Yerevan State University is today the oldest and perhaps the most prestigious institution of higher education in Armenia. Despite the fact that his story began relatively recently by university standards, he is highly respected in society, and diplomas from this university are highly valued.
History of the University
Before the Socialist Revolution in the Russian Empire, the inhabitants of Transcaucasia were forced to leave their native country for education. Most often, Armenians went to Russia or Europe. For a long time there was a special university in Georgia, founded by immigrants from Armenia, where their former compatriots could gain knowledge.
However, after the Russian Revolution and the closure of the university in Georgia, the issue of creating an independent university in Armenia became acute. The issue of organizing Yerevan State University was resolvedMay 16, 1919. Then the government of the first Republic of Armenia established a new educational institution, in which four faculties worked for the first time.
Already on January 31, 1920, the university accepted its first students. In the first year of its existence, however, only one faculty functioned fully, where 262 students studied, and there were 32 teachers. The rector invited famous Armenian scientists with an impeccable academic reputation from European countries to give lectures.
University in the years of the USSR
In the twenties, there were five faculties at Yerevan State University: social science, technical, oriental studies, Soviet construction and pedagogy. In the thirties the number of faculties increased to eight. Being the first institution of higher education in the republic, Yerevan University served as a base for the creation of other universities in the country.
Thus, on the basis of the Faculty of Medicine in the early thirties, the State Medical Institute was formed, the first rector of which was Hakob Hovhannisyan, who previously headed Yerevan University.
By the time the republic gained independence, the university already had seventeen faculties. In independent Armenia, the status of the university remained still very high, which was also due to the innovative efforts undertaken by the leadership of the university. Since 1995, the university has switched to a two-tier education system, which has allowed it to enter into closer relations with European and American universities.
Other prestigious universities in Armenia
Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction has become one of the higher educational institutions created on the basis of the faculty of Yerevan University. This university was created on the basis of the technical faculty of the country's main university, after which it began to actively develop.
The first graduation of the university consisted of only seven people who left the walls of the alma mater in 1928. Subsequently, on the basis of the University of Architecture, the Polytechnic Institute was created, to which the Institute of Chemical Technology was attached. Thus, Yerevan State University acted as the founder of a whole family of higher educational institutions in Armenia, each of which changed its orientation, expanded its profile and developed according to its own logic.
The modern education system of Armenia
Today, the higher education system of the Republic of Armenia is a very complex structured education, which includes numerous universities, academies, institutes and a conservatory.
Despite the fact that the transition to a two-tier system of higher education was made in the mid-nineties, today students can still choose whether to study in a specialist or bachelor's and master's programs.
In general, it is worth saying that the modern higher education of the republic is organized in accordance with generally accepted world standards and inherits the Sovietvalue system. A diploma of higher education is considered prestigious and helps a graduate with employment.
