The University was founded in 1942 as a Higher Technical School. In 1945 it was transformed into a State Polytechnic. In 1953 the Polytechnic was divided into several institutes one of them being the Institute of Civil Engineering. Since 1977 the institute is renamed Higher Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering (VIAS). In 1990 by a decision of its General Assembly the Institute was renamed University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG), the official accreditation being voted by the Parliament on 21 July 1995. On 15.11.2001 received institutional accreditation.
Number of students: 3800 (including 486 part-time students, 352 foreign students and 50 postgraduate students).
Academic staff (full-time): 435 (including 74 professors, 137 associate professors, 202 teaching assistants, 22 lecturers ); holding doctorate - 250 ;
Academic staff (part-time): 190 ; holding doctorate - 60.
For the time of its existence UACEG has trained more than 5 500 architects and 25 000 engineers.
The 5 faculties - Architecture, Structural Engineering, Hydrotechnics, Geodesy and Transportation Engineering, including 33 departments offer the following degree programmes: Architecture, Urbanism, Structural Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering (Hydraulic Structures, Irrigation and Drainage Engineering), Water Supply and Sewerage, Transportation Engineering and Geodesy. The duration of study, incl. the time for preparation and defence of diploma thesis is 10 semesters for the engineering programmes and 11 semesters for Architecture. Furthermore, in the Free Faculty each student or professional may pursue additional 5-semester programmes on Construction Company Management, International Economic Relations, Entrepreneurship and Law in the International Business, Computerised Information Processing, Computer-Aided Design, Translation of Specialised Literature, and Land and Property Management.

FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE:

The degree program of Architecture was offered for the first time in 1943, one year after the foundation of the first Higher Technical School in Bulgaria. The Faculty of Architecture consisting of 8 departments was founded in 1951. Here full-time, part-time or continuing education in Architecture and Urbanism is offered to students and architects. Research and design work is performed too.

The local applicants for Architecture should sit for several entry examinations - one in Mathematics and three in Drawing. These examinations usually take place in the second half of July. Another procedure applies for the international students. It is described in detail in the International Student Handbook, available at the Dean's Office for Foreign Students.
More than 6000 architects graduated from the Faculty of Architecture by 2003. In 2003/2004 academic year the number of local and foreign students in the Faculty of Architecture is about 800.

The number of academic staff in the Faculty is 27 lecturers with academic rank and 50 lecturers without academic rank. Some of the disciplines are taught by lecturers from other faculties of the University. A number of part-time lecturers with a rich professional experience take part in the education too.
The Faculty carries out significant international activities, including student exchange with several European schools of Architecture.
The graduates from the Faculty of Architecture receive state diplomas for completed higher education with the qualification "Architect". They can perform a wide variety of activities: complex investigation and planning of regional, landscape and urban sites; urban planning of towns, villages, urban areas, centres and functional zones; architectural design of residential, public, industrial and agricultural buildings; design and organisation of interior and exterior spaces; management and organisation of construction and construction elements fabrication; institutional and corporate investment policy; investigation and control functions in the city councils with respect to urban planning and architecture; research, implementation and lecturing.

The Faculty of Architecture comprises the following departments: Building Construction, Drawing & Modelling, History & Theory of Architecture, Industrial & Agricultural Buildings, Interior & Design, Public Buildings, Residential Buildings, Urban Planning. There are laboratories on computers, scientific research and a specialised seminar room.

Urbanism is a new major for the UACEG and for the country, a result of a Joint European Project, funded by PHARE-TEMPUS. The program has been reviewed by leading Bulgarian and foreign experts and accredited by the National Agency for Accerditation and Evaluation. Highly qualified academics from UACG, specialized at European Universities as well as professionals and academics from Bulgaria and Europe will take part in the teaching process.

FACULTY OF STRUCTURAL ENGUNEERING:

The Faculty of Structural Engineering is the first faculty of the oldest technical university in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1942 as the only faculty of the Higher Technical School in Sofia with two degree programs - Civil Engineering and Land Surveying. Through the years new programs were added and consecutively new faculties were created: Architecture, Hydrotechnics, Geodesy and Transportation. Together with the Faculty of Structural Engineering they form today the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy.

The only degree program in the Faculty of Structural Engineering is Structural Engineering offering two specialisations: Structures and Technology.

Civil engineers, graduated so far will have their professional realization in construction companies, designer's offices, factories for construction products, investment companies, and municipal administration. The Masters of Civil Engineering may seek their career also in research teams, laboratories; teach in the Universities and work as experts in supervisory and branch-oriented organisations.

