The University of Bahrain ( ar, جامعة البحرين , informally Bahrain University, abbreviated as UOB) is the largest
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...
in the
Kingdom of Bahrain with campuses in
Sakhir
Sakhir ( ) is a desert area located in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870.
Camping in Sakhir during the winter months is a popular activity in the country.
Notable sites
In the earl ...
,
Isa Town
Isa Town ( ar, مدينة عيسى, ''Madīnat ʿĪsā'') is a middle class town located in Bahrain, in the north central part of the country.
Etymology
The name ''Isa'' refers to Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, the ruler of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999 ...
and
Manama
Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...
, the university has more than 20,000 registered students and over 2,000 staff members.
The university is a member of the
International Association of Universities
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is a membership-led non-governmental organization working in the field of higher education. It comprises more than 600 higher education institutions and organizations in over 130 countries. IAU ...
and the
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
[
]
History
The University of Bahrain was established in 1986 as a result of Amiri Decree No. 12 /1986. The decree resulted in the merger of two public colleges; the Gulf Polytechnic (previously established in 1968) and the University College of Arts, Science and Education (established in 1979).
Campus
The university has three campuses. Its main campus in Sakhir
Sakhir ( ) is a desert area located in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870.
Camping in Sakhir during the winter months is a popular activity in the country.
Notable sites
In the earl ...
covers an area of 103657m2 and houses all the colleges except the Colleges of Health Science and Engineering. The College of Health Sciences is based in a campus next to the Salmaniya Medical Complex. The College of Engineering is based in a campus alongside the Bahrain Polytechnic
Bahrain Polytechnic is a government-owned tertiary education institute located in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It has been established by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; King of Bahrain by Royal Decree in July 2008. It is considered a key initiative f ...
.[
The university owns a total of 66 buildings, 240 classrooms, 183 labs, and three gymnasiums.][ The university has four libraries, with the Central Library having an estimated 250,000 books in stock. The library also has access to the ]British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
database.
Colleges
The University of Bahrain receives US$110 million as a budget from the Bahraini government. The university itself consists of 10 constituent colleges:[
*S1A - College of Arts
*S1B - College of Business Administration
*S20B & S20C - College of Applied Studies
*S20A - College of Physical Education & Physiotherapy
*S22 - Bahrain Teachers College (BTC)
*S39 - College of Law
*S40 - College of Information Technology
*S41 - College of Science
*College of Engineering (Isa Town)
* College of Health Sciences
]
Other buildings
Aside from colleges; the university includes other buildings around the main Sakhir campus for different purposes:
*S37 - Admission & Registration
*S17 - The Department of English Language and Literature & the Students Council Center
*I14 - Engineering
*I15 - Engineering
*S18 - Exams Hall
*S20 - The English Language Center
*S47 - The IT & Science Library
*Swimming Pool (Physical Education)
*The Bahrain Credit Media Center
*Zain E-Learning Center
*The Confucius Institute for Chinese Language Courses
*The King Sejong Institute for Korean Language Courses
*Student & Teachers' Apartments
*Gulf University Society Center
*Printing Center
Academia
The university offers more than 102 academic programs, including 42 Bachelor programs, 39 Master's degrees, 10 PhDs and 11 associate diplomas. Credit hour
Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), ...
s vary between courses and degree level (126-135 credit hours for bachelor's degrees, for example).
The university admits 15,000 students per annum, 80% of whom start in September.[
The university's admission criteria generally require a high school score of 70%, in addition to other criteria imposed by some colleges.
]
Research
Since 1986, more than 5,000 research papers and books were published by academics in the university, 80% of which was produced by the Colleges of Science and Engineering respectively. The university allocates US$11 million annually towards research and supports 38 full-time research personnel. More than 500 Masters thesis was published since the university's inception.[
]
Reputation
The university consistently ranks as the first nationally, 23rd amongst Arab universities and 801-1000 internationally according to QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
as of 2020.[
]
Student life
The university has 30,317 registered students at the start of the 2014/15 academic year, more than 65% of whom are female. 10.5% of the student population are international students. There were an estimated 700 events and activities in the 2012–13 academic year.[
The university has a ]student council
A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...
elected annually, with each constituent college electing a representative.
Notable alumni
*Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa
Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa ( ar, سلمان بن ابراهيم آل خليفة; born 2 November 1965) is a member of the House of Khalifa, the royal family of Bahrain. He has been president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) sin ...
, President of the Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
*Mohamed Ali Hasan Ali
Mohamed Ali Hasan Ali ( ar, محمد علي حسن علي) is a Bahraini politician who is currently a Member of the Consultative Council.
He was educated at the University of Bahrain (BSc Chemistry and Physics, 1983) and the University of Eas ...
, Member of the Consultative Council
See also
* List of universities in Bahrain
This is a list of universities in Bahrain.
Public universities and higher education institutions
There are four public universities in Bahrain.
Private universities and higher education institutions
* Applied Science University
* Arab Ope ...
* Education in Bahrain
Bahrain has the oldest public education system in the Arabian Peninsula. The system was established in 1932 when the Cabinet of Bahrain, Bahraini government assumed responsibility for operating two pre-existing primary public schools for boys. Sub ...
References
;Bibliography
*
*
External links
University of Bahrain
University of Bahrain
UOB-BH Students' e-Community
UoB's Web Ranking
{{DEFAULTSORT:University of Bahrain
Educational institutions established in 1986
1986 establishments in Bahrain