The Scholar Ship has partnered with a select number of leading, world-class universities to collaborate on the quality oversight and accreditation of all academic offerings and standards through its Consortium of Academic Stewards. The role of the Consortium is also to establish effective structures and mechanisms to monitor and promote standards of performance in teaching, learning, administration, and student support. Academic programs offered by The Scholar Ship meet the same quality standards as those on the campuses of the Consortium’s member institutions.
On behalf of the Consortium, Macquarie University has been designated to award academic credit and issue academic transcripts to students who successfully complete The Scholar Ship program. Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, has a long and successful history of hosting students from around the world. Coursework delivered by Macquarie University is recognized by universities throughout the world, thus facilitating the transfer of credits to students’ home universities.
Charter Members
Al Akhawayn University, Morocco
Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Fudan University, China
Macquarie University, Australia
Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
University of California, Berkeley, USA
University of Ghana, Ghana
Al Akhawayn University, Morocco
www.aui.ma
Founded in 1993 by Royal Dahir (charter), Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) opened its doors to students in January 1995 on a completely modern and networked campus. The University is coeducational, residential and primarily undergraduate but has rapidly growing graduate programs. The outlook is international and tolerance is promoted and expected of students, staff, and faculty belonging to over 25 nationalities who live and work together.
With just over 1000 students enrolled, the majority are full time and live on campus. The opening of a new residence on campus in early 2006 will allow the student body to expand to 1200. The student population has been in all 10 years balanced approximately at 50% female and 50% male. There is an increasingly international character to the student body with over 160 students of 28 nationalities on campus in study abroad and exchange programs in regular semester, or attending the intensive Arabic and North African Studies summer program.
Al Akhawayn University offers seven undergraduate degrees from among the three schools: Science and Engineering, Business Administration, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Six graduate degrees are offered in addition to executive education and special programs for continuing education. All courses are delivered in English.
Academic life is rigorous but highly personalized: the student faculty ratio is 11 students for each full time faculty member. All faculty members have offices and maintain a minimum of 9 office hours per week for easy access by students. Because the average class size is 17, students have ample opportunity to question, respond, and interact with the professor and classmates.
The English resources of the Al Akhawayn University library are among the best in Morocco and the region. The number of titles in print is 70,000 and growing. The subscription to electronic collections has grown rapidly such that there are over 1 million full-text articles in over 4500 journals. His Majesty, Mohamed VI, honoured the library by lending it his name, an unprecedented distinction in the Moroccan academy.
The faculty is composed of 95 highly qualified professionals, most with PhDs or doctorates, of whom 83 are full-time and 12 are part-time. Highly international, 50% of faculty members are Moroccan and 50% of faculty members are international representing over 15 nationalities.
AUI students are encouraged to spend a semester or two as an exchange student at one of over 30 highly respected partner universities and colleges in various countries such as Austria, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, and the USA. In 10 years AUI has established over 50 formal academic agreements with institutions in 13 countries primarily in the USA and Europe, due largely to the personal links of faculty. In the last 2 years, more links have been established in the Mediterranean region and several links among other Universities in North Africa and the Middle East are in development. AUI recently finalised an agreement with the Lebanese International University for the exchange of students and faculty. In a Health Care Quality Management training program funded by the European Union, AUI is currently working with Alexandria University and October 6th University of Egypt, Yarmouk University in Jordan, as well as Swedish and Greek institutions. AUI enjoys a solid relationship with the South African Institute of International Studies and recently began talks with the leading universities of Nigeria following the visit of the Nigerian Ambassador in Morocco.
Each semester there is an average of 30 exchange and study abroad students at AUI while the special programs of summer attract nearly 100 foreign students from the USA and around the world. Increasingly, there are a number of European and North American students who come to AUI because their cultural heritage originates from the Middle East and North Africa. These students seek to learn or improve their level of Arabic as well as learning more about the region and culture.
The increasingly internationalised character of the student body has not yet matched the highly diverse faculty but has led to wide participation in inter-religious dialogue both in formal and informal settings. A central concern in the founding vision of His Late Majesty Hassan II was the importance of AUI as an intellectual and spiritual space where the 3 religions of the book (Islam, Judaism and Christianity) could co-exist in harmony and affirm common heritage and values. Tolerance has enjoyed a long tradition in Morocco and continues to be promoted in the University Common Core curriculum and through the numerous activities on campus. Every year, time is devoted to various countries and cultures on campus including America Day, Amazigh and Native American Week, Egypt Day, German Week, Japan Day, Korea Day, Palestine Day, and Thailand Day.
