University of Forestry, Sofia

Infobox University
name=University of Forestry, Sofia
native_name=Лесотехнически университет — София


established=1953
type=Public
staff=
rector=Nino Ninov
faculty=6
students=
city=Sofia
country=Bulgaria
campus=
affiliations=
website= [http://www.ltu.bg/ www.ltu.bg/]

The University of Forestry, ( _bg. Лесотехнически университет — София, often abbreviated as ЛТУ) based in Sofia, is a state university with six faculties with a total of 30 departments. The university is located in the university suburb in Sofia, close to the Technical University and the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy. The University of Forestry has two forestry training and research centers: the first one outstationed near the village of Yundola in the coniferous forest belt, and the other in the village of Barzia in the broadleaved forest belt. It also has one Agricultural Experiment Station in Vrazhdebna suburb of Sofia.

For more than 80 years now the University of Forestry has been the only university in Bulgaria providing education in forestry, forest industry and landscape architecture. In the 1990s the range of scientific fields was expanded to include ecology, agronomy, veterinary medicine and business management.

In mid 1990s the university adopted the three-level degree system of bachelor, master and doctor degrees. At that time it also introduced the European Credit Transfer System.

The motto of the university is "Bulgarian traditions and European standards in education". Regarding its mission as an educational institution the University of Forestry strives to establish an academic environment encouraging values such as professionalism, freedom of speech and thought, humanism, collaboration and tolerance.

History

In 1923 the Faculty of Agronomy at Sofia University (SU) established the Department of Silviculture, preparing the way for the Forestry Division at SU to which the University of Forestry traces its roots. Two years later, in 1925, the Forestry Division at SU was set up, and on 20 February 1925 the Academic Council of SU decided that the division should commence its educational activities immediately enrolling the first 10 students of forestry.

In 1947 the Forestry Division of SU merged with the Forestry Division of Plovdiv University to establish the Faculty of Forestry at SU. This faculty was one of the four faculties that laid the foundations for setting up the Agricultural Academy in 1947. With Decree of the National Assembly of Bulgaria dated 12 January 1953 the Agricultural Academy was restructured and three separate universities were established: the Georgi Dimitrov Agricultural Academy, the Higher Veterinary Medicine Institute and the Higher Forestry Institute.

The Higher Forestry Institute was renamed the University of Forestry with Decree of the National Assembly of Bulgaria dated 27 July 1995.

Faculties

The university is divided into:
* Faculty of Forestry
* Faculty of Forest Industry
* Faculty of Ecology and Landscape Architecture
* Faculty of Agronomy
* Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
* Faculty of Business Management

ee also

* List of colleges and universities
* Sofia

External links

* [http://www.ltu.bg/ University of Forestry Website, Sofia] bg icon en icon

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