The University of Patras was founded in the city of Patras in 1964 and it began functioning in the Academic year of 1966-67, this contributed vastly to the decentralization of Academic Education in Greece. In June 2013 the University of West Greece was incorporated in the University of Patras.
The University is a two-city campus, situated both in Patras and Agrinion. The campus in Patras is located 12 km East of the city of Patras, in the suburb Rion, covering a vast area of 2.656 acres. The campus is a self-contained campus located at the foot of Mount Panachaico with a view over the Gulf of Corinth and the mountains of Central Greece across the water.