To support cultural and academic endeavours, technology and computing support at AUI are a priority. AUI now has the fastest connection among all institutions of higher education in Morocco and North Africa and has recently installed video-teleconferencing facility. The fully wired campus has just over 2000 connections: in every classroom, student room and apartment.
All admission decisions are need-blind. Financial aid in 2004-2005, both merit-based and some need based, amounted to nearly six million Moroccan Dirhams (US$1=MDH8.8). Approximately a third of students receive financial assistance in the form of scholarships, part-time jobs and special interest rates for bank loans.
The 50 hectare campus is located in the oak forest on the north side of the resort town of Ifrane. There are 16 residence buildings for students each room with its own bathroom. There is a gymnasium and an indoor Olympic size swimming pool next to the soccer field and track across from the 3 regulation tennis courts. All classroom buildings are located next to each other.
The town of Ifrane, nestled in the Middle Atlas Mountains at 1600 meters (5000 feet), has a regular population of 12,000 that expands to nearly 100,000 on weekends, holidays and in summer because of its beauty in all 4 seasons. The Province of Ifrane is home the largest cedar forest in North Africa and is the most biologically diverse area in Morocco. Two ski slopes are about 25 minutes from campus. The imperial cities of Meknes and Fez are an hour (65 kilometres) from Ifrane. The capital city of Rabat on the Atlantic coast is 2 hours from Ifrane; the Sahara desert is just 4 hours away.
There are numerous activities each week and over 40 student clubs to appeal to nearly any interest. There are official men's and women's teams representing AUI in national university leagues in volleyball, soccer, basketball and tennis. The quality of the sport facilities and altitude have attracted the national swim teams of Egypt, Algeria, and Syria to train at AUI in addition to the various Moroccan national teams of tennis, soccer, and track.
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Cardiff University, United Kingdom
www.cardiff.ac.uk
Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, the University today combines impressive modern facilities and a dynamic approach to teaching and research with its proud heritage of service and achievement.
The University's breadth of expertise in research and research-led teaching encompasses: the humanities; the natural, physical, health, life and social sciences; engineering and technology; preparation for a wide range of professions; and a longstanding commitment to lifelong learning.
From its outstanding central location amidst the parks, Portland-stone buildings and tree-lined avenues that form the city's elegant civic centre, the University's students and staff are drawn from throughout the world, attracted by its international reputation and commitment to innovation and excellence in all areas of activity. Cardiff is a member of the Russell Group of Britain's leading research universities.
Having gained national and international standing, Cardiff University's vision is to be recognised as a world-class university and to achieve the associated benefits for its students, staff and all other stakeholders.
The student population is drawn from a variety of backgrounds, with students attracted from throughout Wales, the rest of the UK and world-wide. International students comprise some 17 per cent of the total student population. Government performance indicators show that our students are more likely to succeed in their studies, with first-year completion rates considerably higher than national averages and also higher than some similar universities.
Many of the University’s degree schemes provide partial or complete exemption from relevant professional examinations and more than forty schemes of study benefit from accreditation and input from professional bodies. More than twenty per cent of Cardiff University students pursue postgraduate study.
Promoting health and welfare with special reference to the needs of Wales is an important role of the University and one which is fulfilled via a strongly inter-disciplinary and multi-partnership approach. Central among our partners in this all-Wales role is the National Health Service (NHS) in Wales, with which the University is linked at all levels.
The University is located in and around the Portland stone buildings, parks and tree-lined avenues that form Cardiff’s magnificent civic centre. In recent years, substantial investment has been made in the University estate, including the expansion of life sciences facilities, current development of a new brain research centre and a new building for Optometry and Vision Sciences.
Unusually for a civic university, most of the University’s student residential accommodation is within easy walking distance of lecture theatres, libraries and the students’ union, saving our students time and money.
A place in one of the University’s 5,100 student rooms is guaranteed to all first-year undergraduates entering through the normal admissions cycle. The vast majority of student residences are single en-suite study bedrooms in self catered flats — and students enjoy some of the lowest rents in the UK, according to a survey by the National Union of Students.
Networked computers offering a wealth of software applications are available to every student, there is a dedicated Graduate Centre providing support and facilities for postgraduates additional to those available within their Schools.
Importance is attached to ensuring that Cardiff University graduates have the personal and intellectual skills demanded by employers, and this results in very high levels of graduate employment.
