Jean-Baptiste Marcoz, politician and professor of mathematics, bequeathed his entire fortune to the City of Chambéry in 1834, founded the first professional school and in 1890 allowed the construction of the initial buildings of the current Presidency of the university. A vice-rectorate was established in Chambéry in 1860, then a rectorate in 1862, which will be kept until 1920. It was not until 1960 that a University Scientific College saw the light of day, followed in 1963 by a University Literary College. Their merger in 1969 gave birth 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 Annecy-le-Vieux University Institute of Technology (IUT of Annecy) opened its doors and paved the way for a fruitful two-departmental development. Finally, by the decree of 27 June 1979, the CUS officially became the University of Chambéry, with the usual name "University of Savoie". Jacob-Bellecombette's student residence was named after its first president, the biologist Jacques Rebecq.
Since then, the Savoyard establishment has continued to evolve. It is located in two departments and spread over
on four main sites:
- the Presidency and the National Centre of Teachers working with young people with sensory deficiencies (CNFEDS), in Chambéry;
- the Annecy, Bourget-du-Lac and Jacob-Bellecombette campuses.
Anxious to expand and network the area in which it is located, the university is also established in other towns in the area such as Thonon-les-Bains or Annemasse or soon in Ferney-Voltaire.
It became a founding member of the PRES "Université de Grenoble" on 16 July 2010, which was transformed into the Community of Universities and Institutions "Université Grenoble Alpes" with the law of 22 July 2013. As a "reinforced" member of this ComUE, the disappearance of the latter leads it to discuss, within the framework of the order of 12 December 2018, a territorial coordination agreement with the new Université Grenoble Alpes which will appear on1 January 2020.
In 2014, the University of 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,Université Savoie Mont Blanc is a major player in the intellectual and cultural, social and economic development of its territory. Thanks to the close and constructive links it has forged with other local, regional and national players,Université Savoie Mont Blanc is today a key partner in the academic dynamics of a French-speaking area that goes beyond borders, as demonstrated by its European university project.
At the start of the 2018 academic year, it has nearly 15,000 students to whom it offers around 200 diploma courses at all levels of L-M-D. Its teaching is based on the activities of 19 recognized laboratories at research .
research high-level, multidisciplinary, high-quality training courses that ensure proven professionalism, personalised supervision and international openness are all assets to ensure personal success and the best possible integration of students into the knowledge-based society of today and tomorrow.