About University of Cyprus

Founded: January 1, 1989

Institution type: University

Overview

With around 7.000 students, 113 laboratories and 820 faculty and staff members, the University of Cyprus (UCY) based in Nicosia, the capital of the Republic of Cyprus, is a modern, diverse, and evolving student-centered institution established only three decades ago.  Aspiring to function as a beacon of scientific thought, diversity, inclusiveness, equity and creativity, UCY envisions its future as a leading institution in the greater Euro-Mediterranean area.

UCY is a rapidly expanding university and the biggest employer in Cyprus for young graduates and researchers. It currently employs about 700 young scientists using external research funds. Its 8 faculties and 22 departments offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, whilst its numerous, highly cited researchers give UCY a cutting edge.  All programmes of academic study function under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), furthermore awarding the Diploma Supplement with DS Label.

UCY students can benefit from its state-of-the-art infrastructure, affordable tuition fees, student support services, scholarships and a high employability rate after graduation both in Cyprus and abroad.  They can learn Greek at the School of Modern Greek, as well as Spanish and Chinese at the Aula Cervantes at UCY and the Confucius Institute at UCY, respectively.  UCY students benefit from lower prices for public transportation, and their participation in student clubs and international conferences, while they have the opportunity for part-time employment.

International Outlook

UCY is globally networked and actively contributes to European and international scientific developments.  UCY’s involvement in the international arena is many-folded.

UCY:

1. maintains strategic cooperation with top institutions internationally through the signing of Bilateral Agreements of Cooperation (https://newdev.ucy.ac.cy/ir/bilateral-agreements-of-cooperation/), which provide for the exchange of students and staff, organization of conferences, research cooperation and the provision of joint programmes.
2. is an active member in more than 65 international university networks and associations (at both institutional and departmental levels) (https://newdev.ucy.ac.cy/ir/networks-associations/)
3. is a member of the university alliance YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8VmnGhYM0E&feature=youtu.be) with 9 other European universities. YUFE is one of the 17 alliances of European universities selected by the European Commission in 2019, to develop and implement the first models for a unified European University.
4. has been participating in the ERASMUS+ Programme since 1998.  Until now, more than 2500 UCY students have spent 1 or 2 semesters at European universities, and more than 2100 incoming students have spent 1 or two semesters at UCY.  Currently, UCY has around 730 Erasmus Bilateral Agreements with universities in Europe. UCY also participates in the Erasmus+ International programme that supports cooperation for mobility with third countries.

Research

UCY is considered the leading university and the most active research institution in Cyprus. UCY implemented a large number of research projects funded by the European Commission, the National Research and Innovation Foundation and several public and private Research Organizations. In 2021, research funding from external sources reached €27 million. UCY is currently participating in 373 projects. 184 are EU-funded projects under Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, Justice, Life, Cost Action and Interreg.

Within the Horizon 2020 program, UCY ranks 1st in Cyprus with 154 research projects and with a total funding of over €75,4 million from January 2014, the start date of H2020 program until May 2022. UCY ranked 137th in securing funding among the nearly 41,200 organizations participating in the Program and 98th among all the academic institutions involved. This is an honourable distinction for UCY since it surpasses, in absolute numbers, other famous and much larger universities in Europe. In general, UCY excelled in all pillars of H2020 program. Since 2017, UCY secured 3 Teaming in Excellence projects (for the development of independent research centres aiming at becoming Centres of Research Excellence), two of these three grants are worth €15 million each.

UCY ranked 1st in securing funding in the pillar “Spreading Excellence” from all organizations from the 27 WIDENING countries. Under this pillar, UCY secured 23 research projects with total funding of € 28.9 million (3 Teaming Phase 2 - € 23 million, 7 Teaming Phase 1 - € 1 million, 1 Era Chair - € 2.5 million, 4 Twinning - € 1.6 million and 8 Widening Fellowships - € 1.227.529).

Since the establishment of the European Research Council (ERC) in 2007, UCY managed to win 20 ERC projects. More specifically, it was awarded 7 Starting Grants, 4 Consolidator Grants, 2 Advanced Grants, 6 Proof of Concept Grants and 1 Synergy Grant. These numbers are very impressive because ERC funds only top researchers in Europe with excellence as the sole criterion for selection, helping them pursue great ideas at the frontiers of knowledge.

Currently, UCY implements 28 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action projects. Apart from Individual Fellowships, it participates in ITNs, RISE and Cofund Action. UCY has successfully implemented 68 Marie Skłodowska-Curie projects.

A considerable share of the University's external funding comes from the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF), where UCY was awarded a significant number of research projects, under the “RESTART 2016-2020 Programme for Research, Technological Development and Innovation”. From the beginning of 2017 until May 2022, UCY secured over 220 research projects with a total funding of over €36 million. These funded projects include New Research Infrastructure Units, large-scale Integrated Projects with big consortia, cutting-edge Research Excellence projects and Post-Doctoral Fellowships.

UCY Research Centres

• Archaeological Research Unit
• Centre for Medieval Arts and Rituals (CeMAR)
• KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence
• FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy
• Nireas International Water Research Center
• EMPHASIS Research Centre
• Center for Applied Neuroscience
• Center for Field Studies (UCFS)
• Research Centre for Gender Studies
• Oceanography Centre
• Biomedical Engineering Research Centre - BERC
• Economics Research Centre
• Center for Banking and Financial Research
• Molecular Medicine Research Center - CY-Biobank

Services

Student services

Our Office's mission is to offer fast and qualitative service to our students for the duration of their study, and also to adopt ways to improvement of the image of our Service.

Housing services

The Housing Office of the Service of Academic Affairs and Student Welfare manages the Student Halls of the University. The Student Halls are located on the new campus, in the Athalassa area. There are at present 208 single study/bedrooms with common kitchen and/or bathroom facilities. Within the Student Halls complex, there is also a Social Activity Centre, post office, Laundry Room and Resident's Information Centre.

Library services

The Library is fully electronic in its use and hybrid regarding its content since its collections include printed, digital and audiovisual material. All material is accessible through EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS), a federated search tool that provides easy access to printed, digital and audiovisual material, as well as to the full text of articles, through a simple search.

Student Life

Campus life

The University of Cyprus provides on-campus self-catering accommodation to a limited number of students. Information on rents, criteria and application procedures is available through the Housing Office of the Affairs and Student Welfare Service (all registered students may apply for accommodation at the Housing Office). The University can accommodate a limited number of students in single, self-catering study/bedrooms in the Student Halls located at the New Campus, and in private apartments located off-campus.

Sports facilities

Taking complete advantage of the capabilities that the exquisite facilities of the Sports Centre provide, the University of Cyprus provides elective sports courses to all the students in a plethora of team and individual programs and we have also developed a series of sports programs that are addressed to all the members of the university community. Also, our University is participating with great success in the championships of the Cyprus University Sports Federation while our presence is also strong at the international level through our participation in the championships of the European University Sports Federation and the organization of European championships.

University Accreditations

• EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management)
• EEDE (Hellenic Management Association)
• Academic Affairs and Student Welfare
• European Commission / EURAXESS
• ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) / ICPAC (Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus)
• Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme- Section for Higher Education

Top disciplines:

• Business Management

Program levels:

• Bachelor
• Language Exams
• Postgraduate Diploma
• Master
• Research Degrees (Ph.D.)

Financials

Estimated Total/Year17,980.00 €