While its name evokes classical antiquity, the University of Carthage is a modern university. It was established 1988, when it was formed as the University of Law, Economics and Management Tunis III. It has since grown rapidly and is formed of 21 institutions, some with long histories of their own.
The university took its current name in 2011 and describes itself as "a multidisciplinary institution of higher learning which offers a comprehensive array of high-quality courses".
The district, which was once seat of the Carthaginian empire, has long been subsumed within the city of Tunis.
The university is spread across the North-East of Tunisia, with eight institutions based in Carthage and Sidi Bin Said, four apiece in Tunis and Ariana, five at Soukra and in Nabeul, seven at Bizerta and three at Borj Cedria.
More than 10,000 students graduate each year, with the largest contingents from the FSB School of Science in Bizerta, ISLT School of Languages in Tunis and IHEC Business Studies in Carthage. IHEC dates to 1942, but is significantly pre-dated by INAT, the National Institute of Agronomy which has been operating from Tunis since 1898.
Some of the institutions that are part of the University of Carthage set high entry standards – Tunisia Polytechnic accepts only 50 students from around 4,000 applicants.
Other institutions contribute to the research in chemistry which earned the university fifth place in the Nature Index for Tunisia for 2018-9.
INAT is part of the Erasmus CLICHA programme on climate change and agriculture, while ENIC, the engineering school in Carthage, is one of two Tunisian participants of the WESET (Wind Engineering Schools in Egypt and Tunisia) and hosted its first gathering. It also includes five Egyptian and 54 European partners.