FACULTY OF HYDROTECHNICS:

The Faculty of Hydrotechnics (FH) was established in 1949 on the basis of a course in "Aquaculture Engineering" at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the State Polytechnics. Later, together with the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture, it forms the structure of the newly founded Higher Institute of Civil Engineering.

FH is the only institution in the country where specialists in the field of hydraulic engineering are trained. The following degree programs are offered at the faculty ever since its creation: Hydraulic Structures (by 1973 - Hydro-Power Engineering), Irrigation and Drainage Engineering and Water Supply and Sewerage . From the academic 199 9 / 2000 a new program is added - Hydraulic Engineering (in German Language) and it is equivalent to the program Hydraulic Engineering and Environment of the Technical University – Vienna, Austria.

There are two pathways offered in the Water Supply and Sewerage program: Water Supply Systems and Structures and Water Treatment. Students' specialisation starts from VII semester.

The specialisation courses for the Irrigation and Drainage Engineering program are Irrigation Systems and Drainage Systems. The offered pathways in the Hydraulic Structures program are: Water Power Plants & Derivative Systems and Hydraulic Structures .

FH graduates receive state degree diplomas for higher education in the respective programs, with qualifications Master of Science in Irrigation and drainage Engineering, Master of Science in Hydraulic Structures, Master of Science in Water Supply and Sewerage. The graduates of the Hydraulic Engineering (in German Language) program receive both Bulgarian diplomas with qualifications Master of Science in Hydraulic Engineering and Austrian diplomas with qualifications "Diplom Ingeneur".

FACULTY OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING:

The Faculty of Transportation Engineering was established in 1987. It offers education in this field in two pathways: Road Construction and Railway Construction. However, both courses have been offered in various forms since the very beginning of higher technical education in this country. The Faculty trains specialists in all fields of modern transportation infrastructure, which is an integral part of modern social life.

The Faculty consists of four departments: the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Geotechnics, the Department of Road Construction and the Department of Railway Construction. The Departments are equipped with modern training and research laboratories and computing equipment for research in a number of fields, such as: soil properties; properties of road and railway construction materials and elements; properties of elements under static and dynamic influences; interaction between vehicles and road structures; interaction between structures and foundation; stress-deformed sate of soils, etc. Software has been developed for theoretical research and design in the field of geotechnics, road and railway construction.

The graduates from the Faculty of Transportation Engineering receive qualification "Civil Engineer in Transportation Construction" with indication of the pathway, e.g. Road or Railway Construction.

The civil engineers in Road Construction are qualified to design, construct and maintain roads, streets, road structures (bridges, tunnels, airports, etc.); to plan, organise and manage traffic and safety of traffic, etc. Graduates with this qualification can work as designers of highways, roads, streets, urban communications and transportation structures in all designers' bureaux. They work in construction companies and investment and control units, units for maintenance of transportation structures, as well as in all construction and research institutions on the problems of road construction, traffic and town-development.
The civil engineers in Railway Construction are qualified in the field of design, construction and operation of railway lines and complex transportation projects, railway stations and station structures, railway structures (bridges, tunnels, etc.), tramway and other railroads, underground, harbours, etc. Graduates with this qualification can work in design, construction, engineering, research and other institutions and departments in the field of railway and urban rail transport — tramway, underground, lifts, harbours, railway stations and station and other transport structures, as well as in the sphere of maintenance and operation of these structures.

FACULTY OF GEODESY:

On September 1, 1942 the academic year began with two engineering degree programs - Construction and Land Surveying. In the academic year 1951/1952 the Faculty of Geodesy was established with two degree programs - Land Surveying and Land Management. Later on, Land Surveying was renamed Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography. In 1991 the two degree programs were merged into a single one - Geodesy that is now present.

For the period 1942-1996 about 3338 engineers in Geodesy and Land Management, among them 1117 women graduated from the Faculty of Geodesy.

Training in this faculty is possible both full-time and part-time. The full-time course of study consists of 10 semesters, of which 9 are regular study and 1 is for diploma thesis preparation while part time course of study is 12 semesters long, 11 regular semesters and 1 for diploma thesis. During the last 3 years students are temporarily not accepted for part-time studies.
The Faculty of Geodesy at UACEG, the only of its kind in Bulgaria, trains engineers in the Geodesy degree program. During the academic 1996/97 year 326 full time students have been enrolled. The Faculty now includes 70 staff of whom 50 belong to the teaching body (of them 21 professors and associate professors) and 20 are administrative and support staff. The faculty owns modern geodetic equipment and tools, specialised and computer laboratories. At the disposal of the faculty is also the university owned field study & sports site at the village of Verinsko (40 km from Sofia) for doing practical training at close-to-real conditions.

University website: University of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy