אוניברסיטת אריאל בשומרון | |
 Hecht Library, located at the center of campus | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 1982 |
| President | Ehud Grossman[1] |
| Rector | Albert Pinhasov[2] |
| Students | approximately 13,500 (as of August 2020) |
| Location | , 32°06′17″N35°12′34″E / 32.10472°N 35.20944°E /32.10472; 35.20944 Building details |
 Hecht Library, located at the center of campus | |
 Interactive map of Ariel University | |
| Campus | urban |
| Colors | Teal, navy and white |
| Website | English Hebrew |
 | |
Ariel University (Hebrew:אוניברסיטת אריאל), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urbanIsraeli settlement ofAriel in theoccupied West Bank.[4][5]
The college preceding the establishment of Ariel University was founded in 1982 as a regional branch ofBar-Ilan University. Originally located in the settlement ofKedumim,[6] it moved to Ariel where it built a larger campus and went on to become the largest Israeli public college. In the 2004–05 academic year, the affiliation with Bar-Ilan ended and it became an independent college.
On 17 July 2012, theCouncil for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria voted to grant the institution full university status.[7] This move was praised by the Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu,Minister of EducationGideon Saar, Foreign MinisterAvigdor Lieberman and someKnesset members[8] as well asNobel Prize in Economics winning mathematicianRobert Aumann.[9] The Council of presidents of Israeli Universities condemned the move.[9] A survey in 2013 found that 65% of the public in Israel supported the recognition of Ariel University as Israel's eighth university.[10]
Ariel University has 26 departments for B.A., BSc andBArch studies, in three faculties and three schools. In addition, Ariel University offers a master's degree programs for M.A., M.B.A. and MSc in 2014, Ariel University initiated a PhD programs for Doctorate studies also. In 2011, it had a student population of 14,000, with a branch inTel Aviv. All degrees are recognized by theCouncil for Higher Education in Israel.
The university and its staff have been the target of boycotts, both in Israel and overseas, for its location in theIsraeli-occupied West Bank.
In 2005, the Israeli government supported upgrading the college to university status. The change of status was not immediate since the Council for Higher Education in Israel must approve such changes. In July 2006, the Council rejected a proposal to merge several regional colleges in theGalilee. Based on the findings of a committee appointed by the council, it was decided not to approve the establishment of any new universities in Israel for the next five years.[11]
Upgrading the college to university status was controversial. Settlements such as Ariel are considered illegal under international law by the international community, and Palestinians see them as an obstacle to peace,[9] but theIsraeli government disputes this.[12] British Foreign Office ministerAlistair Burt said: "We are also deeply disappointed in the decision to upgrade Ariel’s university centre. Ariel is beyond the Green Line in a settlement that is illegal according to international law. (...) We reiterate our call on Israel urgently to reverse these decisions".[13]
In August 2007, prior to achieving official university status, the college was renamed the "Ariel University Center of Samaria."[14] Although Prime MinisterEhud Olmert endorsed the change, bothMinister of EducationYuli Tamir and the Council for Higher Education said they would block it,[15] with the latter announcing in 2008 that they would not recognise degrees awarded by the college.[16] The name change was recognised in 2010, although the college remained without university accreditation until it was approved in July 2012.[17][18]
On 24 December 2012, Israeli Defense MinisterEhud Barak ordered theCentral Command to officially recognize Ariel University as a fully accredited university.[19]
On 12 February 2018, theKnesset passed legislation placing Israeli colleges inJudea and Samaria under the direct authority of Israel's higher education establishment, ending a long-standing distinction between schools in and outside of pre-1967 Israel. Under the new law, the separate higher education council for Judea and Samaria was abolished, and all Israeli colleges operating in Judea and Samaria were placed under the supervision of the Council for Higher Education in Israel.[20]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2025) |
Current enrollment at the university is about 14,000, including Jewish (both secular and Orthodox),Arab,Druze, andCircassian Israeli students. It also has the largest number of Ethiopian-born students in any Israeli university.[21][22][23] As of 2011[update] there are 600 students who areArab citizens of Israel.[24] Arab students have generally not felt any racially or politically motivated discrimination at the university.[25][26][27] In addition, several faculty members with left-wing views teach at the university.[28]
In August 2018, Ariel University inaugurated the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School of Medicine.[29] Israel’s Council for Higher Education approved the establishment of the school in April 2019,[30] and the inaugural class of 70 students began studies in October 2019.[31] The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School of Medicine is Israel’s sixth medical school and the first in theIsraeli settlements;[32] its first graduating class received M.D. degrees in 2024.[33]
AUC hosts visiting lecturers from universities around the world. In 2010University of Hartford communications professor Don Ellis taught the course "Communication Issues and Political Conflict." He said: "My only goal is to help them improve their critical thinking skills. I don't expect that either side will acknowledge the other side as being right."[34] British professorGeoffrey Alderman is also a guest lecturer at Ariel University, and has said that those British members of parliament who oppose the university, did so because the university "is Jewish. If it was a Palestinian university they wouldn’t object. For heaven’s sake, this is an educational establishment with many Palestinian as well as Jewish students."[35]
Professor Hilde Leone ofLeibniz University, Hanover, was a guest lecturer at the university's school of architecture, speaking about "Between Vision and Reality."[36]
| This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2025) |
Ariel University Center has signed academic cooperation agreements with over 51 higher education institutions around the world, including the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Brazil, Portugal,Costa Rica, Ecuador,Argentina, Turkey,Poland, Ukraine,Georgia, Kazakhstan,Taiwan and Armenia.[37][38] There is a partnership between theUniversity of Toronto and the Ariel University on the master's degree inBusiness Administration (MBA).[39]
In 2008, theGlobal Association of Risk Professionals established a branch in the University Center which conducts operator courses and international conferences in university center.[40]
In 2011, Ariel University Center andUral Federal University signed a cooperation agreement with theSkolkovo innovation center, a high technology business area near Moscow.[41] The agreement is intended to provide Israeli companies with access to capital resources and manpower.[42]
Ariel University participates in the projectMasa Israel Journey in which Jewish students all over the world come for the time between a semester to a year study in Ariel, about 30% of students coming to study in Ariel immigrate to Israel at the end of the project.[43]
Due to its location in Israeli-occupied territory, Ariel University was excluded from receiving funding as part of theHorizon 2020 research program signed between the EU and Israel in 2013.[44]
In April 2005, the British Association of University Teachers (AUT) briefly boycottedBar-Ilan University for its academic links with the college.[45] The boycott was rescinded in May 2005.[46]
In 2009, the Spanish Housing Ministry disqualified the university from taking part in an international architectural competition in 2009. TheSpanish government explained that their decision to ban the university was a result of it being located inPalestinian occupied territories.[47] TheAnti-Defamation League asked the Spanish Government and theUS Department of Energy to overturn the disqualification of Israeli researchers from an international solar energy competition inMadrid.[48]
In early 2011, 165 Israeli academics announced they were boycotting the university to protest Israeli settlement expansion.[49] They wrote in their petition, "Ariel is not part of the sovereign territory of Israel, and we therefore cannot be required to go there."[50]
Due to Ariel University's location in a settlement, it is excluded from receiving funds from the EU and the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development. In 2018, prominent international physicists, includingDavid Gross,Martin Rees andEd Witten, published an open letter calling for fellow academics not to attend a conference at Ariel University, and not to participate in "attempts to normalise the occupation of Palestinian territories".[51]
