Abstract: | Both the ethnic history of Transylvania and the history of higher education in the region are traced, particularly the history of Babe y -Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, which dates back to 1541. Today, this institution is a trilingual university offering lines of studies in Romanian, Hungarian, and German, as enshrined in the university charter of 8 July 2000. The trilingual instructional system, which is described in some detail, works well even if Romanians constitute the dominant ethno-linguistic group in Transylvania. The author proposes the model of Babe y Bolyai University as a very suitable way to accommodate ethno-linguistic diversity in a united Europe. |