The University of Neuchâtel is a French-speaking university based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The university has four faculties (schools) and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, law and economics. The Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, with 2,000 students, is the largest school of those that comprise the University of Neuchâtel.
The university has an annual budget of CHF 144 million and an annual research fund of CHF 40 million. Approximately 4,000 students, including 600 PhD students attend the university, and more than 600 diplomas, licences, doctorates and certificates are awarded each year. The university has more than 1,100 employees.
The University of Neuchâtel superseded the Academy, which was created in 1838 by King Frederick William IV of Prussia, Prince of Neuchâtel. It awarded licentiate academic degrees in arts and in sciences. In 1848, the Grand Council decreed the closing of the Academy and in 1866 a new "academy" was established and finally renamed in 1909.
The University of Neuchâtel is situated at the heart of the French-speaking region of Switzerland, in Neuchâtel.
Before 2005, the University of Neuchâtel followed the French education model with some minor differences. The university now follows the academic standards of the Bologna Process which proposes a three-tiered system of university degrees, namely bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate.
University of Neuchatel offers classes in French as well as in English. Programs are classified at undergraduate and graduate level such as bachelor, Master and doctoral degree programs in disciplines like finance, computer science, law, economics, sciences and sports, journalism and mathematics to name a few.
In partnership with two other universities being De Montfort University in Leicester (England) and SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan (Italy) and organised by the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES), the University of Neuchatel also offers a FIFA Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.