Ivan Zhelev

Plovdiv University

Plovdiv University , named in honor of the Bulgarian historian Paisiy Hilendarski, is the city's leading cultural and scientific institution. It is the largest institution of higher education in Southern Bulgaria, and the second largest Bulgarian university, after St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia. The University of Plovdiv is built on the foundation laid by the Higher Teacher-Training Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, which opened in July 1961. The Institute was promoted to university status by government decree on 12 January 1972. In 1973, it became the first higher institution in Plovdiv to offer language and literature studies, offering the B.A. degreee in Bulgarian Language and Literature and Russian Language and Literature. Soon after, a program in Slavonic Languages and Literature (with Specialization in Czech Language and Literature) was added. A degree in Education was offered for the first time in 1984, Law degree programs were introduced in 1992, and Economics degree programs were launched in 1994. Today the University of Plovdiv is a true university by international standarts, since it provides training to students in the four major fields of higher education: natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and economics. " Paisiy Hilendarski" Plovdiv University has been institutionally accredited by National Certification and Accreditation Board (Protocol No. 1 of 15 February 2001).