The University is the largest provider of adult education in Wales, with the Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning providing several hundred courses in venues across South East Wales. The University’s lifelong learning activities also encompass the professional development work carried out by schools for employers, and many of these courses are custom-made to suit an individual company’s needs. The Centre also offers business language training at all levels.
The University is one of the largest employers in Cardiff, with a staff of some 5,000 and is a substantial purchaser of goods and services, making a major contribution to the prosperity of the region. Academic expertise and research facilities are used to advantage by industry and commercial partners, government bodies and other organisations.
These contracts, combined with the provision of professional updating courses and the provision of sophisticated equipment and specialist skills, enable the University to help improve the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of industry and commerce.
The University also helps to generate new business ideas and spin-out companies in the region; technology transfer activities, from start-up companies and the licensing of new products to industry, contribute tens of millions of pounds to the economy each year.
The acclaimed Cardiff University Innovation Network has introduced several hundred companies to the expertise, knowledge and facilities of the University. The University’s Manufacturing Engineering Centre, based in the School of Engineering, has a customer base of some 100 small and medium size enterprises and it regularly disseminates the results of its ground-breaking work to more than 2,000 companies throughout the UK.
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Fudan University, China
www.fudan.edu.cn
Fudan University is regarded as one of the two best universities in China. Initially established as Fudan Public School (or Fudan College) in 1905, the university became the Private Fudan University in 1917, and included a middle school and university preparatory school. In 1929, Fudan expanded to include 17 departments devoted to Arts, Science, Law and Business. In the 1970s, after the Cultural Revolution, the university was changed to a modern, comprehensive-style university. Fudan University merged with Shanghai Medical University in April 2000.
Fudan University boasts a comprehensive academic curriculum offering students unparalleled education in many areas of study. Fudan includes 17 full-time schools; 69 departments; 73 bachelor's degree programs; 22 disciplines and 134 sub-disciplines authorized to confer Ph. D. degrees; 201 master’s degree programs; six professional degree programs; seven Key Social Science Research Centers of Ministry of Education P.R.C.; nine National Basic Science Research and Training Institutes and 25 post-doctoral research stations. Additionally, the university has 40 national key disciplines granted by the Ministry of Education P.R.C.
Research is a top priority at Fudan, as the university maintains a research faculty of over 2,400 full-time teachers and researchers. Included are 1,350 professors and associate professors; 24 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering; approximately 600 doctoral supervisors; 26 Special professors and two lecture professors of the Cheungkong Scholars Program.
Reflecting its commitment to leading research, the campus maintains several state-of-the-art facilities. At present, it encompasses 77 research institutes, 112 cross-disciplinary research institutes and five national key laboratories. Fudan also includes eight teaching hospitals incorporating medical service, education and research.
Currently, Fudan University enrolls over 45,000 students, including full-time attendees and students enrolled in Continuing Education and Online Education. Fudan has a successful history of attracting an international student population; there are nearly 1,760 students enrolled from overseas.
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Macquarie University, Australia
www.mq.edu.au
Macquarie University was established as a radical alternative, and encouraged to be pioneering, different and ground-breaking. The founders, led by the visionary Professor Alex Mitchell as founding Vice-Chancellor, valued "the unity of knowledge" both in teaching and learning and in research. Rejecting the barriers between scholarly disciplines imposed by traditional faculty structures, they opted for a flexible, interdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to enroll in units right across the University. In 1964, it was decided to name the University after Governor Lachlan Macquarie who governed New South Wales at the height of the convict era. The name Macquarie was chosen because of his pioneering role in education, his humanitarianism and his achievements as a builder.
The State Government, recognising the demand from Sydney's northern suburbs and hoping to attract industry to the vicinity of the new institution, allocated 135 hectares of North Ryde Greenbelt for its campus. The Macquarie University Act was passed in June 1964, making Macquarie the only New South Wales university other than Sydney to be founded as an independent university. It was evidence of the commitment to research and research training that the first students in 1966 were six PhD candidates. Undergraduates began arriving in 1967, initially enrolling in a single degree-the BA-offered in a range of disciplines. Student numbers in 1967 were 1,274.
Macquarie University is respected internationally as the pre-eminent innovative and entrepreneurial Australian university of research distinction and commercialization, in selected areas of Commerce, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Technology; for its exceptional commitment to scholarly, flexible, technology enhanced, interdisciplinary studies relevant to domestic and international graduates and employers in knowledge-based global economies; and for vigorous engagement with industry, commerce and other key external constituencies through access to exciting scholarship, services, expertise, cultural activities, technologies and facilities.
