[4] The nine members of the committee were respected and prominent citizens whose work had helped the evolution of science and society.

The memorandum of the Stockholm University College was adopted in May 1877, and in the autumn semester of the following year, actual operations began.

Notable in the university's early history is the appointment of Sofia Kovalevskaya to hold a chair in the mathematics department in 1889, making her the third female professor in Europe.

Since 1970 most of the university operations are located at the main campus at Frescati north of the city center, the former Experimentalfältet, previously used by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

The university has the right, within the limits the government provides, to decide on many issues such as their internal organization, educational provision and the admission of students.

Research and training also takes place at a number of centers and institutes with a separate governing board, but that organisationally belong to a department.

[12] The university's researchers engage in governmental investigations, are active in the media, provide responses to proposed legislation and are included in several Nobel committees and international expert bodies.

The field station was built in 1961 by Professor Lars Silén, Head of the Department of Zoology, and is now established as a renowned marine research center.

The station is located 1135 meters above sea level in Tarfaladalen, on the east side of Kebnekaise in arctic / alpine surroundings and conducts glaciological, hydrological, meteorological and climatological research.

The main part of Stockholm University is in the Frescati area, which extends from the Bergius Botanical Garden in the north to Sveaplan in the south.

It is located in the world's first national urban park and the area is characterized by nature, architecture and modern art, featuring such notable buildings as the Aula Magna (auditorium).

The commuter train line Roslagsbanan also stop close to the main campus, at Universitetet railway station.