The University of Khartoum was distinguished in terms of its origin in a glorious history that is rooted in the depths of this century during which it was born and still fluctuates. The first years, but the basic structure of the current University of Khartoum is Gordon Memorial College, the College was established on 8/11/1902 and in 1924 the School of Medicine was established, but in 1926 the law school was established and then added to it Schools of agriculture and veterinary medicine in 1938.
This institution was developed and the School of Science and Engineering joined in 1939 and the school of arts in 1940. These schools were collected in the name of the Faculty of Khartoum University in 1945, except for the School of Medicine, which was attached to the previous schools in 1951.
And the expansion of the university was joined by the Higher Teachers Institute to become the current College of Education in 1964. The Faculty of Public Health and Environmental Health joined the University of Khartoum in 1991 and the School of Higher Nursing in 1994 and the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences in 1996. Recently, a number of institutes and research centers have been established, such as Centre for Peace Studies, Centre for Health Economics, Professor Abdullah Al-Tayeb Institute for Arabic Language, Federal Governance Studies Institute, Public Administration Institute, Urban Studies Institute, Centre for Diplomatic Studies at the Centre Campus, Institute of Endemic Diseases, Centre for Desertification and Desert Cultivation Studies and Centre for the Promotion of Animal Export Studies at Shambat Campus.
The University College had a special relationship with the University of London, where the University of London awarded degrees to graduates of this college and contributed to the development of curricula and examinations. This was the case until the college was independent from the University of London by the independence of the Sudan in 1956, and then laid down the rules and the legislative systems at the time to convert this university college to become the current University of Khartoum. The first director of the University of Khartoum is Mr. Nasr Al-Haj Ali Rahmatullah, who assumed the post of director in July of 1958.
The teaching language of the university was English, but since the early seventies several ministerial committees have been formed with the aim of carrying out scientific reform. The focus of this reform and its main issue was the Arabization of curricula and the effort in this regard is still connected to the success of the endeavors and the Arabization of the curricula in all faculties of the university at the level of the first year of the academic year 1990-1991.
The first batch of those who studied in Arabic at the university graduated in 1993-1994 at the undergraduate level. At the postgraduate level, the university regulations permit writing in Arabic, English or any other language. The movement of Arabization of the university intended to rehabilitate this ancient institution and achieve its Arab and Islamic identity. The university contributed significantly to the implementation of the higher education revolution by increasing the absorptive capacity of qualified students to study in universities and higher institutes. For example, the number of students admitted to the university increased from two thousand and seventy students in 1990 to five thousand students in 2002. The university’s efforts did not stop at this point. Its various faculties absorbed an appropriate number of Sudanese students who were studying in foreign universities and then returned home in the academic year 1991/1992. The university has expanded in the field of graduate studies in order to provide internal rehabilitation opportunities to meet the needs of the country’s qualified cadres who lead the economic and social development movement. The university has also been interested in scientific research and publishing. The University is proud to have developed new methods of teaching that will enhance its performance and raise its scientific level. The university has 19 colleges and seventeen institutes, a research and training center, a printing and publishing house, and Soba University Hospital and Museum of Natural History. It has a medical and health services center that provides health care for university staff and their families.
There are four compounds that made up the University of Khartoum. The largest of these campuses is Al-Wasat Campus which is located near Khartoum city centre. The campus includes the University Administration, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Economic and Social Studies, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Science, the College of Engineering and Architecture, the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, the School of Administrative Sciences and the College of Technical and Development Studies and the Graduate College. The campus also includes the Institute of Environmental Studies, the Computer Center, the Peace Research Center, and the Center for Health Economics, the Institute of Professor Abdullah Al-Tayeb for Arabic, the Institute for Governance Studies University Institute of Urban Studies, the Diplomatic Studies Centre, Natural History Museum and Khartoum University Publishing House. The second compound is the Medical Sciences Campus with the Faculty of Medicine and Higher Nursing Sciences, the Faculty of Dentistry, the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Public Health and Environmental Health, the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences and the Institute of Endemic Diseases. It is located in the western part of Khartoum City near the old Khartoum Hospital. The Shambat campus includes Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Production, Faculty of Forestry, Farm, Camel Research Center, Center for Desertification and Desert Cultivation, and Institute for Promoting Animal Exports.
The fourth compound at Omdurman is made up of the Faculty of Education and the Center for the Promotion of the performance of faculty members. The University of Khartoum is the oldest educational institution in Sudan. The University of Khartoum has made an outstanding contribution to the revolution of higher education and has extended their professors, technicians and administrators to enable these new universities to establish their bases. The University of Khartoum is a member of the World Federation of Universities and is a founding member of the Union of Arab Universities and the African Union of Universities. The university’s scientific excellence was a strong reason for gaining respect and recognition on a large scale. For this reason, the university has endeavored to strengthen scientific and cultural ties with other universities inside and outside the country in order to exchange information and experiences. A number of cultural agreements and twinning programs have been signed with various universities the world universities and Arab universities in particular. The University has had a prominent role in political and social life throughout the reigns of government that followed in Sudan.
The University has a four-word slogan: God (Allah), Truth, Nation and Humanity which was written in an open book the symbol of open knowledge and it occupies the upper part of the logo where two parallel lines divide the page of the book vertically. The right line is blue and the left is white, these represent the River Nile. The diagonal two lines represent the Blue Nile and the White Nile to the right side and the left side respectively. Between the two Niles is a picture of the university building emitting white lines (the light of the knowledge) that extends inside a black background (darkness of ignorance). The rectangular painting in the left part of the logo represents the Meroetic culture, the symbol of our ancient civilization. The University is the effective tool to reach the truth that deepens faith in Almighty God (Allah) by revealing the secrets of his creatures, harnessing the knowledge of truth, building the homeland, and contribute to the growth of man and the progress of man and humanity.