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Over a century, what began as a small girls’ school in Birzeit town has become the most prestigious Palestinian university, transforming Palestinian higher education through its impact on community awareness, culture and resistance. Birzeit University has been a thorn in the side of the occupation, insisting on playing its role of enlightenment and creating a multicultural Palestinian society on the campus grounds.
In 1924, a primary school for girls was established in the town of Birzeit. Later, the girls school merged with a boys school established in 1932, the two becoming Birzeit High School. In 1942, the institution became Birzeit College.
University-level courses began with the freshman class in 1953, followed by a sophomore class in 1961. In 1966, classes were canceled, and courses were limited to offering a diploma.
In 1972, Birzeit University commenced its Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programs, which necessitated the construction of a new university building, and lay the foundations of the university infrastructure that exists till today.
Birzeit University celebrated the graduation of the first class four years later in 1976, the same year that the university joined the Association of Arab Universities. In 1977, the university was accepted as the first Palestinian university in the International Union of Universities.
At the end of the 1970s and in the 1980s, the university developed its various disciplines, while constructing more buildings for the different faculties and the main library, and offering community service through its community centers and institutes.
Birzeit University entered the third millennium relying confidently on a legacy of academic distinction and its well-designed university campus, and winning several local and international awards.
The university remains a renowned seat of learning in local, Arab and international academic circles, attracting a large number of students and highly qualified academics in embracing the Palestinian people in their quest for freedom and statehood.
In its lifetime, the university experienced a series of serious conflicts with the Israeli occupation forces, leading to its closure numerous times and the arrest of its teachers and students. Even though, the university has continued to play its role.