The University of Patras, founded in 1964, is the third largest university in Greece and includes 24 multidisciplinary departments divided between five schools.
While it was originally set in the centre of the city of Patras in western Greece, today the main campus is located on a 600-acre wooded area in the Patras suburb of Rion after land was appropriated for the university shortly after it was founded.
The campus now hosts a conference centre, a number of museums and the Regional University Teaching Hospital as well as sports facilities, cafeterias, student halls of residence and lots of other services that make the campus very self-sufficient. There is also a satellite campus in the city of Agrinio, around 80km north of Patras and the University of Western Greece was incorporated in the University of Patras in June 2013.
The university’s emblem, Andrew the Apostle, was chosen after the University was officially opened on November 30, 1966, the same day that the city of Patras celebrates its Patron Saint, Andrew.
The University of Patras has received international recognition for its research, and many of the university departments have been nominated as Centres of Excellence, based on international assessment. The university contributes to a number of major European research projects and the University of Patras laboratories are at the heart of several national and international scientific programs.
Among the University of Patras alumni are the poet Christos Laskaris, award-winning actress Marilita Lambropoulou and distinguished computer scientist Nikolaos Bourbakis.
