The University of Khartoum (U of K) (Arabic: جامعة الخرطوم) is a public university located in Khartoum, Sudan. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independence. Since that date, the University of Khartoum has been recognized as a top university and a high-ranked academic institution in Sudan[2] and Africa.[3]
It features several institutes, academic units and research centers including Mycetoma Research Center, Soba University Hospital, Saad Abualila Hospital, Dr. Salma Dialysis centre, Institute of Endemic Diseases, Institute for Studies and Promotion of Animal Exports, Institute of African and Asian Studies, Institute of Prof. Abdalla ElTayeb for Arabic Language, Development Studies and Research Institute, The Materials and Nanotechnology Research Center and U of K publishing house. The Sudan Library, a section of the university's library, serves as the national library of Sudan. It is also characterized by freedom of expression, and a number of revolutions have ignited from it to bring down unjust governments.
History
Gordon Memorial College under construction in 1901
In 1898 after Britain gained dominance in Sudan as part of a condominium arrangement, Lord Kitchener proposed founding a college in the memory of Gordon of Khartoum, who was killed in the Siege of Khartoum. The request for donations of £100,000 to build the college was achieved in six weeks and the Gordon Memorial College was founded in 1902 with initially three schools - an industrial school and two higher primary schools and a small teachers training centre.[4]
Gordon College 1936
By 1906, the college was also offering programs for training assistant engineers, land surveyors and primary school teachers. The first equipped laboratory for bacteriological analysis was added in 1905, with donations from Sir Henry Wellcome, an American-British pharmaceutical entrepreneur and archaeologist. There was also an affiliated Military school.[citation needed]
In 1924, it was decided to make the college a wholly secondary institution with the college incorporating programs in Sharia, engineering and surveying, education (teachers training), clerical work, accounting and science. Primary and military schools were removed. The Kitchener School of Medicine, the first medical school in Sudan, was also established that year.[citation needed]
Main building of Khartoum University. A palm lane leading up to the pointed arched entrance of a symmetrical building with galleries on two floors, 1961.
Dates for the establishment of further schools were; 1936 School of Law, 1938 School of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, 1939 Science and Engineering and 1940 Arts.[4] In 1947, the college was affiliated with The University of London as the first overseas participant in its "special relationship" scheme. The first graduates to receive University of London degrees completed their programs in 1950. The next year, Gordon Memorial College was formally renamed University College Khartoum, which incorporated the Kitchener School of Medicine.[citation needed]
Khalida Zahir, graduated as the first Sudanese female doctor in 1952[5]
When Sudan gained independence in 1956, the new Parliament passed a bill to award university status to Khartoum University College. It officially became Khartoum University on 24 July 1956. The eminent horticultural scientist John Pilkington Hudson was a visiting professor in 1961–1963, who founded its department of horticulture.[6]
On 5 April 1984, the Government announced the closure of all faculties of the university. The university was reopened fully on August 1.[7]
The university was closed several times after the 1989 military coup d'état for the intensive participation of its students in pro-democracy rallies.[citation needed]
In the early days of the Sudanese civil war (2023-present) in April 2023, at least one student was killed and some injured by gunfire and the University was shut down for days while eagerly seeking support to evacuate dozens of people stranded and sheltering on campus.[8] The same student was buried on campus later.[9] The campus later fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In September 2024, the Sudanese Armed Forces launched a major offensive in Khartoum and claimed to have retaken the university.[10]
Student body
The university has 16,800 undergraduate students in 23 faculties, schools and graduate research institutes. The annual admission rate is 3,500 students, 55% of whom are female. There are 6,000 graduate students (graduate diploma, M.Sc. and Ph.D.). It has 850 teaching staff (faculty), 20 research fellows and 500 teaching assistants.[citation needed]
Campuses
Palm avenue and British colonial era Faculty of Science building
There are four campuses:
The Central Campus in Central Khartoum.
The Medical Campus located in the North of Central Khartoum.
The management studies campus in central Khartoum.
Admission
Undergraduate admission policy is governed by the Board of Higher Education of Sudan, which sets the minimum admission requirement for high school students based on their national origin (Sudanese vs. non-Sudanese) and the high-school certificate board.
For post-graduate studies, the requirements are on the university admission webpage.[12]
Students of University of Khartoum engage in workshops, lectures, debates, forum activism, book clubs and political parties. Sporting activities include university sports championship tournaments and Sudan colleges championship tournaments.
Historical Background of Faculty of Geographical and Environmental Sciences
it was the Department of Geography established in 1945 as a unit in the School of Arts, University College of Khartoum which became the University of Khartoum in 1956, and the Unit became a department thereof. Administratively, it was a department in the Faculty of Arts, but its academic and research activities transcend the faculty's boundaries to various faculties and institutes within the university like the faculties of Economics, Engineering, Architecture, Science, Agriculture, Forestry, Education, Medicine, and institutes of Environmental Studies, Afro-Asian Studies, Urban Studies and Development Studies and Research. The department occupies a two-storey building. The northern wing comprises sixteen staff offices and the GIS laboratory while the lecture halls the library and the cartography laboratory are located in the southern wing. The Faculty has been established under the University Council resolution No.129 on 12/12/2010 as an upgrading of the old Geography Department, Faculty of Arts, which was established in 1945, and is located in the university main campus in a two buildings complex. The Faculty was established with a scientific vision to cope with the tremendous scientific advances and changes induced by the information revolution and globalization.
Faculty of Geographical and Environmental Sciences includes the following departments: (Geographical Information Systems and Cartography - Environment and Ecology - Human and Population Studies - Planning and Development)
Faculty of Public and Environmental Health, University of Khartoum includes the following departments: (Food Hygiene and Safety - Health Education - Epidemiology - Environmental Health and Environmental Studies). The college awards a bachelor's degree in Public and Environmental Health in four years. The Bachelor of Science in Public and Environmental Health Honors in five years. Master's degree in Public and Environmental Health in one of six specialties (Public Health -Food Hygiene and Safety - Health Education - Epidemiology - Environmental Health- Medical Entomology)
Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science
The Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences was founded in 1966 under the name "School of Medical Laboratory Technicians" as a joint venture between the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum and the Ministry of Health.
Its development was continued until in 1993 an ordinance was passed for the establishment of the College of Medical Laboratory Sciences an independent institution affiliated to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. In 1997, it was merged with the University of Khartoum as the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences (FMLS).
The Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences offers preparation for careers in medical (clinical) laboratory sciences. A career in medical laboratory sciences is a great way to combine an aptitude for science with the desire to help others. Medical Laboratory Scientists, also known as clinical laboratory scientists, are highly skilled professionals who perform analytical tests on blood, tissue, and body fluids to provide laboratory information for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of human diseases. There also is a growing trend for medical lab scientists to perform wellness laboratory testing aimed at preventing disease.
Degrees Awarded:
General B.Sc.: 4 years
Honor B.Sc.: 5 years
M.S.c: By courses
M.Sc.: By research
PhD: By research
Departments of the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences:
Department of Microbiology
It is one of the biggest departments in FMLS, it includes the following disciplines: Medical Bacteriology, Medical Virology, Medical Mycology, Immunology.
Departments of Haematology and Immunohematology
Deals with all aspects related to blood, its components and related diseases such as anaemia, cancer, and also blood transfusion.
Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology
Teaches the knowledge of pathogenic parasites such as malaria, worms such as Schistosomes and insect vectors of diseases.
Department of Chemical Pathology
Deals with everything related to body chemistry including but not limited to chemical shifts in the body due to diseases, hormonal balance, enzymes, trace elements and toxicology.
Department of Histopathology and Cytology
Focuses on identifying the composition of cells and tissues of the body and the change in their composition due to chronic cases. Division of the Department: Cytopathology, Histotechniques, Immunohistochemistry, Cytogenetics, Molecular Pathology, Cellular pathology
Faculty of Dentistry
Faculty of Dentistry was established in 1971 as a school that belong to the Faculty of Medicine. It was the first in Sudan to provide dental training. In 1992 it upgraded to a separate faculty. The school now has approximately 60 outstanding faculty and staff and 600 students enrolled in BDS degree programs, 90 postgraduate and 90 dental technology.
Academic programs
B.D.S. (five years)
Intermediate Diploma in dental technology (three years)
M.Sc. in wide variety of specialties (two years)
Ph.D. in wide variety of specialties (three years)
DDS - RD (four years)
DDS - Dental Specialty (four years)
Facilities
Dental Clinics
Phantom Head Lab
Dental Laboratory
Museum
Histopathology Lab
Dental Radiology Unit
Library and e-library
Center for MFDRCSI Examinations
By the end of 2011, Faculty of Dentistry became the only center in Africa for examinations of the Diploma of Member of Faculty of Dentistry, Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland (NNJ). Part 1 exam is held twice a year and Part 2 is once a year. In all the previous exams, faculty graduate achieved outstanding grades.
Association of Dental Students- University of Khartoum (ADSUK)
Faculty of Dentistry Student have an association through which they can realize a lot of their activities. It is a member in the International Association of Dental Students (IADS). ADSUK organized one of the most successful IADS' conferences in Khartoum in 2006. One of the most programs arranged by ADSUK are the Health Field Trip where students as well as staff member travel to rural areas and stay there to give distant citizens dental services and to educate them.
Research centers
University of Khartoum plays a leading role in scientific research and development through a number of specialized research centers and institutes:
University of Khartoum Library, known as the "Main Library," is one of the biggest and oldest libraries in universities in Sudan and Africa. The library building represents the historical and iconic heritage of the University of Khartoum. In addition to the Main Library, there are small libraries in each faculty and institute as well as Altegany Almahi library for postgraduate students and Sudan Library.
ICT
University of Khartoum has an Information Technology and Communication Center which is responsible for developing and managing of the ICT infrastructure of the university. All university campuses are connected by dedicated high-speed links (fiber optics); WiFi covers most of the campuses and electronic registration on the university website. In addition to the ICT centre, the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences has its own Information Technology research unit which is active in developing and promoting Open Source software in Sudan.
Michael Grant, prolific British classicist, was vice-chancellor from 1956 to 1958.
Wendy James, British anthropologist who was a lecturer in social anthropology from 1964 to 1969; she was later a professor at the University of Oxford.
Sir Marriott Fawckner Nicholls, the British prominent genitourinary surgeon, was professor of surgery from 1964 until his death in 1969.
Since the independence of Sudan, highly qualified Sudanese were appointed to the position of University of Khartoum vice chancellor. The first one was Dr. Nasr El Hag Ali, the tenth was Professor Muddathir Tingari, and the most notable one is Prof. Elnazeer Dafalla.[citation needed]
^"Daniel Pedoe". School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews. July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
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