Our tripartite mission is in research, teaching and learning and community outreach. While enhancing Macquarie's financial viability, we aim to improve standards and increase the successes of this dynamic enterprise in a highly competitive environment. In today's global market in which we operate, this requires high levels of innovation, industry collaboration, commercialization and internationalization.
Macquarie University completed an exceptionally successful 40th Anniversary in 2004 by being ranked 68 in the world's top 200 universities by the UK's Times Higher Education Supplement. In the non-European and non-USA list, our ranking was 20. In Australia it was 9.
By the end of 2004, the University had won four Federation Fellowships; led 17 nationally funded centers of excellence, major national research facilities, co-operative research centers and research network centers, while being a major partner in others; and continued to be one of the country's most postgraduate and international universities.
With less than 29 percent of its income deriving from government, Macquarie University was also one of the most entrepreneurial public providers, recognised as a leader in commercialization of teaching and research IP. At the same time it rigorously guarded its reputation for scholastic excellence and integrity.
Macquarie University remained a key part of Australia's "Silicon Gully", with a thriving, on-campus R&D Park developed in private partnership with Baulderstone Hornibrook, and with leading high technology corporations as tenants. Its excellent transport links were being extended during the year by construction of a railway station at the main entrance, with the railway going under the campus. Macquarie University’s prime location in Sydney's biggest high technology precinct was clearly proving a major advantage. A detailed Campus Development Plan for the next 40 years was put in place, backed by plans to further leverage its valuable land with a property trust. The campus was confirmed by specialist planners and developers as having capacity if desired for up to 50,000 students by 2044, along with huge potential for additional industry and business links, making it one of the most significant development sites in the country while maintaining the beauty of the setting.
As the Australian Universities Quality Agency observed in 2003, "Macquarie has indeed developed its grounds into a spacious and beautiful sculpture park*" Appropriately, the visual theme selected for the 40th Anniversary was "the beautiful campus", highlighting both the sculptures and their setting of picturesque wooded parklands, lake and creeks, which were further enhanced during the year.
Macquarie University, which ranked number one in Australia in chemistry/biochemistry, one in engineering, technology, and number four overall by ISI's citation impact, 1995-1999 (the major international measure for science and technology research) was ranked in the top 1 percent internationally and number one in Australia in citations for chemistry-related papers in 2004. Being ranked fourth in the Asia-Pacific was excellent news for Accounting in a survey by the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting measuring research productivity in Accounting for 119 Asia-Pacific universities. Professor Graeme Harrison was ranked 6 and Associate Professor Jill McKinnon 18 in the list of the top 20 Accounting researchers in the Asia-Pacific.
By 2004, 31 percent of Macquarie University students were international students, making the campus an educationally and socially rewarding multicultural community of scholars from all over the world. There were 6896 onshore and 846 in programs offshore. 37.8 percent of the total were postgraduates. This exceptional level of internationalization, as was the case with other high-ranking Australian institutions, was a factor in Macquarie's positioning at number 68 in the Times Higher Education Supplement's list of the world's top universities. All students, wherever they came from, were encouraged to travel overseas as part of their Macquarie experience, supported by the Education Abroad Office and $1.83m in Travel Grants. Nearly 30 percent of the undergraduate graduating cohort travelled overseas, positioning Macquarie University as first on this performance indicator, and setting a new record for Australian universities. A new Global Leadership Program to be launched in 2005, in which students can participate while pursuing their degrees, will enhance this internationalization while developing their generic skills including the cross-cultural sensitivity and international perspective so relevant for life and work in the global society of the 21st century.
By Semester two, Macquarie University was also the top destination for incoming study abroad students, growing at an impressive 22 percent while Australia and NSW declined by 2 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. This assisted Macquarie's outstanding performance in a difficult market. Comparing Semester 1, 2004 with that of the previous year, Macquarie University experienced a 17.9 percent growth in international students on campus in all categories of programs. This outperformed the national growth of 12.7 percent (NSW: 9 percent), and they remained the sixth biggest Australian destination overall. No other market is of greater strategic importance than China, which along with India dwarfs all others. Macquarie University remained the first choice for students from China, and several other countries, including in Europe and Latin America. Although not yet a top destination for students from India, our commencements from that country surged by 125 percent. Key to this continued growth was our successful e-business strategy. Web visits grew, while The Macquarie Globe, the weekly e-newspaper, became our third most referenced site. Consultant Rob Lawrence's extensive survey for Macquarie International of the 9000-odd international students on campus, enrolled either in Macquarie University or Sydney Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT), revealed pleasing satisfaction levels, and key determinants of students' choices. It also showed that, in addition to expenditure on tuition fees, international students on campus spend around $175m a year, mostly in this vicinity.
