• 1918: Established as a primary school (An-Najah Nabulsi School) educating students, both local and from abroad. • 1941: The institution was named An-Najah College. • 1965: Became a teacher preparation institute, also granting intermediate university degrees. • 1977: Evolved into a full-fledged university, An-Najah National University with a Faculty of Arts and a Faculty of Sciences and joined the Association of Arab Universities (AARU) as a full member. • 1985: Expanded the scope of higher studies to include new fields including Chemistry, Islamic Studies and Education. • 1994: Faculty of Pharmacy was established; new faculties and specialized scientific centers were introduced, including the Academic Program for the Study of Involuntary Migration (APSIM); the Water and Environmental Studies Institute; the Center for Studies, Consultation and Technical Services; and the Business and Technology Incubator. • 1995: Faculty of Law was established. • 1997: Signed an agreement with the director-general of the UNESCO to establish the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy. In the same year, the university launched the Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Program. • 1998: Board of trustees decided to establish the Center for Urban and Regional Planning (CURP). • 1999: Faculty of Medicine was established in cooperation with Al-Quds and Al-Azhar universities. In the same year, the Community Service Center was also established serving the local community. • 2000: On 25 June 2000,
Yasser Arafat laid the foundation stone for
Munib Masri's College for Engineering and Technology at the New Campus. In the same year, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and a number of scientific majors including Computer Engineering, Statistics, and Economy and Agricultural Development were established. • 2001: Established the Faculty of Information Technology. Construction of the Hisham Hijjawi College of Technology was completed and the college welcomed its first students in October. • 2003: Launched the "Voice of An-Najah" radio station helping to strengthen ties with the local community and to provide reliable information. The Opinion Polls and Survey Studies Center, the Continuing Education Center (CEC) and the Measurement and Evaluation Center (MEC) were also established. • 2004: Faculty of Optometry and the Faculty of Nursing established. • 2005: • Established Al-Qasem Palace in Beit Wazan to serve as a Center for Urban and Regional Planning. • Established the Faculty of Honors and a Unit for Architectural Conservation and Reconstruction. • Launched the An-Najah Award for Scientific Research in the field of science and humanities. • Established two scientific masters programs: Animal Husbandry and Clean Energy and Consumption Rationalization. • 2006: • Institute of Forensic Medicine was established as a branch of the Faculty of Medicine. • An-Najah Alumni Association was established • His Excellency,
Mahmoud Abbas,
President of the
Palestinian National Authority inaugurated the university's new campus. President Abbas was presented with an Honorary Doctorate in Law. • Awarded the Hisham Adib Hijjawi Award in Energy and Industry for the ninth time. • 2007: The university inaugurated the following: • Languages Center. • Computer Lab for the Visually-Impaired. • Dental Clinic. • Prosthetics Clinic on the Old Campus. • Korean-Palestinian IT Institute of Excellence • Eye Clinic of the Faculty of Optometry. • 2008: • Faculty of Medicine was accredited as an independent faculty by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. • Acquired the hospitals of Al-Zakat Committee in Nablus. The hospital buildings will be developed into a teaching hospital for students of medicine and nursing; the hospital will serve the entire northern West Bank region in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Health. • Mosque inaugurated in August 2008. • Sports Complex inaugurated at the new campus in November 2008. ==Student body==