Bangladesh Agricultural University
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#if:|Template:Main other }}{{#invoke:check for unknown parameters|check |unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox university with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|mapframe_args=y | academic_affiliation | academic_affiliations | academic_staff | accreditation | address | administrative_staff | affiliation | affiliations | athletics_affiliations | athletics_nickname | athletics_nicknames | budget | campus | campus_type | campus_size | canton | caption | chair | chairman | chairperson | chancellor | city | closed | colors | colours | coor | coordinates | country | dean | director | doctoral | embedded | endowment | enrollment | established | faculty | footnotes | former_name | former_names | founder | founders | free | free1 | free2 | free_label | free_label1 | free_label2 | head | head_label | image | image_alt | image_name | image_size | image_upright | language | latin_name | location | logo | logo_alt | logo_size | logo_upright | map_size | mascot | mascots | module | motto | mottoeng | motto_lang | mottoeng | name | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nrhp | officer_in_charge | other | other_name | other_names | other_students | parent | postalcode | postcode | postgrad | prefecture | president | principal | province | provost | pushpin_label_position | pushpin_map | pushpin_map_caption | rector | region | religious_affiliation | sporting_affiliations | sports_free | sports_free1 | sports_free2 | sports_free3 | sports_free_label | sports_free_label1 | sports_free_label2 | sports_free_label3 | sports_nickname | sports_nicknames | state | students | superintendent | top_free | top_free1 | top_free2 | top_free_label | top_free_label1 | top_free_label2 | total_staff | type | undergrad | vice_chancellor | vice-president | vice_president | visitor | website | zipcode }}{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check | template = Infobox university | cat = Template:Main other | image; image_name | other_names; other_name | former_names; former_name | founders; founder | academic_affiliations; academic_affiliation | academic_staff; faculty | campus_type; campus | other_students; other | location; address | location; city | location; address | location; canton | location; prefecture | location; province | location; region | location; state | location; country | location; postalcode | location; postcode | location; zipcode | postalcode; postcode; zipcode | coordinates; coor | colors; colours | free_label; free_label1 | free; free1 | athletics_nicknames; sports_nicknames; athletics_nickname; sports_nickname; nickname | athletics_affiliations; sporting_affiliations | affiliation; affiliations | mascots; mascot | nrhp; embedded; module }} Template:Infobox university rankings Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) is a public agricultural university in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1961 by the Pakistani government as East Pakistan Agricultural University. It is the third-oldest university in the country.
Its campus covers Template:Convert on the west bank of the Old Brahmaputra River. Its academic activities take place under six faculties, which are subdivided into 45 departments. More than 90% of its funding comes from the national government.
As of 2024, BAU has over 5,000 undergraduate and nearly 3,000 post-graduate students. Alumni include academics, government officials, politicians, and recipients of the Ekushey Padak.
