It is the oldest university in Norway and consistently considered the country's leading university, one of the highest ranked universities in the Nordic countries and one of world's hundred highest ranked universities. Frederiks before the name change, and informally also referred to simply as Universitetet lit.
The university was the only university in Norway until the University of Bergen was founded in It has approximately 27, students and employs around 6, people. The university's original neoclassical campus is located in the centre of Oslo; it is currently occupied by the Faculty of Law. Most of the university's other faculties are located at the newer Blindern campus in the suburban West End. The Faculty of Medicine is split between several university hospitals in the Oslo area.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in the university's Atrium , from to and in Five researchers affiliated with the university have been Nobel laureates [6] and three have been Turing Award winners.
In , a decision was made to establish the first university in the Dano-Norwegian Union, after an agreement was reached with King Frederik VI, who had earlier believed that such an institution might encourage political separatist tendencies. Circumstances then changed dramatically one year into the commencement [ clarification needed ] of the university, as Norway proclaimed independence. However, independence was somewhat restricted, as Norway was obliged to enter into a legislative union with Sweden based on the outcome of the War of Norway retained its own constitution and independent state institutions, although royal power and foreign affairs were shared [ clarification needed ] with Sweden.
At a time when Norwegians feared political domination by the Swedes, the new university became a key institution that contributed to Norwegian political and cultural independence. The main initial function of The Royal Frederick University was to educate a new class of upper-echelon civil servants, as well as parliamentary representatives and government ministers. The university also became the centre for a survey of the countryβa survey of culture, language, history and folk traditions.
