The University of Cyprus was established in 1989 and admitted its first students in 1992. Despite its brief history, the University of Cyprus has earned the respect of the international academic community and the appreciation of Cypriot society.

When the University of Cyprus first opened its doors to students, the incoming class consisted of 486 undergraduate students. During the academic year 2013-2014 there were 7048 students (undergraduate and postgraduate). There are 8 faculties, 22 departments and 11 research units at UCY.

The eight Faculties within the University are:

• Faculty of Humanities: three departments and the Language Centre
• Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences: five departments and the Oceanography Centre,
• Faculty of Social Sciences and Education: four departments and the Centre for Gender Studies
• Faculty of Economics and Management: two departments, the Economic Research Centre and the Centre for Banking and Financial Research
• Faculty of Engineering: four departments, the Nanotechnology Research Centre, KIOS Research Centre for Intelligent Systems and Networks and the NIREAS International Water Research Centre.
• Faculty of Letters: three departments and the Archaeological Research Unit
• Faculty of Graduate Studies
• The Medicine School