The University of Crete (UOC) is the principal higher education institution on the island of Crete, Greece, and one of the country's most academically acclaimed and reputable ones. The University ranked 48th in the The Times Higher Education (THE) annual list of the top 100 universities founded in the past 50 years.
The University of Crete, is a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented institution, located in the cities of Rethymno and Heraklion, in the island of Crete. It is a University well known both nationally and internationally for its state of the art research, undergraduate curricula, and graduate programmes. It is considered the best University in Greece (2011) by The Times Higher Education mainly due to its research influence in which it ranks 145th out of the top 400 Universities of the World, and also in 2012 by QS World University Rankings. It is notable that it achieves this distinction although it has less than 30% of the faculty members in comparison to other larger Universities in Greece. The University was established in 1973 and started functioning in the academic year 1977-78. Since its establishment, it has developed considerable research activity and has undertaken innovative initiatives that reflect its dynamic. As a higher education institution, it is a legal entity of public law, i.e. it operates under the supervision of the State. The seat of the University is in Rethymnon.
