The Université Grenoble Alpes is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 45,000 students and over 3,000 researchers.
Established as the University of Grenoble by Humbert II of Viennois, it split in 1971 following the May 1968 events. Three of the University of Grenoble's inheritors—Joseph Fourier University, Pierre Mendès-France University, and Stendhal University—reunited in 2016 to restore the original institution under the name Université Grenoble Alpes. The university is organized around two closely located urban campuses: Domaine Universitaire of 175 ha which straddles Saint-Martin-d'Hères and Gières, and Campus GIANT of 250 ha in Grenoble. UGA also owns and operates facilities in Valence, Chambéry, Les Houches, Villar-d'Arêne, Mirabel, Échirolles, and La Tronche.
The city of Grenoble is one of the largest scientific centers in Europe, hosting facilities of every existing public research institution in France. This allows UGA to have hundreds of research and teaching partnerships, including close collaboration with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Overall, Grenoble as a city is the largest research center in France after Paris with 22,800 researchers. In April 2019, UGA is selected to host one of the four French institutes in artificial intelligence.
UGA is traditionally known for its research and education in the natural sciences and engineering, but also law, institutional economics, linguistics, and psychology. It has been cited among the best and most innovative universities in Europe. It is also renowned for its academic research in humanities and political sciences, hosting some of the largest research centers in France in fields such as political science, urban planning or the sociology of organizations.
