{ {Short description|Public university in Bujumbura, Burundi}}
Université du Burundi (UB) Kaminuza y'Uburundi | |
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Former name | Official University of Bujumbura (1964–77) |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Le Grenier du savoir au service de la Nation" (Kirundi:'Rumuri rumurikira Abarundi') (lit. 'The Breadbasket of Knowledge at the service of theNation') |
| Type | Public university |
| Established | 1964; 61 years ago (1964) |
| Rector | Dr. Prudence Bararunyeretse |
Academic staff | 496 |
Administrative staff | 1200 |
| Students | 18,500 (2025) |
| Address | B.P. 1550 ,,3°22′44″S29°23′04″E / 3.37889°S 29.38444°E /-3.37889; 29.38444 |
| Campus | |
| Website | www |
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TheUniversity of Burundi (Kirundi:Kaminuza y'Uburundi,French:Université du Burundi, orUB) is the biggestpublic university in Burundi, with its main campus located inBujumbura,Burundi. Founded in 1964, it comprises eight faculties and five institutes and has a student enrollment of approximately 13,000. It is based in three campuses in Bujumbura and a fourth inGitega. It took its current name in 1977 and is Burundi's only publicly funded university.
The origins of the University of Burundi can be traced to the Agronomy Institute of theUniversity of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi, founded underBelgian colonial rule. In 1960 this became the Agronomical Institute of Ruanda-Urundi (Institut agronomique du Ruanda-Urundi) and moved toBujumbura, becoming the country's first major centre of higher education.[1] Under the initiative of theJesuit missions, three other specialist institutions subsequently emerged in Bujumbura afterBurundi's independence in 1962. These institutions were merged to form the Official University of Bujumbura (Université officielle de Bujumbura, or UOB) in January 1964.[1] In 1977, the UOB merged with two vocational institutions to create the University of Burundi (Université du Burundi, or UB).[1]
The Library of the University of Burundi was opened in 1981 and formally dedicated in 1985. It was reported in 1993 to have 150,000 volumes in its collection, making it one of the largestlibraries in Burundi.[2]
Teaching at the university has been significantly disrupted by political upheaval elsewhere in Burundi since independence. TheBurundian Civil War (1993–2006) created particular problems, as did the accompanying socio-economic crisis which led to strikes, funding problems, and abrain drain of academic staff overseas. On 11–12 June 1995ethnic Hutu students were massacred at the university byethnic Tutsi.[3]
Its alumni includePierre Nkurunziza who served asPresident of Burundi from 2005 to 2020. He studiedphysical education and later held a post as assistant lecturer at the university before, as a Hutu, being forced to flee in 1995. His successor,Évariste Ndayishimiye, also studied law at the university before the violence of 1995 but did not complete his studies.
UB is affiliated to theInter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA),Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), theAgence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), and theConseil Africain et Malagache pour l'enseignement supérieur (CAMES).[1]

The university is divided into faculties and institutes which are themselves made up of departments. As of 2018, the university was said to comprise:[1]
The University of Burundi is currently operates 7 campuses: