University of Oslo, institution of higher learning in Oslo, Norway. The University of Oslo was founded in 1811 as Royal Frederick's University, with faculties in theology, law, medicine, and philosophy. In 1860 the university was divided academically into two departments: a faculty of letters and a faculty of science. In the same year it was also included in the national budget. Women were matriculated for the first time in 1882, and in 1912 the first woman professor was appointed. The present name was adopted in 1939. Attached to the university is the Amerikansk Institutt, founded in 1948, with a library of 4000 volumes. The university library houses about 2 million volumes and has special divisions of manuscripts, prints, drawings, incunabula, papyri, and Asian studies. According to law, the library receives copies of all Norwegian publications, edits the official Norwegian book catalogue, and serves as a national library.

The university has faculties of theology, law, medicine, history and philosophy, mathematics and natural sciences, dentistry, and social sciences. In 1994 there were about 1600 teachers and 32,000 students.