- From a ducal Université de Bretagne to Université de Rennes
- The rise of the university
- The road to independence
From a ducal Université de Bretagne to Université de Rennes
- 1461 Creation of Université de Bretagne in Nantes, and five schools: arts, theology, canon law, civil law and medicine.
- 1735 The Law School is transferred to Rennes, headquarters of Brittany's Parliament.
- 1803 A medical school opens, the future School of Medicine and Pharmacy.
- 1808 An imperial university is founded in Rennes covering seven administrative zones.
- 1810 Creation of a School of Arts.
- 1839 Creation of a School of Sciences.
- 1885 Creation of a University Council.
- 1896 Université de Rennes regroups Schools and Higher Education institutions within the academy: law and economics; arts and social sciences; medicine and pharmacy.
The rise of the university
- 1955 Creation of the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises (Business Administration Institute)
- 1966 Creation of the IUT (University institute of technology) of Rennes.
- 1968 The Faure Orientation Act of Higher Education reforms the university resulting in the creation of Teaching and Research Units (UFRs), as well as the participation of the entire university community in the management of institutions and facilitating interdisciplinarity.
- 1969 The university integrates the School of Dentistry, future Dentistry Department, sets up an IUT in Lannion and acquires the island of Bailleron in the Morbihan, southern Brittany.
- 1970 Creation of the Université de Rennes (decree of 23rd December 1970)
- 1971 Further training courses are introduced.
- 1972 The university twins with the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, one of the first agreements in Europe allowing students to carry out part of their studies abroad.
- 1973 The university renews tradition by awarding 4 international universities the title of Doctor honoris causa. 70 researchers to date have received the award.
The road to independence
- 1984 Université de Rennes becomes Université de Rennes 1 and Université de Haute Bretagne, Rennes 2
- 1986 The Enssat, an engineering school in applied science and technology, opens in Lannion
- 1986 Incorporation by decree of the Ecole nationale supérieure de Chimie de Rennes (Rennes National School of Chemistry)
- 1987 A branch of the School of Law and Political Science is opened in Saint-Brieuc
- 1989 Incorporation by decree of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Rennes (Rennes Institute of Political Studies)
- 1992 Creation of an industrial and business activities department highlighting research results.
- 1993 A branch of the Lannion IUT is opened in Saint-Brieuc, future IUT of Saint-Brieuc
- 1994 A branch of the Rennes IUT is opened in Saint-Malo, future IUT of Saint-Malo
- 1994 27 500 students are enrolled at Université de Rennes 1, more than double the figure in 1970
- 1996 The School of Medicine creates a School of Hearing Aid & Audiology in Fougères