University of Guyana

The University of Guyana was established in April 1963 and began its operations in October of the same year with a batch of 164 students in temporary premises loaned from Queen's College in Georgetown. Programmes were at first confined to the Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. However, in 1967, a Faculty of Education was established and this was followed by the establishment of the Faculties of Technology in 1969, Agriculture in 1977, and in 1981, the Faculty of Health Sciences, prior to the establishment of which programmes in Health Sciences were offered within the Faculty of Natural Sciences. At its inception, only general degree programmes were offered by the University, but from 1966, Certificate and Diploma level programmes were introduced. The first graduate programme - A Master's Degree in Guyanese and West Indian History was started in 1973. This was followed by Master's programmes in Biology and Education in 1976, Chemistry and Economics in 1977, Political Science in 1978, and Geography in 1984. A Graduate Diploma in Development Studies was also introduced in 1984. From 1975, the University began accrediting programmes run by sister institutions in the Commonwealth Caribbean. A Training Programme for Medical Practitioners was launched in October 1985.