Damascus University

Damascus University

جامعة دمشق
Damascus University emblem
Former names	Syrian University (1923-1958)
Motto	"وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا"
Motto in English	And say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge (Quran, ).
Type	Public
Established	1923 (Medical School in 1903)
President	Mohammad Hassan Al Kurdi
Administrative staff	2,653
Students	210,929
Undergraduates	197,493
Postgraduates	13,436
Doctoral students	1,211
Location	Damascus, Syria
Campus	Urban
Colours	Raspberry
Website	damascusuniversity.edu.sy

The University of Damascus (Arabic: جامعة دمشق‎‎, Jāmi‘atu Dimashq) is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine (established 1903) and the Institute of Law (established 1913). Until 1958 it was named the Syrian University, but the name changed after the founding of the University of Aleppo. There are nine public universities and more than ten private ones in Syria. Damascus University and the entire education system in Syria was degraded dramatically during former President Hafez al-Assad and then Bashar al-Assad reign. It used to be a leading university in the Arab World, but currently its world ranking is 4152 and its Arab World ranking is 114, according to the "Webometrics Ranking of World Universities".

The University of Damascus consists of several faculties, higher Institutes, intermediate institutes and a school of nursing. One of the institutions specializes in teaching the Arabic language to foreigners, which is the largest institution of its kind in the Arab world.

The history of any university is inseparable from the history of its country, for the events and chronicles of the latter play a large role in the history of the former. Thus Syrian’s modern history left its mark on the journey of Damascus University.

In 1901, the establishment of the Office of the School of Medicine in Damascus was approved and in 1903 this school, which is the nucleus of the University, opened. The school included branches in medicine and pharmacy, and the language of instruction was Turkish.

In 1913, a Law School opened in Beirut, in which most of the teachers were Arabs and the language of instruction was Arabic. Then this school was transferred to Damascus in 1914 just as the School of Medicine moved to Beirut. Then in the last years of the First World War the Law School returned to Beirut.

Following that the Institute of Medicine and the School of Law opened in Damascus, the former at the beginning of January in 1919 and the latter in September of the same year.

In 1923, the School of Law was named the Institute of Law and this institute was linked together with the Institute of Medicine, the Arab Society, and the Center of Arabic Heritage in organization under the name of the Syrian University. Then the Arab Society and the Center of Arabic Heritage separated from the organization in 1926.