The University of Calabar (UNICAL) began as a Calabar campus of the University of Nigeria in 1973, admitting 154 students and a small team of staff. In 1975 it was selected as one of seven new federal universities by the national government, becoming a fully independent institution shortly thereafter.
Academically, the university is organised into more than 20 faculties and institutes, including allied medical sciences, medicine, dentistry, law, engineering and technology, environmental sciences, agriculture, forestry and wildlife management, art, education, management sciences, science and social sciences.
Courses cover a wide range of subject areas from agriculture (such as crop science, animal science and fisheries), environmental science and urban planning, to engineering disciplines including chemical, civil, mechanical and computer engineering. There are also numerous specialist courses on offer in the humanities, social sciences, and management fields, as well as medical and allied health programmes, such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, radiography, and public health.
The university is also home to specialist centres such as the Institute of Oceanography and the Bassey Andah Institute for African and Asian Studies.
