Ben Gurion University

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב
Former name	University of the Negev
Type	Public
Established	1969
President	Prof. Rivka Carmi
Rector	Prof. Zvi HaCohen
Academic staff	2,600
Administrative staff	1,155
Students	19,747
Undergraduates	13,047
Postgraduates	6,700
Doctoral students	1,259
Location	Beersheba, Israel
Colors	Orange, Black, and White
Affiliations	UNIMED
Website	in.bgu.ac.il/en

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), (Hebrew: אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב‎‎, Universitat Ben-Guriyyon ba-Negev, Arabic: جامعة بن غوريون‎‎) is a public research university in Beer-Sheva, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the Marcus Family Campus, Beer-Sheva; the David Bergmann Campus, Beer-Sheva; the David Tuviyahu Campus, Beer-Sheva; the Sede Boqer Campus and Eilat Campus.

Ben-Gurion University was established in 1969 as the University of the Negev with the aim of promoting the development of the Negev desert that comprises more than sixty percent of Israel. The University was later renamed after Israel's founder and first prime minister David Ben-Gurion, who believed that the future of the country lay in this region. After Ben-Gurion's death in 1973, the University was renamed Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Today, Ben-Gurion University is a center for teaching and research with about 20,000 students. Some of its research institutes include the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, the Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research with the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, and the Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism.

Ben-Gurion University has five faculties with 51 academic departments and units: Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management.

Ben-Gurion University has six schools: The Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies, the Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School, the Leon and Mathilde Recanati School for Community Health Professions, the School of Pharmacy, the School for Medical Laboratory Sciences and the School of Continuing Medical Education.