The University of Provence Aix-Marseille I was a public research university mostly located in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille. It was one of the three Universities of Aix-Marseille and was part of the Academy of Aix and Marseille. On 1 January 2012, it merged with the University of the Mediterranean and Paul Cézanne University to become Aix-Marseille University, the youngest, but also the largest in terms of students, budgets and staff in the French-speaking world.

Overview

The University of Provence was founded on 9 December 1409 as a studium generale by Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, and subsequently recognized by papal bull issued by Antipope Alexander V. In 1792, the University of Provence, along with twenty-one other universities, was dissolved. The university was recreated in 1896. Following riots among university students in May 1968, it was re-established in 1968 through a merger of the school of humanities in Aix-en-Provence and the science one in Marseille. "The University of Provence [was] one of the most distinguished in France, second only to the University of Paris in the areas of French literature, history, and linguistics", according to Harvard University's website. In the academic year of 2007–2008, 23,056 students were enrolled. Among them, 15,158 were female, while only 7,898 were male. 3,255 students came from countries outside France, 44 per cent of these came from Africa. 15,109 students studied in Aix-en-Provence, while others went to Marseille, Avignon, Digne, Lambesc, Arles and Aubagne. Overall, its facilities spanned 258 143 m2. In 2007, the budget was 120,7 million euros, with 39,2 million euros available after wages. It had its own university press, Publications de l'Université de Provence. It also had its own theater, the Théâtre Antoine Vitez, named for Antoine Vitez.

Departments

Notable faculty and alumni