The tradition of higher education in Maribor is over 140 years old. The beginnings reach to the 19th century – to 1859, to be more exact. At that time, the lavantinian bishop Anton Martin Slomšek transferred the seat of the episcopate from St. Andrew in Labot valley in Carinthia to Maribor, and soon after that he announced the founding of the Slovenian Theological college. Thus Maribor got its first institution of higher education, which became an important focal point of the Slovenian religious, national, cultural and scientific thought. Another important turning point is the year 1863, when the two–year teachers’ training college was formed which grew into a four-year one in 1888.

The direct predecessor of the actual University of Maribor is the Association of colleges of high education, established in 1961. It incorporated the first higher vocational schools of Slovenia, established in the years 1959 and 1961. The first among them was the Higher Commerce School followed by the Higher Tehnical School with Engineering, Electric, Textiles, Construction and Chemistry departments. Others gradually followed and in 1975, the University of Maribor was established, comprising of six institutions of higher education.

Nowadays, the University of Maribor incorporates 16 faculties. In 2007, the University of Maribor had more than 27,000 students, with 1,600 employees providing them with education and services.

University Members:
• Faculty of Economics and Business,
• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
• Faculty of Civil Engineering,
• Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
• Faculty of Organisational sciences,
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
• Faculty of Education,
• Faculty of Law,
• Faculty of Agriculture,
• Faculty of Medicine,
• Faculty of Criminal Justice,
• Faculty of Medicine,
• Faculty of Logistics,
• Faculty of Arts,
• Faculty of Natural Sciences,
• Faculty of Energy Technology.

More information on the University of Maribor: http://www.uni-mb.si