The University of Parma is a State University. As such, it is self-governing and has administrative, organisational, and accountancy autonomy, providing services to the general public. On 13th March 962, Emperor Ottonian I conferred on Uberto, the Bishop of Parma, the initiation of the University in the ’Diploma’ - a document which granted the Bishop the power to order and elect legal leaders (’eligere et ordinare notarios’). This document was the foundation of creating an educational institution that would last centuries later, and is still preserved in the Bishop’s Archives in Parma today. The University holds 9Departments, has now about 25,000 students and 1,700 professors, researchers and administrative staff. Its rich course catalogue is made up of 39 First Cycle Degree Courses, 41 Second Cycle Degree Courses (5 of which entirely held in English) and 6 Single Cycle Degree Courses. In the city centre you can find the Departments of the areas of Arts and Humanities, Economics, Law and Politics, Medicine and Surgery and Veterinary Science. The remaining scientific Departments (Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability; Engineering and Architecture; Food and Drug; Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences) are located in the University Campus, a 77-hectare area in the southern side of the city. The campus owns modern and well-equipped lecture halls, comfortable study areas, technologically advanced laboratories, a CNR centre, as well as several sports facilities, a conference centre, three canteens, and a new Technopole structure. This significant combination of structures and people is absolutely unique on the Italian university scene. The living conditions in Parma attract a large number of students from all over Italy. More than two-thirds of our registered students come from outside of Parma and the Parma Province, which places the University in the highest rank for attracting the most non-resident students nationwide.The University of Parma boasts top-level scientific research: outstanding results of research teams, articles on the main international scientific journals and a number of successful partnerships with other important universities are just some examples of such high quality. Research teams excel in a number of fields: from food and agriculture to biotechnologies, from innovative treatment to experimental medicine, not to mention mathematics, law, economics and arts.