Revision as of 17:36, 17 May 2011

University of Fresia
Location	Gallenfeld, Fresia
Motto	Learning. Apprenticing. Doing.
Established	211 FI
Affiliation	Council of Princes
Chancellor	Dermott Ironbroth, III
Colors	Blacksmith

The University of Fresia is one of the few universities in Fresia and located in the de-facto Fresian capital of Gallenfeld. It is supported through gifts, tuition, and the Fresian Council of Princes.

History

Around 200 FI, some of the more worldly members of the Council of Princes raised concern at the lack of higher learning institutions in Fresia. The smaller institutes scattered throughout the duchies were primarily church-funded and thus more tailored in the training of clerics and other Alexandrian church professions. The Council agreed to establish a central, slightly more secular university and formed the University of Fresia.

In order to attract students from more prosperous areas, specifically from Gildenhome in the north, the University commissioned a variety of smiths and artisans to apprentice their trade at the university- giving it a more practical spin than the usually pedantic offerings at other universities.

Areas of Study

When a student enters the University, he or she chooses either the Journeyman's or Bachelor's degree program. Both programs take about roughly six years and all students within their degree program have the same required courses. As the Journeyman's degree focuses primarily on apprenticeship of a particular craft, there are far less formal courses.

Journeyman's Degree

This is essentially an advanced apprenticeship program. The most common apprenticeship is that of a smith or metalworker, hence the school's mascot being the blacksmith. Students are apprenticed under a master and receive most of the training there. It differs from the common practice of apprenticeship by also requiring courses pertinent to the apprenticeship. The subjects are arithmetic, metallurgy, and crafting.

Bachelor's Degree

This is a general education program consisting of set subjects: arithmetic, religion, astronomy, art, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. For those planning on continuing into clerical arts, there may be a stronger emphasis on religion while those planning on continuing into arcane arts may have a stronger emphasis on logic or astronomy.

Master's Degree

6 more years. TBD

Doctorate Degree

6 more years. TBD

Noteworthy Faculty, Students & Alumni

Where U of F lacks in money and prestige, it makes up for in bravado- reflecting the general Fresian culture of independence and pride to overcompensate for a lack of wealth.

• Stromglut Balin - Dwarven metalsmith and faculty member who insists he is the ultimate authority on ball bearings, including constructing his entire metallurgy classroom on a giant lazy susan.

• Sunne Zerfweig - The art faculty member known for her in-depth of analysis of war face painting as a unique form of Fresian art.

• Waldthear Polmando - Former faculty member and author of a controversial paper examining whether divine magical power was essentially made of the same energies that fueled arcane magic.

• Gertrude Zapadri - Alumna and creator of the popular chain charm bracelets that later assisted her husband, Muil Zapadri, in becoming the wealthiest halfling merchant in Arabelle in the late 800s, early 900s FI.