The University of Lleida originates from the Estudi General de Lleida, a university founded in 1300 with permissions granted by James II of Aragon. Being the only university in the Crown of Aragon, the city of Lleida began to grow, as citizens from all across the kingdom came to the Estudi General de Lleida to receive a higher education. The Estudi General de Lleida was funded by both the city of Lleida and the local Cathedral chapter. Lleida and the Estudi General continued to grow as a successful College town until the 16th century, when other universities being founded in other regions of the kingdom robbed the university of Lleida of part of its prestige for being the only university of Lleida. While still a prominent university, it suffered a long period of decline all the way through the 17th century. After the War of the Spanish Succession, it was decided that the old university model would be removed as punishment for what the House of Bourbon viewed as Sedition from the Catalan counties of Aragon, by their refusal to support the House of Bourbon during the war. Cervera, a town east of Lleida, was chosen to be the location of the first of a new type of university, while previously established universities in the land were closed. On 9 October 1717, a Royal decree from Philip V ordered the closure of Estudi General of Lleida along with other Catalan universities. In 1841, the foundation of a teacher training school marked the first step towards the foundation of the University of Lleida. However, it would be another 125 years before more progress was made, and other studies were revived as extensions of other universities in Barcelona. Finally, on 12 December 1991, the Catalan Parliament passed an act which brought the various studies together, and founded the University of Lleida with Víctor Siurana i Zaragoza as its director. The foundation of the University of Lleida was formalized after the creation of the Statutes of the University of Lleida on 27 October 1994.
Education
The University of Lleida offers 38 different bachelor's degrees across 14 fields, ranging from Agriculture & Forestry to Natural Sciences & Mathematics. The field that offers the largest selection of bachelor's programs is the Engineering & Technology programs, which offer seven different bachelor's degrees. The University of Lleida is a leading institution in Spain for research and education in the fields of Agronomy, Food Technology and Forestry. It is the only university in Catalonia to offer Forestry Services. The university also offers a total of 29 master's programs in 12 fields, with seven master's degrees in their Education& Training program, making it their most diverse field for postgraduate studies. Additionally, the University of Lleida has awarded Honorary degrees to leading personalities such as Javier Pérez de Cuellar, John Elliot, Stanley M. Goldberg, and Theodore H. Hsiao, as recognition of their accomplishment.
Campuses
The University of Lleida is divided into 5 campuses, one of them in the city of Igualada. Each campus is further divided into schools and faculties. The university of Lleida has a total of 26 departments of education. The university has affiliated programs at the Escola Universitària de Relacions Laborals, The Ostelea School of Tourism and Hospitality, and the Institut Nacional d'Educació Física de Catalunya. The university has 3 affiliated research centres in the fields of agronomy: AGROTECNIO, medical sciences: IRB Lleida, and forestry: Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia