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Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
cmportal.itesm.mx/wps/portal
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), commonly known as Tecnológico de Monterrey, was founded in 1943 by a group of entrepreneurs headed by Don Eugenio Garza Sada.
Seeking to educate professionals and equip them with the skills needed to succeed in the business world, Tecnológico de Monterrey has developed into an institution recognised, nationally and internationally, for its academic excellence.
A private non-profit nationwide university system, Tecnológico de Monterrey is comprised of 32 campuses spread throughout 26 Mexican cities.
• Enrollment: 95,000 full-time students
• Programs: 34 undergraduate, 51 masters, 8 doctorate, Virtual University
• Faculty: 7,600 professors
With 95,000 students, nearly 3,500 of them from across the globe, one of Tecnológico de Monterrey’s priorities is internationalization. To strengthen its worldwide presence, Tecnológico de Monterrey:
• Maintains fourteen liaison offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Latin America.
• Promotes an international exchange program offering academic research and continuing education for both students and professors.
• Invites foreign professors to serve as visiting faculty members.
• Encourages proficiency in English for students, faculty and administrators.
In its mission to develop students’ values, attitudes and abilities as a student, Tecnológico de Monterrey has restructured its learning process. Along with traditional learning objectives, the school provides academic training to make students internationally competitive in students’ area of specialty.
Close to 7,600 professors (holding masters degrees or higher) offer an innovative, student-centered educational model that:
• Advocates self-study — the gathering of information from different sources.
• Cultivates collaborative learning through problem-based learning and case studies.
• Provides distance learning opportunities through the Virtual University satellite broadcast system, which offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
• Gives students access to international information banks and networks.
• Exposes students to research and development projects in manufacturing, automation, biotechnology and more — especially at the graduate level.
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University of California, Berkeley
www.berkeley.edu
NOTE: University of California, Berkeley courses will be added to Subject Catalog shortly.
Berkeley, the newest member of The Scholar Ship's Consortium of Academic Stewards, is in the final stages of selecting courses to be incorporated into The Scholar Ship subject catalog. Berkeley became an Academic Steward in April, but only this semester did it commence its collaborative efforts as a member of the Consortium. Dr. Khatharya Um, Director of Berkeley Programs for Study Abroad, has been appointed to the Consortium's Academic Governing Council, and as such, will also be recruiting Berkeley faculty to teach aboard The Scholar Ship.
University of California at Berkeley is a fully comprehensive university, offering over 7,000 courses in nearly 300 degree programs. The university awards over 5,500 bachelor's degrees, 2,000 master's degrees, 900 doctorates, and 200 law degrees each year.
Berkeley is known around the world for its academic excellence. World Universities Rankings performed in 2005 by the UK Times Higher Education Supplement named Berkeley the number six university in the world overall. Similar findings by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute for Higher Education placed Berkeley as fourth in the world. These rankings were primarily based upon alumni and faculty quality defined by awards won, papers published, frequency of citation by peers, and performance relative to size.
U.S. rankings consistently place Berkeley's undergraduate and graduate programs among the very best. Berkeley's academic departments continually rank among the top five in the United States. The faculty, renowned for both teaching and scholarship, includes six Nobel Laureates and 28 MacArthur Fellows. According to the National Research Council, Berkeley ranks first in the U.S. in the number of graduate programs in the top 10 in their fields. 97% of Berkeley's programs made the Top 10 list. Berkeley also ranks first in the U.S. in the number of "distinguished" programs for the scholarship of the faculty, with 32 programs. By any standard, Berkeley ranks as one of the world's leading intellectual centers, renowned for the size and quality of its libraries and laboratories, the scope of its research and publications, and the distinction of its faculty and students.
Although the Berkeley campus is widely regarded as one of the premier teaching and research universities in the world, there is no way to classify a Cal student. UC Berkeley is home to top scholars in every discipline, accomplished writers and musicians, star athletes, and groundbreaking scientists—all drawn to Berkeley because of the wealth of opportunities it holds for creativity, innovative thinking and progress. While the campus has grown considerably since the 19th century, today Berkeley is a vibrant and complex institution with 32,000 students, a distinguished faculty, nearly 300 degree programs, and alumni in positions of national and international leadership.
