University History
‘Mother University’ is the nickname locally given to Salahaddin University-Erbil for being the oldest and most comprehensive public university in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The name sums up the status of the University for being the main supplier for graduates, scholars and academic staff in the Region.
The institution which has now become Salahaddin University-Erbil was first founded in 1968 in Sulaimani, and later in 1981 moved to Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, and the name was changed to Salahaddin University-Erbil.
Now located near the ancient citadel of Erbil—one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, estimated to be 7000 years old, SUE is the educational home to more than 25200 undergraduates and 676 graduate students. It offers more than 85 undergraduate majors and award degrees at the certificate, bachelor, master and doctoral levels.
The programs include Engineering, Science, Law & Politics, Agriculture, Business & Administration, Physical Education, Arts and Sociology, Fine Arts, Languages, Religion, and Teaching Methods.
In the academic year of 2019-2020, the Bologna process was applied to the academic programs of first-year students. The academic year at SUE starts in September and ends in July and the credit system at Salahaddin University-Erbil is a unit-based system.
Salahaddin University-Erbil has more than 2074 academic staff and 3500 employees in administration and professional staff. The instructional, research and service missions of the University reflect the needs of the respective geographic areas.
The University also serves statewide, national, and international needs by offering consultancy, educational and research activities in communities throughout the country and through research and training exchanges and worldwide partnership programs. In this way, Salahaddin University-Erbil has enriched the cultural, political, and industrial sectors of Kurdistan for four decades, playing a major role in the advancement of Kurdish society. SUE usually ranks among the top universities in the national rankings.
For more than 45 years, SUE has been home to talented scholars, artists, writers and others who have been drawn from all over the world to teach, perform, create, and study.
Among the many distinguished figures graduated from SUE are Nawzad Hadi (Former Governor of Erbil), Dr Yousif Mohammed (Former Speaker of Kurdistan Parliament), Dr Pishtiwan Sadiq (Former Minister of Education), Nuri Al Maliki, (Former Prime Minister of Iraq), Dr Izzadin Mustafa Rasool (Writer), Dr Aziz Gardi (Writer and Translator), Dr.Idris Hadi Salih (Former Minister of Higher Education), and Dilshad Shahab (Minister of Municipalities).
SUE has achieved recognition in the Middle East in a wide range of areas –in Engineering, Sciences, Liberal and Fine Arts, Agriculture, Business, Law, Education, Social Work, and Public Service. Our talented faculty and staff are committed to excellence in teaching, research and academic support.