About Bahir Dar University

Bahir Dar University was established by merging two former higher education institutions; namely the Bahir Dar Polytechnic and Bahir Dar Teachers’ College. The Bahir Dar Polytechnic Institute, which has transformed itself into Technology and Textile institutes, was established in 1963 under the technical cooperation between the Government of USSR and the Imperial Government of Ethiopia.  The institute was a premier institute in producing technicians for the nation. The Bahir Dar Teachers’ College, by then known as the Academy of Pedagogy, was established in 1972 by the tripartite agreement of the Imperial Government of Ethiopia, UNESCO and UNDP and started actual work in the following year under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Fine Arts. Its general objective was to train multipurpose primary education professionals capable of adopting primary education to rural life and rural development. Its specific objectives were to train primary school teacher trainers, supervisors, educational leaders, adult education organizers and community development agents.

The two institutions of higher learning were integrated to form the Bahir Dar University following the Council of Ministers regulation no. 60/1999 GC. The University was inaugurated on May 6, 2000.  Bahir Dar University is now among the largest universities in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, with more than 45,000 students in its 65 undergraduate and 67 graduate programs. 

BDU is the leading university in the country in terms of student enrollment followed by Addis Ababa and Jimma universities. Likewise, the budget for the construction of new campuses skyrocketed to 1.3 billion Birr in 2010/11. Even though BDU is just 13 years old, it currently runs 65 undergraduate and 67 postgraduate programs, a commendable and prideful achievement by any standard! In addition, the University has 1,420 academic and 3,154 administrative staff members. In terms of research, BDU is making big strides towards backing one of the leading research universities in Africa in 2025. So far, it has established 11 research centers.

 At present there are two academies, one school, three institutes, three faculties and four colleges. These are:

• Maritime Academy
• Sports Academy
• School of Law
• Institute of Land Administration
• Institute of Technology (IoT)
• Institute of Technology for Textile, Garment and Fashion Design (IoTex)
• Faculty of Humanities,
• Faculty of Education and Behavioral Science
• Faculty of Social Science
• College of Agriculture and Environmental Science 
• College of Business and Economics
• College of Medical and Health Science
• College of Science

Bahir Dar University
Bahir Dar, ETHIOPIA

Bahir Dar University
Bahir Dar, ETHIOPIA

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