The French University of the Pacific was founded in 1987. At the beginning, this University existed for both New Caledonia and French Polynesia. In 1999, the University was divided into two independent entities: the University of New Caledonia (UNC) and the University of French Polynesia (UPF). Today, UNC is a public institution under the authority of the French Ministry for Higher Education and Research.
Because of its size (3000 students) and its location not far from the city center of Noumea, every effort has been made to create a unique campus at Nouville with an emphasis on facilities for UNC and international students to ensure their comfort and success (student housing, sport center, learning center, cafeteria…).
UNC promotes initial and continuing opportunities to learn. The university has 3 departments (economics, law and management; literature, languages and social sciences; science and technology), 2 schools (school of education and pHD school) and an institute of technology.
In adequation to its mission specified in the 1998 Noumea agreement, research and training activities within UNC aim to meet the needs of New Caledonian development.In particular, the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Éducation (LIRE) at UNC aims to develop a research in education focused on the environmental and cultural specificities which exist in New Caledonia and in Oceania.
Moreover, being a French and European university in the South Pacific, the UNC’s ambition is to
- Develop a Policy of co-operation in the areas of science and teaching, in conjunction with foreign universities and organisations;
- Participate in the public policies of regional co-operation of both France and New Caledonia in the domains of training and research;
- Encourage mobility, both incoming and outgoing, of lecturers, researchers and students
- Promote French teaching and French speaking.