Facultés

Facultés are the principal organizational divisions within many universities in Francophone countries. They group faculty, researchers, and students around a field of study, such as law, medicine, sciences, or humanities. Each faculty typically offers degree programs and conducts research within its field, and may be subdivided into departments or institutes. The precise names and structures vary by country and institution, but the concept serves to concentrate disciplinary activities and governance.

Governance is usually led by a dean and a faculty council; teaching programs are designed to meet university-wide standards, while curricula are developed in collaboration with departments. Faculties oversee admissions, examinations, and degree conferral for their students, but depend on the university's central administration for budget and cross-faculty coordination. Some universities reorganize into colleges, schools, or institutes while preserving a faculties-based organization in practice.

Historically, faculties emerged in medieval European universities as the core divisions of knowledge. In France, Belgium, Switzerland, and other Francophone contexts, the term remains common, though organizational models differ. In some systems, there is a stronger emphasis on autonomous colleges or professional schools within or alongside faculties, or on cross-disciplinary programs spanning multiple faculties.

Note on terminology. In French, faculté also means a mental or physical faculty; in English, "faculties" can refer to abilities as well. This article discusses the educational sense.