History
Pakistan period
The Pakistani government set up the Commission on National Education at the end of 1958 to propose how to reorganise the country's education system.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One recommendation in the commission's 1959 report was to set up an agricultural university in East Pakistan. There was already the East Pakistan College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry in Mymensingh. The government chose to upgrade the college to East Pakistan Agricultural University.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> On 18 August 1961, the government did so by promulgating the East Pakistan Agricultural University Ordinance, 1961.<ref name="agris">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Soil scientist M Osman Ghani was appointed the university's first vice-chancellor on 2 September 1961.<ref name="ds29Aug2010">Template:Cite news</ref>
The university started with 30 teachers and 444 students. There were 23 departments under 2 faculties, the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Veterinary Science.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Faculty of Animal Husbandry was added in 1962.<ref name="ah">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In February 1963, Ghani left to become vice-chancellor of the University of Dacca.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> S.D. Chaudhuri took over from him at the agricultural university.<ref name="bas-chaudhuri">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology was added in 1963. It was followed by the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology in 1964.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> A sixth faculty was started in 1967, the Faculty of Fisheries.<ref name="fs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
American Architect Paul Rudolph was commissioned in 1965 to design a master plan that would remake the former college campus for the university. Construction of the major buildings that were part of this project would continue for a decade.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Students at the university were politically active in the 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising. They boycotted classes on 23 January in response to police firing on students in Dacca.<ref name="minerva">Template:Cite journal</ref> In Mymensingh, on 24 January, two people were killed by police firing and 20 were wounded on the picket lines.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Police and troops from the East Pakistan Rifles entered the campus on 29 January, searching the residential quarters for "miscreants". On 10 February, students marched in protest.<ref name="minerva" /> In the face of unrelenting countrywide disturbances, on 21 February, President Ayub Khan announced that he would not seek reelection. The next day, the government dropped all charges against opposition leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the others accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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Biochemist Kamaluddin Ahmad became the vice-chancellor in 1969.<ref name="bas-ahmad">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Also that year, the central library, designed by Richard J. Neutra, opened.<ref name="Rahman2013">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
Faculty, staff, and students of the university fought for independence during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. One teacher, six employees, and eleven students died in the war.<ref name="do14Dec2017">Template:Cite news</ref>
After independence
In 1972, the university was renamed Bangladesh Agricultural University.<ref name="IAU2019">Template:Cite book</ref> When Bangladesh won its independence, there were only six universities in the country. BAU was the third-oldest and the only agricultural one.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Agricultural Museum, the country's first, was established in 2007.<ref name="sun21Jul2018">Template:Cite news</ref>
During the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement, students rallied, marched, and repeatedly blockaded the Dhaka-Mymensingh railway tracks for hours at a time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Campus
BAU's Template:Convert campus is in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, Template:Convert southeast of the city center. It is bounded on the east by the Old Brahmaputra River.<ref name="ds19Nov2006">Template:Cite news</ref> The master campus plan and key buildings were designed by modernist architect Paul Rudolph.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A palm-lined east–west avenue divides the main academic and administrative buildings to its north from mostly residential and recreational facilities to its south. At its east end is BAU's Shaheed Minar, memorializing those killed during the 1952 Bengali language movement.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> Nearby is a 2000 sculpture by Shaymol Chowdhury of three standing figures called Bijoy '71. It pays tribute to the sacrifices made during the Bangladesh Liberation War.<ref name="do14Dec2017" />
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Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium has a capacity of nearly 2,000. It is used for cultural programmes.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> The Teacher Students Centre (TSC) is intended to be a focal point of student life and extra-curricular activities.<ref name="tsc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It has dining facilities, newspaper reading rooms, and other common areas. It contains the offices of such student organisations as the debating, drama, and music societies.<ref name="tsc" /><ref name="rbd26Jun2021">Template:Cite news</ref>
