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University History - Chronological
Year Event
1924 Birzeit established as a school by Nabiha Nasir (1891-1951)
1953 Birzeit offers first-year university-level courses in Arts and Science
1961 Birzeit College offers second-year university level courses in Arts and Science
1962 Birzeit grants associate degrees upon completion of the two-year courses, enabling students to transfer to other universities in the Arab world and elsewhere to complete their Bachelors degree.
1961-1967 Birzeit gradually eliminates its elementary, preparatory and high school program and by 1967 limits its scope to first and second year college level programs.
1972 Birzeit College launches a four-year program leading to Bachelors' degrees in Arts and Sciences.
1973 An autonomous Board of Trustees is formed to assume full responsibility for the Institution
1973 Israel closed the campus by military order for two weeks. This was the first of many repressive measures against the University community.
1975 Birzeit College becomes Birzeit University
1976 Birzeit University is admitted into the Association of Arab Universities
1976 Birzeit University holds its first graduation ceremony on the 11th of July
1977 Birzeit University is accepted as a member of the International Association of Universities
1977 The first graduate programs are developed at Birzeit University
1978 Faculty of Commerce and Economics is established
1979 The Faculty of Engineering is established
1988 The University is closed for the 15th and what would prove to be the last time on January 8th. The closure lasts for 51 months till April 29th 1992. During this prolonged period of closure, the University continued to operate underground with small study groups in make-shift arrangements outside the campus. Under such conditions, many students needed as long as 10 years to complete their four-year degree courses.
1995 Faculty of Graduate Studies is formally established


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