Jean-Baptiste Marcoz, politician and mathematics professor, bequeathed his entire fortune to the city of Chambéry in 1834, founding the first vocational school and enabling the construction, in 1890, of the initial buildings of today's university presidency. A vice-rectorate was set up in Chambéry in 1860, followed by a rectorate in 1862, which remained in place until 1920. It wasn't until 1960 that a Collège Scientifique Universitaire was created, followed in 1963 by a Collège Littéraire Universitaire. Their merger in 1969 gave rise to the Centre Universitaire de Savoie (CUS), based in Chambéry. Its first president, the jurist Roger Decottignies, left his name to the amphitheatre on rue Marcoz.
In 1973, the Institut Universitaire de Technologie d'Annecy-le-Vieux (IUT d'Annecy) opened its doors, paving the way for fruitful bi-departmental development. Finally, with the decree of June 27 1979, the CUS officially became the Université de Chambéry, with the name "Université de Savoie". The Jacob-Bellecombette student center was named after its first president, biologist Jacques Rebecq.
Since then, the Savoy facility has continued to evolve. It is located in two departments and spread over four main sites:
- Annecy, Bourget-du-Lac and Jacob-Bellecombette campuses;
- The Presidency in Chambéry.
It became a founding member of the Pôle de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur (PRES) "Université de Grenoble" on July 16, 2010, then a reinforced associate of the Communauté d'universités et d'établissements (ComUE) "Université Grenoble Alpes" after the law of July 22, 2013, until the latter's demise and the creation of the new Université Grenoble Alpes on January1, 2020.
In 2014, the Université de Savoie chose to change its identity. The following year, it became " Université Savoie Mont Blanc ", a symbol of unity within the two Savoie departments and of national and international visibility.
Located between Lyon and Grenoble, on the borders of Switzerland and Italy, theUniversité Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB) is a major player in the intellectual, cultural, social and economic development of its region. Thanks to the close and constructive links it has forged with local, regional and national players, the USMB is today a key partner in the academic dynamics of a French-speaking area that transcends borders. It is a founding member of the European alliance UNITA, which brings together 12 universities, all located in mountain and border areas in Portugal, France, Romania, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.
The USMB has almost 15,000 students, to whom it offers some 200 degree courses at all L-M-D (Bachelor-Master-Doctorate) levels. Its teaching is supported by 18 recognized research laboratories, including 11 joint research units. Our university defines itself as a place of research and professionalization, firmly rooted in its local area, resolutely European and broadly open to the world.