The University of Malta shared some photos of the campus from decades ago - even though the university is still recognisable, a lot has changed since these shots were taken!

One thing that is noticeable right off the bat is the fashion of the time. One of the shots shows two women walking in front of the library in stylish and formal outfits that are very different from that worn by university students today.  

An aerial photo of the quad also shows us how drastically different the area used to be. Nowadays the quad has much larger trees, which clearly had plenty of time to grow, as they were planted years back. Today there are also many benches and tables to provide seating for students, which have definitely increased in numbers too.

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It was first opened back in 1592 as a Jesuit college in Valletta. Fast forward almost two hundred years, and the Jesuits were expelled from the islands – 1768 to be exact.

Yet the Order of Saint John still left the institution open and Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca officially made it a university in 1769.

The university remained open during the time of the British, but was officially renamed at the Royal University of Malta between 1937 to 1974.

As soon as Malta became a republic country in 1974, the institution was renamed as we know it today, the University of Malta.

In the 1970s, the official campus was moved from Valletta to the big campus in Msida shown in the pictures above in order to accommodate for a larger influx of students. That being said, the Valletta campus is still used to this day, both for ceremonies as well as conferences and other academic events. 

Ever since its inception, the University of Malta has taught and nourished some of Malta’s smartest and brightest, and continues to do so to this day!

Can you imagine attending university back in those times?

Facebook/University of Malta