In 1396 the Dominican general institution of higher education, called UNIVERSITAS IADERTINA, was founded in Zadar, it was the first institution of higher education in Croatia.
In 1956, on that basis, the Faculty of Arts in Zadar was founded, the first Croatian higher education institution established outside Zagreb, the capital city.
In July 2002 the Law of Instituting the University of Zadar was passed by Croatian National Parliament and the University of Zadar was registered on January 29, 2003.
The University of Zadar is an entirely integrated university, consisting of 25 departments, mainly of humanities and social studies, originated from the former Faculty of Arts, but several new departments of technical, bio-technical and medical sciences were also founded. Currently, 5762 students are studying at the University of Zadar and there are 586 employees (412 academic and 174 administrative staff).
The University of Zadar was awarded the Erasmus University Charter in December 2009 as well as Erasmus Charter for Higher Education 2014-2020.
There are 77 bilateral cooperation agreements signed so far between the University of Zadar and partner universities (306 Erasmus+ inter-institutional agreements with 198 institutions).
Besides the Erasmus+ programme both students` and teachers` mobility are implemented also through other programmes of exchange like CEEPUS, Fulbright, inter-institutional bilateral agreements and scholarships from the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

Virtual tour of University of Zadar Old Campus