The University was founded in 1537 as the "Schola Lausannensis", one year after Bern conquered the territory of Vaud from the Duchy of Savoy. At the time it was a school of theology with the purpose of training pastors for the church. It enjoyed great renown for being the first and, until the establishment of the Academy of Geneva in 1559, the only French language Protestant school of theology. In its early years it became a center of humanist learning, with thinkers such as Corderius and Celio Secondo Curione among its professors. In the 17th century it became known as the Academy of Lausanne ("Académie de Lausanne"). As the centuries passed, the number of faculties increased and diversified until, in 1890, the Academy received the name and status of a university.