October 1, 1888 - the birthdate of Bulgarian university education. The provisional statute recognised only one Faculty, that of History and Philology.

The 1889/1890 academic year witnessed the foundation of the Department of Physics and Mathematics.

A new Law on Higher Education was passed in 1894. Among the motifs for it are the scholarly and academic prestige of the School in other countries "where it is officially recognised as a university...". The School of Higher Education comprises three Faculties: History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics, and Law. The duration of study is specified as three-four years. Faculty and Academic Councils, as well as student scientific societies are established. Procedures of graduation envisage defence of Diploma Thesis. The structure and organisation of the School of Higher Education is based on the principles of academic autonomy which makes it compatible with established foreign universities. Among its governing principles are democracy, self-rule, free admission for talented and gifted students from all social groups, academic ethical code.

The year 1900 saw the first issue of the University year Book which contained publications of university professors and regulations for the functioning of the University Library.

In 1904 the School is transformed into a University. This sets the beginning of a new period in the development of higher education in Bulgaria. New lecturers are appointed and they are bearers of great public respect. The following years witness the opening of new Faculties - of Medicine, Agriculture, Forestry, Theology, Economics.

In 1905 it receives a new name - Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.

In 1938 Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski celebrates its 50th anniversary as a fully developed academic institution. It already has 7 Faculties, 72 Institutes, Clinics and seminars, eminent full-time and visiting professors, considerable library holdings and its own journal. It has 42 826 full-time students, 14 826 of them graduates. The University is a field for scholarly and academic achievements. University professors establish a number of schools and trends in the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, linguistics and history.In the 1947-52 period the National Assembly passes a number of bills which separate some Faculties and Institutes from the body of the University. They form the foundations of new schools of higher education: the Higher Institute of Economics, the Medical Academy, the Veterinary-Medical Institute, the Academy of Agriculture. Some Institutes are included in the structures of the Bulgarian Academy of Science.

In the last few years some of those Faculties and Institutes were re-established as integral part of of Sofia University, for example the Faculty of Theology. There is also a newly formed Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.