The University of Antwerp () is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is UAntwerp. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 students, which makes it the third-largest university in Flanders. The University of Antwerp is characterised by its high standards in education, internationally competitive research and entrepreneurial approach. It was founded in 2003 after the merger of three smaller universities. The University of Antwerp ranks as 143rd globally according to 2022 Times Higher Education ranking, 223rd according to 2019 QS World University Rankings and between the 201 and 300th place according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The university ranked 7th in the Times Higher Education Ranking for Young Universities (2019) and 18th in the QS University Ranking Top 50 Under 50 (2020). In ten domains the university's research is among the best in the world: Drug Discovery and Development; Ecology and Sustainable Development; Port, Transport and Logistics; Imaging; Infectious Diseases; Materials Characterisation; Neurosciences; Socio-economic Policy and Organisation; Public Policy and Political Science; Urban History and Contemporary Urban Policy. In September 2020, the University of Antwerp chose to start the new academic year with stricter coronavirus measures than those recommended by the government. History Origins The university's roots go back to Sint-Ignatius Handelshogeschool (Saint-Ignatius School for Higher Education in Commerce) founded by the Jesuit (Society of Jesus) in Antwerp in 1852. This was one of the first European business schools to offer formal university degrees. It later opened a Faculty of Literature and Philosophy (including Law) and a Faculty of Political and Social Sciences. It was renamed Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen (UFSIA) in the 1960s when the Belgian government granted it university status. In the early 1970s UFSIA joined into a confederation with "Rijksuniversitair Centrum Antwerpen" (RUCA) and "Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen" (UIA), public institutions. Merger In 2003 UFSIA, RUCA, and UIA merged into the University of Antwerp to become the first explicitly pluralistic university in Belgium, offering philosophical, ethical, and spiritual discourse and openness towards religion and intercultural dialogue. It soon became the third largest university in Flanders with 20,000 students. In order to face the challenges posed by the internationalization of European education and research, the university is part of the Antwerp University Association (AUHA). The Catholic influence that the Jesuits had at UFSIA continues through the Saint Ignatius University Centre (UCSIA), Antwerp, founded in 2003. Faculties The University of Antwerp