The University of Mosul is located in the city of Mosul in Iraq and is one of the largest educational and research centres in the Middle East, and is the second largest in Iraq. It is a multi-campus university consisting of three campuses in the north of the city and the College of Medicine which is located at the medical compound of the city.
The university was founded in April 1967 and was established to be an academic centre of higher education in Mosul. The university offers bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in more than 100 scientific specialisations.
There are 19 official colleges at the university including dentistry, pharmacy, agriculture and forestry, education, veterinary medicine, law, fine arts, computer science and mathematics, political sciences and environmental techniques among others.
There are several athletic facilities at the university including the College of Physical Education, a multi-purpose arena and home to the Mosul basketball teams. There are also cardio rooms, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a smaller pool, an indoor cycling studio, rooms for classes, weight rooms and a gym floor.
There are a number of scientific research centres at the university which reflect the university's focus on technological and practical developments. These include the Computer Centre, the Environment and Water Resources Centre, the Non-Irrigated Agriculture Research Centre, the Academic Teaching and Training Improvement Centre, the Mosul Studies Centre and the Regional Studies Centre.
The central library was destroyed during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and many members of staff took books home to protect them. Reconstruction has been slow but undergraduates continue to use the library due to its easy access. It houses Iraq's oldest collections of maps, gazeteers and atlases and holds collections of Arabic and foreign literature.
