Cheikh Anta Diop University
| Université Cheikh Anta Diop | |
 |
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| Latin: Universitas Dakarensis | |
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Former names
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University of Dakar (until 30 March 1987) |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Lux Mea Lex" |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 24 February 1957 |
| Endowment | Yearly state budget: 2006: $US32 million |
| Rector | Professor Ibrahima Thioub |
| Students | 60,000 |
| Location | Dakar, Dakar Region, Senegal |
| Campus | UCAD, BP 5005 Dakar |
| Free | Free to Senegalese citizens with International Baccalaureate degree |
| Website | www |
Cheikh Anta Diop University (French: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60,000.
Cheikh Anta Diop University predates Senegalese independence and grew out of several French institutions set up by the colonial administration. In 1918, the French created the "école africaine de médecine" (African medical school), mostly to serve white and Métis students but also open to the small educated elite of the four free towns of Senegal with nominal French citizenship. In 1936, under the Popular Front government in France, Dakar became home to the Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (IFAN), an institute for the study of African culture.
In 1950s, with decolonisation already looming, the French administration expanded these schools, added science faculties, and combined the schools into the "Institut des Hautes Etudes de Dakar". In 1957, a new campus was constructed as the 18th French Public University, attached to the University of Paris and the University of Bordeaux. This became the University of Dakar the largest and most prestigious university in French West Africa. In 1987, its name was changed to honor the Senegalese philosopher and anthropologist, Cheikh Anta Diop.
At independence in 1960, enrollment was 1,018 students, only 39% Senegalese, with most of the rest from other former French colonies. By 1976, this number grew to 8,014.
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