governance is assured by the Rector, Senate and University Assembly, the latter responsible for the election of the Rector and members of Senate. The Rector has the main responsibility for the strategic direction and overall administration of the University together with the Senate and assisted by the Administrative Council.

The University of Coimbra is divided in eight different faculties (Letters, Law, Medicine, Sciences & Technology, Pharmacy, Economics, Psychology & Education Sciences and Sports Sciences & Physical Education), comprising about 20,000 students. The Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCTUC) is the largest by number of professors and students, awards the highest number of academic degrees, and manages more classrooms and research units than any other in the UC. Both the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal, an organization under direct supervision of the Portuguese Ministry of the Justice, which provides forensic science services to the police forces and government agencies of Portugal, and the University of Coimbra's teaching hospital, HUC (Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra), a university hospital known as a centre of research with a broad range of clinical services and medical specialties, are managed by the Faculty of Medicine (FMUC).

The university harbours a huge central library (University of Coimbra General Library), botanical gardens (Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra), stadiums and other sports facilities (Estádio Universitário de Coimbra sports complex and Campo de Santa Cruz stadium), an astronomical observatory, a publishing house, a private chapel (São Miguel Chapel), a theatre (Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente), and many support facilities such as dining halls and studying rooms. In addition, the university manages several museums and other cultural organizations, including a science museum (Science Museum of the University of Coimbra), a museum of sacred art (Sacred Art Museum of the University of Coimbra), and an academic museum (Academic Museum of the University of Coimbra).

The university has five main campuses or other sites:

• Pólo I (the monumental ancient university core centre, with the main library and administration services, as well as facilities of law, medicine, letters, psychology, and natural sciences departments – active since the early university times before the 16th century, with major expansions in the 18th century and from the 1940s to the 1960s, during Estado Novo)
• Pólo II (engineering, sciences & technology – built during the 1990s and 2000s)
• Pólo III (medicine, pharmacy & the university hospital – built in the 1980s with major expansions in the 2000s)
• Faculdade de Economia (economics, social sciences – founded in the 1970s)
• Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e Educação Física (sports sciences – founded in the late 1990s in the university sports complex)