At the heart of Westem Brittany, the university was created on the 17th of December 1970 after more than a decade of effort, is today a multi-disciplinary university comprising 18 000 students, 900 researchers and academic staff and 500 administrative staff on its two campuses in Brest and Quimper.
Its strength comes from its atypical location at the most extreme point of Brittany. Traditions warrant its dynamism.
For example, one should notice the ability of Brittany to educate and produce teachers or even the opportunity of securing research teams in fields such as maritime studies, agribusiness, Breton and Celtic culture.....
The various education centres like the Naval Academy, the Engineer school in Arms Technologies (ENSIETA), the Engineer school of Brest (ENIB), the Engineer School in Telecommunications (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Bretagne or ENSTBr), the Business school of Brest, the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER) and the Research Centres of Roscoff and Concarneau with which the University of Western Brittany has created close links have open the way to new opportunity.
University Components
The UBO is composed of:
 5 University Faculties:
• Faculty of Sciences and Technology
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Law and Economics
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Odontology
 1 Department of Science and Technology for Physical Education and Sports
 
 Several University Institutes:
• Institute of Technology at Brest
• Institute of Technology at Quimper
• European Institute for Marine Studies (IUEM)
• Professional Institute of Mechanical Engineering
• Professional Institute of Innovations in the Food Industry
• Professional Institute of Telecommunications and Networks
• Professional Institute of Computer Engineering
• National College of Microbiology and Food Safety (ESMISAB)
• Institute of Agribusiness and Rural World (ISAMOR)
• Institute of Judicial Studies (IEJ)
• Institute of Preparation for General Administration (IPAG)
• Institute of Actuary Studies (EURIA)
 Centre of Breton and Celtic Resarch (CRBC)

Research at the University of Western Brittany
The University has a research potential of 50 teams and laboratories structured around the centers identified in its development contract. Partnerships with the CNRS (9 teams), INRA, INSERM, IFREMER are strengthening. The UBO offers 19 one-year research-oriented postgraduate diplomas (DEA), mostly run by 3 doctoral schools.
Research at the UBO mainly focuses on marine biology and deals with the coastal environment, agri-business, human and social sciences (particularly Breton and Celtic Research), Electronics and Telecommunications, Applied Chemistry, Physics, Health Sciences, Information Technology and Mathematics.