Berkeley's greatness lies in its unique tapestry of rich traditions—a pioneering spirit, academic excellence and innovation, and opportunity. An ambitious spirit is just one of the driving forces behind the University's stunning record of recurring academic breakthroughs and discoveries. State-of-the-art research facilities, an intense pursuit of knowledge, a world-class library system, and a rich tradition of Nobel Prize winners epitomize Berkeley's academic excellence. Opportunity can be seen in the faces of its students, the devotion of its graduates, and the generosity of its philanthropists.
Berkeley students have the opportunity to study with and learn from many of the best minds in the world. The faculty currently includes eight Nobel laureates, 128 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 87 members of the National Academy of Engineering, and more NSF Young Investigators than at any other university in the United States. Berkeley has also graduated more students who go on to earn doctorates than any other university in the U.S., and its enrollment of National Merit Scholars was third in the nation prior to 2002, when participation in the National Merit program was discontinued. Berkeley's acceptance rate to medical school of 63.4% is among the top of all public universities. It is just above the University of Virginia at 61% and below the College of William and Mary at 80%.
More students earn a bachelor's degree at Berkeley or complete a Ph.D. than students at any other university in the United States. Berkeley is the only university in the U.S. to have all of its Ph.D programs ranked in the top five by U.S. News and World Report. U.S. News also consistently ranks Berkeley as the U.S.’s top public university and within the top three for both Undergraduate Business and Undergraduate Engineering.
In American surveys, Berkeley's academic departments consistently rank among the top in the United States. Berkeley has had 19 Nobel Laureates on its faculty and 54 affiliated with the university. Berkeley's distinguished faculty currently boasts 221 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows, 3 Fields Medal holders, 83 Fulbright Scholars, 139 Guggenheim Fellows, 11 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators, 28 MacArthur Fellows, 87 members of the National Academy of Engineering, 128 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 6 Nobel Prize winners, 3 Pulitzer Prize winners, 84 Sloan Fellows, and 7 Wolf Prize winners.
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University of Ghana
www.ug.edu.gh
The University of Ghana is the premier university of Ghana and one of the most prestigious universities in Africa. The University is well-recognised as a center of excellence all over the world.
Established more than 50 years ago the University has trained more than 40,000 graduates who are at the helm of affairs in Ghana and many parts of the world. Guided by a mission of developing world-class human resources and capabilities to meet national development needs and global challenges through quality teaching, learning, research and knowledge dissemination, the University of Ghana is promoting development in all spheres of life.
The University of Ghana provides 78 undergraduate and 25 graduate programs in various fields in the arts, social science, business, physical and biological sciences, medicine, dentistry, allied health sciences, agriculture, engineering sciences and law. Special programs are offered in Performing Arts, African Studies and International Affairs.
Sixteen tertiary institutions in Ghana are affiliated to the University under a tutelage arrangement.
The University has link-agreements with several universities in Africa, Europe and North America for student exchange, faculty and staff exchange, collaborative research and exchange of materials, documents and equipment.
The University of Ghana has a faculty numbering 720 with degrees from universities around the world. With a current student population of about 23,602, the University of Ghana is not only the oldest but the largest of the five public Universities in Ghana. There are also 12 Workers’ Colleges throughout Ghana which offer continuing education to a large cross-section of people.
Originally meant to be fully residential, less than half of the student population now has residential status. Although non-residence is encouraged, the absence of suitable accommodation in town and reliable transportation discourage attendance by otherwise qualified students. Efforts to persuade real estate developers to invest in hostels for use by students are receiving positive results. An Investment Committee set up since 1992 continues to seek other ways of diversifying sources of funding to assure additional facilities for sustaining increased enrolments.
The initial curricular emphasis was on the liberal arts from which trained personnel were produced to replace expatriate staff in senior positions in nearly all of the public service. There was also provision for vocational programs to enable middle-level personnel already in employment to update their skills.
Under a national education reform program currently under way, the emphasis now has shifted towards the diversification of the curricular to provide for more courses in science and technology, vocational and post-graduate training.
The University has since 1993 developed a strategic plan, now updated, to formulate strategies for implementation in the first decade of the 21st Century. The University's strategic plan has among other things identified areas where the University has special strengths which may be brought to wider attention and built up to maximum capacity.
Already, the University enjoys considerable national and international prestige from its very successful extra-mural study programs dating from the inception of the University. Programs in Distance Education aimed at reaching more adult and other non-typical learners feature prominently in the University's plans for the immediate future.
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