Founded in November 1991, ULCO began its first academic year in September 1992.
It is a multi-campus university, located in three port cities in the north of France: Boulogne, the fishing port, Calais, the passenger port, and Dunkerque, the industrial port, as well as the inland city of Saint-Omer.
A multi-disciplinary university, ULCO now has more than 10,000 students (including 1300 international students) on the 4 campuses and offers more than 100 nationally recognized degree programmes.
ULCO is composed of 12 Departments, 1 Technological University Institute, a Business School, an Engineers School and a Lifelong Learning Centre.