Brief Information
Academic Information

Undergraduate Studies:


The basic admission requirement is a General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi) or its equivalent (e.g.: SAT or GCE with equivalence requirements as set by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education). Students must also take an English language proficiency exam.

A: Degree Requirements: The requirements for a bachelor's degree are a minimum of 120 credit hours for Arts, Commerce and Economics, 128 for Science, and 160 for Engineering.

  1. University Requirements: All undergraduate students are required to take a total of 20 credit hours in courses which include Arabic, English, Library Science, Physical Education, and Cultural Studies.
  2. Faculty Requirements: These are courses that are required of all students in a faculty, and generally consist of introductory courses in the respective disciplines (between 15-25% of all requirements).
  3. Department Requirements: These are Introductory and advanced courses in a students area of specialization, and other, closely related areas. These amount to 40-65% of total credit hour requirements.
  4. Electives: In addition to the above, students may choose courses outside their areas of specialization.
  5. Community Work Requirement: As part of graduation requirements, all students must complete a minimum of 120 hours of community work.

B: Academic Departments

  1. The Faculty of Arts has the following departments: Arabic Language and Literature; English Language and Literature; History, Geography and Political Science; Sociology; Cultural Studies; Education and Psychology; Languages and Translation; Archaeology; Music; Fine Arts; Physical Education; Media and Journalism.
  2. The Faculty of Science has the following departments: Mathematics; Computer Science; Physics; Chemistry; Biology and Biochemistry.
  3. The Faculty of Commerce and Economics has the following departments: Economics; Accounting; Business Administration.
  4. The following are the departments of the Faculty of Engineering: Civil Engineering; Electric Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Architectural Engineering.

C: Undergraduate Programs
Most academic departments mentioned above offer a Bachelors Degree in either a single major or in a major combined with a minor. However, certain departments do not grant a degree, but offer courses that may be used as electives. The following are the specializations (a Bachelor's Degree) offered in each faculty:

  1. Faculty of Arts: Arabic language and Literature; English Language and Literature; Sociology; Psychology/Education; Psychology/Sociology; History/Archaeology; History/Political Science; Geography/History; Geography/Political Science; Journalism/Political Science; Journalism/Sociology; Radio/Political Science; Radio/Sociology.
  2. Faculty of Science: Pure Mathematics; Applied Mathematics (Economics); Computer Science; Chemistry; Biology; Physics/Mathematics; Physics/Computer Science.
  3. Faculty of Commerce and Economics: Economics; Accounting; Business Administration; Finance.
  4. Faculty of Engineering: Civil Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Architectural Engineering.

Graduate Studies:

The Graduate faculty offers programs leading towards a masters degree and programs leading to a post- graduate diploma. A bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement for admission to enroll in any of the graduate programs.

A: Degree requirements: The requirements for a masters degree are a minimum of 36 credit hours. In various programs, there are options for a thesis or a non-thesis track.

The requirements for a postgraduate diploma are a minimum of 21 credit hours.

B: Graduate Programs

  1. Masters Degree: Contemporary Arabic Studies; International Studies; Economics; Education; Law; Community and Public Health; Sociology; Water Engineering; Gender, Law, and Development.
  2. Postgraduate Diploma: Primary Healthcare (Supervision and Training); Medical Laboratory Technology; Gender, Law, and Development.
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From "Birzeit University Brief Information" published by the Public Relations Office in 1999