About us

The first nucleus of the College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad was established in the form of a supplementary course in the Directorate of Irrigation, as a school of engineering in 1921. At that time, Iraq was devoid of higher schools or colleges except for the College of Law, which was established in 1908. Over time, there were continuous changes to the school until the establishment of the College of Engineering in 1942, which initially offered studies in civil engineering. New scientific departments were subsequently opened and linked to the University of Baghdad and the Ministry of Higher Education.

The following are the most important developments that the College of Engineering has undergone since its inception until now:

In 1921, a supplementary course was opened in the Directorate of Irrigation in the form of a school of engineering to accept elementary school graduates and train them in simple engineering work, especially in irrigation, to graduate them as technical observers in irrigation, construction, and railways.
In 1922, the name of the course was changed to the “Training College of Irrigation” and the duration of study was set to two years.
In 1923, the Training College of Irrigation was expanded and renamed the “School of Engineering”. It was attached to the Ministry of Communications and Works, and the duration of study was set to two years after secondary education. Graduates were trained for an additional year in government departments before being appointed to government jobs.
In 1925, the College of Engineering was affiliated with the Ministry of Education.
In 1935, the School of Engineering was reopened by the Ministry of Communications and Works, and the duration of study was set to three years after secondary education. Students were educated solely in pure engineering culture.
In 1938, a building was constructed for the Iraqi School of Engineering, which became the administrative building for the College of Engineering at the University of Baghdad. The duration of study was set to four years after secondary education.
In 1942, the Iraqi College of Engineering was opened by the Ministry of Communications and Works. The College of Engineering Regulation No. 39 of 1942 was issued, which accepted approximately 60 students annually from preparatory school graduates who achieved a grade of 70% in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The duration of study was set to four years, and graduates were awarded a diploma in civil engineering.
In 1944, the Ministry of Communications and Public Works issued Regulation No. 49 for the year 1944 for the College of Engineering, which canceled the previous system and made the study period four years, preceded by a preparatory year after graduating from secondary school.
In 1946, the college joined the Ministry of Education.
In 1951, the study was opened in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering.
In 1958, the College of Engineering joined the University of Baghdad after the University Law No. 28 for the year 1958 was enacted, and the bachelor’s degree was awarded to graduates instead of the diploma.
In 1959, the study was opened in the departments of Architecture, Petroleum and Minerals Engineering, and Chemical Engineering.
In 1962, the study of the Master’s degree was opened in the Department of Civil Engineering.
In 1966, the first Master’s degree student graduated from the college in the Department of Civil Engineering.
In 1969, the students of Al-Hikma University joined the college after the cancellation of the Department of Civil Engineering in the college, and the study period became five years instead of four years.
In 1970, the study was opened in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, and the Ministry of Higher Education was established to unify the affairs of all universities in Iraq.
In 1974, the study period returned to four years instead of five years, and the students were distributed according to the different specializations of the departments starting from the first year.
In this year, the first batch of the five-year system graduated.
Quick and intensive courses were also opened for graduates of the College of Science to qualify them to obtain an engineering degree for the need for engineers of all specializations at that time.
In 1975, the study was opened in the Department of Survey Engineering.
In 1976, the last batch of the five-year system graduated, with another batch for the four-year system, after the specialization began from the first year due to the reduction of the study period from five to four years.

In this year, the admission to study Textile Engineering was also started in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The Urban and Regional Planning Center was also transferred to the college and its presidency was assigned as an agency to the Dean of the College of Engineering.

In 1980, the Engineering Consulting Office was founded at the College of Engineering. It is considered one of the oldest consulting offices in Iraq and the Arab world, and the supervisory body has contributed to gathering scientific, technical, practical, and academic experience of the faculty members to serve the country’s developmental plans and to provide a high level of national expertise and consultations in various sectors. Some of the office’s important goals and future aspirations are:

Developing the scientific, theoretical, and practical potential of the faculty members to serve the economic development plans.
Providing scientific and practical fields for faculty members to ensure the application of modern theoretical sciences to practical reality and to raise the expertise of each member in their area of specialization.
Providing scientific and technical consultations to the public and private sectors and citizens at a suitable fee.
Coordinating with similar Arab consulting offices in their specialty to increase the exchange of information and experience and to collaborate to compete with foreign consulting offices in providing scientific and practical consultations throughout the Arab world.

In 1982, the Continuing Education Unit was established at the College of Engineering. The college aimed to provide engineers working in state institutions with everything new in the field of their specialization and all modern and advanced techniques in their field of work by offering development courses and programs.
In 1986, the Nuclear Engineering Department was established after being an annex to the Chemical Engineering Department, which was later renamed the Energy Engineering Department, as it is known today.
In the academic year 1987/1988, studies began in the Computer Engineering Department.
In February 1988, the Environmental Engineering Department was established.
In 1990, studies began in the Aeronautical Engineering Branch within the Mechanical Engineering Department.
In 1992, the Doctorate degree was opened in both the Petroleum Engineering and Nuclear Engineering Departments, and the Master’s degree was opened in the Surveying Engineering Department.
In 1996, studies began in the Nuclear Engineering Department from the first grade, and its name was changed to the Energy Engineering Department in 2007/2008.
In 1997, three scientific departments were established and joined the Khawarizmi College of Engineering in 2003. These departments are Information Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Mechatronics Engineering. Additionally, the Environmental Consulting Office was also established in the same year.
In 1998, the Environmental Engineering specialization was established for postgraduate studies as an advanced format of the Environmental Engineering program that was established in 1986.
From 2000 to 2010, several departments and administrative units were established in the college including the Library Department, Legal Department, Follow-up Unit, Internet Unit, Electronic Documentation Unit, Cisco Unit, and Quality Assurance and Accreditation Unit.