The University of Haifa as it is known today was established in 1972, after gaining independence from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, making it the sixth academic institute in Israel as well as its fourth university.
It sits atop Mount Carmel where the south of the city edges onto Israel’s Carmel National Park, in what is considered one of the most beautiful parts of the country, boasting panoramic views of the Mediterranean and vast swathes of greenery.
The university motto is: ‘Academic excellence with a personal touch.’
Home to 18,000 students, Haifa prides itself on the rich diversity of its student body and welcomes international students from around the world, as well as domestic students from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Baha’i, Druze, Bedouin and other backgrounds. Its ‘cultural mosaic’, as the university calls it, is symbolic of one of its key aims, to encourage mutual understanding between the different identities that co-exist in Israel.
Organised across seven faculties – Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Law, Social Welfare and Health, Education and Management – its main areas of specialism are in social sciences, humanities, law and education.
Its research spans a wide variety of subjects and fields, among them, the study of psychological stress, information processing and decision-making, evolution, the Holocaust, maritime studies, natural and environmental resources, shipping and aviation, and the family. While its research facilities include The Jewish-Arab Centre, the Herzl Institute for the Study of Zionism and Israel, the Study of Pilgrimage, Tourism and Recreation, the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Emotions and the Centre for Democratic Studies.
Haifa also has its own diving facility known as the Caesarea that supports the Israeli Antiquities Authority as well as the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, which focuses on the study of the Mediterranean, marine biology, geosciences, and maritime civilisations.
