University of Bahrain 6.35

The University of Bahrain is the largest public university in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is the only national university in the country. With campuses in Sakhir, Isa Town and Manama, the university has more than 20,000 registered students and over 2000 staff members.The university is a member of the International Association of Universities and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.HistoryThe University of Bahrain was established in 1986 as a result of Amiri Decree No. 12 /1986. The decree resulted in the merger of two public colleges; the Gulf Polytechnic (previously established in 1968) and the University College of Arts, Science and Education (established in 1979).CampusThe university has three campuses. Its main campus in Sakhir covers an area of 103657m2 and houses all the colleges except the Colleges of Health Science and Engineering. The College of Health Sciences is based in a 10000m2 campus next to the Salmaniya Medical Complex. The College of Engineering is based in a 10000m2 campus alongside the Bahrain Polytechnic.The university owns a total of 66 buildings, 240 classrooms, 183 labs and three gymnasiums. The university has four libraries, with the central library having an estimated 250,000 books in stock. The library also has access to the British Library database.