University of Mystical Arts & History

This university of the mystical arts and history is known throughout the world. Students from around the world apply every year to be able to complete their studies here. For an university it is a very young institution as it was only founded some two hundred years ago. Its fame comes from a consistent history of excellence in both study and research.   Attending this university is free for all students. As long as the students do not leave their campus their cost of living is exactly zero. All needs are met with on campus facilities that can be used free of charge.   To attend this university a student has to be accepted by one of the faculties. Each faculty has a limited number of spaces available every year. These spaces are allotted in several different ways. The three most common paths to attend this university are by application, by passing an exams or with family connections.

Structure

The university has a complex structure which has changed over time to some extent. This list enumrates the top level organizational units within the university.

Leadership

The people in charge of the strategic direction of the university as a hole. The members of these bodies are usually appointed for a term with a fixed length. Support staff is hired on a more premanent basis to ensure some consistency between terms.

University Council

The highest body of the university. The members of this body ensure that the university doesn't lose its way and appoints all the full professors after their nomation. Members of the council are appointed for four years by the heads of the faculties.

Directorate

The directorate is lead by the director and their deputy. They have a support staff directly assigned to them that ensures that they can cope with their work load.

Faculties

The seven faculties are the core of the university. Each faculty studies and researches a range of fields and traditions. The faculties act largely autonomous within their own structures. They depend on the college for some services and for financial support. However, each faculty has their own sources of income to facilitate their research and training. The faculties are ordered by their size.

Faculty of Sorcery

The largest and most popular among all of the faculties. Here students learn all kinds of sorcery derived from traditions around the world. It is very difficult to gain a place here as they are highly contested. Many students who do not manage to join this faculty end up choosing another faculty.
Department of Elemental Sorcery
The most iconic department. This is where you want to be if you want to learn how to cast a fireball. This of course is only a tiny bit of what students actually learn and study here, but it is their tagline. The department has four different fields of study.  
  • Fire Sorcery.
  • Water Sorcery.
  • Earth Sorcery.
  • Wind Sorcery.
 
Department of Magical Defense
In this department are combined various fields of study that allow students to defend themselves and others from supernatural threats. It is the second most popular department at the university..  
  • Healing Magic.
  • Defense against Curses.
  • Protection Charms.
  • Illusion Magic.
Department of Cyber Witchcraft
A rising star with one of the highest levels of funding influx at the university. It is very growing rapidly and many believe it will become a faculty sometime in the near future. The department was founded in 1995 and is the youngest department by far.
Department of Interdimensional Studies
This department studies other dimensions and magic related to them. The department has many different fields of study that students can specialize in. The department is called Demonology by many of the students.

Faculty of Law

The professors study the laws and legal systems of established supernatural communities that have their own legal systems and traditions. The students generally specialize to one or a few of these legal systems. Once they graduate they can then become lawyers in these communities. The faculty does study national legal systems of human nations as well, but does not train students for these systems.

Faculty of Mystical Arts

This faculty combines all the fields that study the mystical world and its inner workings.
Alchemy Department
This department studies alchemy and trains alchemists. The fields of study are related to various traditions and approaches to alchemy.
Department of Martial Arts
This department studies and trains martial arts from all around the world.
Department of Cultivation
This department studies the paths to immortality and enlightment in eastern traditions.
Department of Mythical Zoology and Botany
Students in this department learn all about supernatural animals and plants.

Faculty of Mystical and Supernatural History

An original faculty that was founded with the university. It is dedicated to the study of the histories of the peoples and traditions around the world. Students of this facutly all receive a basic overview, but then specialize into one of over a hundred different fields of study.
Fields Of Study
All of the fields offered in this faculty take on the historical perspective. This means that rarely do students actually learn practical magic.  
  • History of Necromancy. A field that is highly controversial. Students learn about necromancers, undead creatures, death and the afterlife.
  • History of Dark Magic. Studies types of magic that were considered dark or black magic by various groups in history. One important topic is the use of this categorization to discriminate against marginalized peoples and their traditions.
  • History of Curses.
 

Divinity Faculty

The professors of this faculty study various fields related to divinity. The bulk of the courses are related to the five major religions in the world, but smaller faiths are given their own space as well. The largest amount of students are related to the christian faith simply, because that is the most dominant in this part of the world. The faculty trains scholars, exorcists, priests and inquisitors of many of the faiths studied.

Faculty of Ancient Mystical Arts

This faculty is the youngest faculty. It is a fusion fo various predecessor faculties that grew too small to maintain their status.
Department of Druidism
This department researches druidic practices, traditions, the natural world and climate and its history. It train students from all over the world to become druids.
Department of Chaos Magic
A small and esoteric department. It is unclear if this is actually real magic as it is all just theoretical.
Department of Shamanism & Tribal Traditions
The professors of this department study the traditions and shamanistic practices from around the world.

Faculty of Philosophy

This is one of the original faculties at the university. It is today the smallest faculty. It only supports four professors in total and is belittled by the other faculties. Every year there is a debate if this faculty should be downgraded to just a department in order to redistribute the funds allocated to it. These efforts are always thwarted by the professors of the faculty as they are very prestigious and powerful. The faculty offers only one degree to students and has spaces for 47 students every year. These spaces are contested despite the bad reputation of this faculty.

Services

The administrators, professors, staff and students of the university require many services for their duties and life. The services together provide anything they would ever need.

University Library

The library is responsible to collect and provide all the literature necessary for research and teachings of the faculties. The library maintains six locations across New York City. The main location is in Manhattan. The other five locations serve a specific faculty.

IT Services

The digital infrastructure of the university is very extensive. The IT Services ensure its operation, maintenance and expansion of this infrastructure. They have teams to provide technical support to the various users as well.

Facilities & Student Services

This service provider ensures that the facilities are maintained and the students do not miss anything on campus. They maintain facilties for teaching, research, storage, student living, leisure activities, sports and more.

Organizational Units

A university is a complex organization with many different bodies and subdivisions.
Faculty
Each faculty combines one or more departments and fields of study that are related to each other. The facutly is lead by a faculty dean.
Department
A department organizes one or more fields of studies together that are in some way related to each other. The department is lead by a director.
Fields of Study
A field of study is the smallest organizational unit at the university. Each field of study has at least one full professorship associated with it. The degree students earn at the university are always related to one of these fields.
Research Team
A research team is one or more researchers who research a specific research project.

Articles under University of Mystical Arts & History



Cover image: Book of Magic by TJ Trewin

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