A public institution founded in 1971, UBO is a medium-sized university (around 23,000 students) offering a wide range of programs in all fields. It is a multicampus university, with the main site in Brest and satellite campuses in Quimper and Morlaix. Brest is 1 hour away from Paris by air, or 3.5 hours by train.

Brest is one of the world’s marine science capitals and is home to 60% of French marine researchers, as well as several major organizations such as IFREMER and IPEV. The city is also famous for its sailing activities. Brittany’s economic development is driven by the agri-food, health, and telecommunications sectors.

UBO is home to 34 laboratories, some of which are supported by prestigious French research bodies, such as CNRS, INSERM, and IRD. There are four principal areas of research at UBO :

• Marine Sciences
• Health, Agrifood and Materials
• Maths-ICT
• Humanities and Social Sciences

Its 22,188 students include:

• 2000 international students
• 391 students in international mobility program
• 600 students travel abroad for internships each year

Its research features:

• 33 research units
• 288 research contracts in 2019
• 120 PhDs awarded in 2019
• 18 start-ups created since 2003

It has 189 diplomas based on the European model (Bachelor-Master-PhD)

• 27 Bachelors
• 100 Master specializations
• 58 professional degrees
• 13 technological degrees

It has 18 centers for undergraduate education and research including:

• 6 faculties (UFRs)
• 8 schools and institutes
• 2 engineering schools
• 1 continuing education center
• 1 Observatory for the Sciences of the Universe (OSU)

It has 2,314 employees, including:

• 1,348 lecturers
• 966 support staff (librarians, engineers, administrative staff, technicians, maintenance, service and healthcare workers…) 

There is no student association focused on welcoming international students yet at the university level, although some might exist in some member institutions.

There is no alumni association yet.