Historical profile

Ca' Foscari University of Venice has a national and international outstanding reputation for academic excellence in both teaching and research.

Founded on 6th August 1868 as the first Italian  high school devoted to commerce and economics, it has grown and developed new relevant subject areas.

The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures was established in 1954, while the Faculties of Letters and Chemistry were created in 1969. In 1990, the latter finally became the present Faculty of Science.

Since its foundation, the University has been housed in a remarkable fifteen-century palace on the Grand Canal.

Nevertheless various are now the buildings hosting the university premises throughout Venice. Ca' Foscari is now a modern and well-renowned university which offers a wide range of teaching and research activities across four main subject areas: economics, languages, science and humanities.

The Faculty of Economics provides innovative teaching programmes combining economics (theory, methods and models) with legal, mathematical and statistical subjects, with management and business.

A strong operative connection is then established with areas such as tourism and information technology.

The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers teaching programmes in 17 Western and 23 Eastern languages and literatures.
Several are the teaching areas covered, varying from philology, language teaching, history, tourism, archaeology, philosophy and religion.

The Faculty of Letters and Philosophy offers programmes in the areas of philosophy, psychology and pedagogy, history, philology, literature, anthropology and sociology.

The Faculty of Science consists of three main subject areas: chemistry - with particular focus on physical chemistry - environment and information technology.

At the moment, after the reorganization of the university academic structure implemented by the Italian Higher Education Reform, Ca' Foscari offers 30 first level and 43 second level degrees, 17 first level masters courses, 7 second level masters courses and 3 specializing courses offered by the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, 16 doctoral research programmes and a specializing programme for secondary school teachers.

The students regularly enrolled at Ca' Foscari are about 18,500 at the moment, with 560 professors. The new graduates are 2,400 every year.

Ca' Foscari provides 19 academic departments, 6 research centres, an efficient library system providing access to 700,000 books and 400,600 periodicals and an extensive network of PCs and workstations.

Moreover, the University carries out research, consulting and training activities for public and private organizations; it is involved in partnerships with several Venetian cultural institutions and associations in the framework of scientific information, training and research. Every year almost 300 cultural and scientific events are organized by Ca' Foscari.

It also joins other universities, public and private institutions, centres and groups: it is a partner in the Venice International University (VIU), Consorzio Venezia Ricerche, VEGA Scientific and Technology Park, La Chimica per l'Ambiente, CORILA, CISET, CISAI.

Ca' Foscari has important contacts with national and international institutions and research centres in the framework of both training experiences for students and teachers (ERASMUS and LEONARDO DA VINCI programmes) and individual scientific agreements between some specific departments.

In 2002, Ca' Foscari Formazione e Ricerca S.r.l. was created. It is a limited company which aims to involve Ca' Foscari resources in a closer active connection with the whole of local public and private business entities.