Formation and opening of the faculty
When the first institution of higher education - Sofia University 'St Kliment Ohridski'- was founded in Bulgaria in 1888, Philosophy was among its first fields of study. In 1951 there was established the Faculty of Philosophy and History with its three major departments: Philosophy, History and Pedagogy. In 1972 a separate Faculty of History was formed, and the remaining two departments of Philosophy and Pedagogy, as well as the newly established department of Psychology formed the Faculty of Philosophy. In 1986 Pedagogy was organized as a separate faculty. In the same year a new department joined the Faculty of Philosophy, and that was Political science. In 1992 the department of Cultural studies was introduced and in 1993 Library and Information studies also joined the faculty. In 1997 the Faculty of Philosophy developed a program of Public administration and in the following year started the European studies. In this way, the Faculty of Philosophy nowadays covers a wide range of classical and modern fields of social science and the humanities.
The founders of the faculty, as well as those of Sofia University 'St Kliment Ohridski', were inspired with the ideas of the Enlightenment. They firmly believed in the power of reason and knowledge and the importance of education in human life.
Motivated by the traditional Bulgarian admiration and high esteem for knowledge, the founders of our faculty developed a policy of wide academic interaction and fellowship with other outstanding universities, in this way rapidly and successfully raising the level of education and academic research to meet the highest world standards. The Faculty of Philosophy, as well as the other faculties at Sofia University 'St Kliment Ohridski', has set an example for high quality academic research and morality both in Bulgaria and outside its borders. For decades now it has been a most attractive institution for academic career and intellectual development, and it has managed to keep up with the preferences of thousands of Bulgarians and hundreds of international students. Now, more than ever, the members of the academic society at the Faculty of Philosophy are convinced that it is only knowledge that enables us to make the world more understandable, controllable and comfortable for Homo sapiens to live in.
Now, more than ever, we firmly believe that knowledge and education are the major catalysts for a modern society which has less poverty, more civil rights and justice, and better opportunities for every citizen.
Now, more than ever, we have the will to develop and offer our research and education products, and moreover, to provoke the society's needs for them. Now, more than ever, we have the courage to serve as the pioneers in conveying the universal message of humanism, to develop education into an industry, to enrich and extend the concept of education to reach a level of personalization of knowledge and education beyond any age limits.
Now, more than ever, we are open to interactions with diverse academic traditions, professors and students from other universities; we are eager to participate in debates on crucial public issues and challenges.
The Faculty of Philosophy's public mission is to form the intellectual essence of human resource and the formula we have adopted is: knowledge plus shared generation experience, plus necessary skills, plus the eagerness to put them into practice. Those who share our sensitivity, our concern and anxiety over the human fate in the 21st century, our optimism and pride of mankind, they will have our confidence and support. Those who seek to satisfy their thirst for knowledge, their need of qualification and intellectual skills; those who seek moral support to express their intellectual honesty and their civil position, they will gain our support. We are eager to interact and enrich you with our experience if you share with us your inventiveness and imagination.