Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje

During the World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia the Bulgarian occupation authorities established in 1943, in Skopje, the first institute of higher education – the Tsar Boris III University.[3] Due to the withdrawal of the Bulgarian army in the autumn of 1944, the University stopped its educational activity. However, after the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, on the third session of the Presidium of the Antifascist Council of the National Liberation of Macedonia, held in April 1945, one of the items on the agenda was the question of opening a Macedonian university to replace the Bulgarian one.[4] At the end of 1946, the concept of a university began to be realized and the official opening ceremony for the Faculty of Philosophy, the cornerstone of the University of Skopje, took place on 29 November of that year. This marked the beginning of a Macedonian state university. The first faculty consisted of the Department of History and Philology and the Department of Mathematics and Natural Science, while the Medical Faculty and the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry were added in 1947. Fifty-eight students enrolled during the first academic year of 1946–1947; in the next year this number grew to 907. The development of higher education in Macedonia was characterized by rapid growth, and several other faculties were added in the following years. Parallel to the education activities in the existing faculties, scholarly research was undertaken with the development of independent institutes of research. Thus, the Institute of National History was founded in 1948, followed by Institute of Folklore in 1949, and the Institute of Economics in 1952. Today, there are 10 research institutes affiliated with the University of Skopje.

After the great 1963 Skopje earthquake, which destroyed most of the city of Skopje, the university was leveled and some of the most modern laboratories in Yugoslavia were destroyed. By this time the University of Skopje was the third largest in Yugoslavia. It was quickly rebuilt on the premises of a much larger and modern urban campus. At the request of Yugoslav authorities, scientists from UNESCO's Department of Natural Sciences were sent to meet with the university's scientists to develop plans for the rehabilitation of the university's science laboratories. As a result, a large donation of equipment for science teaching and research was gathered from around the world through UNESCO's international programme of aid to Skopje.

At present, the University of Skopje is carried out in the spirit of the 1991 Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, which incorporated the social, economic and political changes that had taken place after North Macedonia proclaimed its independence from the Former Yugoslav Federate State. On 3 August 2000 the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia brought the new Law on Higher Education which adopted the overall European standards of higher education. The management organs of the university are the University Senate, consisting of two staff members from each faculty and scientific research institutes, five appointed members by the government of the Republic of North Macedonia and five students delegated from the Student Organization; the University Board, consisting of the rector, the vice-rectors, the secretary general, the deans of the faculties, the directors of the scientific-research institutes and one student representative; and the rector. The university represents a functional community of 25 faculties and 10 research institutes.

Statue of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in the center of the campus

The central building of the university

The student dormitory complex

The university is divided into 23 faculties and 10 research institutes:

The Ss. Cyril and Methodius University's mission is to be an:

• autonomous, scientific and higher educational university that provides teaching, scholar and applicative activities in technical, natural sciences and mathematics, bio-technical, artistic, medical and social sciences;
• university devoted to the cherishing as well as the international affirmation of the traditional features and values of the Macedonian people such as: the Macedonian language, the history, the literature and culture of the Macedonian people and also the cultural values of the ethnic communities in the Republic of North Macedonia;
• university open for all students on the basis of equality and their results regardless of their ideological, political, cultural and social background;
• university that concords its academic offer to the needs of its social surrounding and has a continuously dynamic relationship with it;
• university that creates stimulative surrounding for its employees providing them a progress of their abilities in order to accomplish its mission;
• university that develops long-life and continuous education;
• university determined to achieve the European norms and standards in all spheres of its activities.

• Nina Angelovska – Finance minister[5]
• Džordže Arsov – Mayor of Kisela Voda
• Ljube Boškoski – Former Minister of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia
• Vlado Bučkovski – Former Prime Minister of North Macedonia
• Branko Crvenkovski – 3rd President of North Macedonia
• Živko Čingo – Writer
• Georgi Efremov – Macedonian Academician and scientist at Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the field of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
• Fatmir Besimi – Minister of Economy
• Nikola Dimitrov – former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the United States
• Elizabeta Dimitrova – art historian
• Igor Durlovski – opera singer
• Lazar Elenovski – former Minister of Defense
• Elena Filipovska - philologist, teacher, writer
• Taki Fiti – former Minister of Finance
• Ljubomir Frčkoski – author of the Constitution of North Macedonia
• Ljubčo Georgievski – former Prime Minister of North Macedonia
• Sofija Grandakovska, author in the field of comparative literature studies and interdisciplinary studies in Holocaust, Jewish history, literature and culture
• Maja Hill – Artist, formerly Maja Dzartovska
• Gjorge Ivanov – President of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Macedonian Army
• Zoran Jolevski – Ambassador to the United States and Negotiator for the Macedonia naming dispute
• Sashko Kedev – former Presidential Candidate
• Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska – Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration
• Trifun Kostovski – businessman and former Mayor of Skopje
• Tamara Kotevska - Filmmaker, best known for the documentary Honeyland which won three awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and received two nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards
• Jagnula Kunovska – Member of Parliament
• Denko Maleski - intellectual, diplomat, and professor
• Sehadete Mekuli – gynecologist
• Antonio Milošoski – Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Zan Mitrev - General Manager of the Zan Mitrev Clinic
• Tito Petkovski – Member of Parliament
• Filip Petrovski – former Member of Parliament and Director of the City Library
• Petar Popovski – Full professor at Aalborg University and IEEE fellow
• Nikola Ristanovski - actor
• Luan Starova – writer and scholar
• Zoran Stavrevski – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finances of North Macedonia
• General Miroslav Stojanovski – Chief of General Staff of North Macedonia
• Boris Trajkovski – 2nd President of North Macedonia
• Simon Trpčeski - World-renowned classical pianist
• Vasil Tupurkovski – Macedonian politician.

• Balkan Universities Network
• Lists of universities and colleges
• Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences
• Macedonian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

• Official website