The Botanical Garden is set on Template:Convert on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River. As of 2025, it contains 1,500 species, representing about 300 genera and 200 families.<ref name="garden">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It's collection encompasses more than a fifth of the flora of Bangladesh, including 58 species that are threatened or near threatened.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The garden is divided into 30 zones by plant type, and includes rock gardens, water gardens, and an orchid house.<ref name="rbd26Jun2021" /> The Department of Crop Botany manages the garden.<ref name="garden" /> The university operates the Agriculture Museum. Opened in 2007, it is the first of its kind in the country and has a collection of approximately 500 agricultural implements.<ref name="sun21Jul2018" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Fish Museum & Biodiversity Centre was founded in 2009 by Stirling University in a building donated by BAU.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It has a collection of riverine species from Bangladesh.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> BAU also operates ten major farms, including dairy and poultry ones.<ref name="glance" /><ref name="ds19Nov2006" />
In addition to the university's institutes and centres, the campus is home to two national research institutes: Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI).<ref name="Banglapedia" />
Libraries
The library was originally located in one room of the administration building. It contained just 5,000 volumes taken over from the East Pakistan College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. Since 1969, the central library has been housed in a purpose-built modernist building designed by architect Richard J. Neutra. Originally two-storied, in 2001 it underwent an expansion that added a third story, bringing its size to Template:Convert.<ref name="Rahman2013" /> As of 2025, the library holds 185,000 volumes and 2,000 periodicals, as well as dissertations, microforms, and audiovisual items. The Faculty of Agricultural Economics & Rural Sociology has its own library.<ref name="library">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Halls of residence (student dormitories)
As of 2024, BAU has fourteen gender-segregated halls of residence. Nine are for men: Ashraful Haque Hall, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hall, Fazlul Haque Hall, Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy Hall, Isha Khan Hall, Shaheed Nazmul Ahsan Hall, Shaheed Shamsul Haque Hall, Shaheed Jamal Hossain Hall, and Shahjalal Hall.<ref name="hostels">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Three of these are named after fighters for independence who were killed during the Bangladesh Liberation War and are termed shaheed (martyrs).<ref name="do14Dec2017" />
Five halls are for women: Begum Rokeya Hall, July 36 Hall, Krishi Kanya Hall, Sultana Razia Hall, and Taposhi Rabeya Hall.<ref name="hostels" /> The two newest were previously named in honour of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and her late sister-in-law, Rosy Jamal. The latter was renamed Krishi Kanya Hall in January 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2025, the former is shown on BAU's website as July 36 Hall,<ref name="hostels" /> a reference to 5 August 2024, the day the Student–People's uprising forced Sheikh Hasina to resign.
There is also a dormitory for PhD students.<ref name="hostels" />
Administration
The university is governed by the statutes put in place by the East Pakistan Agricultural University Ordinance, 1961, and subsequently amended by the governments of East Pakistan and Bangladesh. The President of Bangladesh or their designate is the chancellor of the university, and appoints the vice chancellor.<ref name="ordinance">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The vice-chancellor is the chief executive officer of the university.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> In September 2024, A K Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan became the vice-chancellor.<ref name="tbs19Sep2024">Template:Cite news</ref>
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=Template:AmboxTemplate:Main other }}
| Name | Term | Position Number | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Osman Ghani | 2 September 1961 – 1963 | 1st | <ref name="agris" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | |
| S.D. Chaudhuri | 1963–1969 | 2nd | <ref name="bas-chaudhuri" /> | |
| Kamaluddin Ahmad | 1969–1971 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Ashraful Haque | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||
| Quazi Mohammad Fazlur Rahim | January 1971 – July 1971, January 1972 – November 1973 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Muhammad Amirul Islam (died 2001) | 1971–1972 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Mosleh Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury | 24 November 1973 – October 1980 | 6th | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| AKM Aminul Haque | 1980–1988 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Shah Mohammad Farouk | 23 August 1993 - 13 November 1996 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Mohammad Hossain | 14 November 1996 – 5 February 2000 | |||
| M Mustafizur Rahman | 2001 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Muhammed Amirul Islam | 2004 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| M Musharraf Hossain Mian | 2006 | 18th | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Md. Akhtar Hossain | 2008 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| MA Sattar Mandal | 15 November 2008 – | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ds29Aug2010" /> | ||
| Rafiqul Haque | 11 August 2011 – 8 April 2015 | 22nd | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Md. Ali Akbar | 24 May 2015 – | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Lutful Hassan | 30 May 2019 – | 24th | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Emdadul Haque Chowdhury | – 11 August 2024 | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| A K Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan | 19 September 2024 – present | 26th | <ref name="tbs19Sep2024" /> |
Finances
The University Grants Commission (UGC) funds more than 90% of the university's recurring budget and all of its capital projects.<ref name="agris" />
Academics
BAU's academic year runs from July to June. It operates on a semester system. It offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. The university is accredited by the UGC.<ref name="IAU2019" />
Faculties and departments
The university has 45 departments organised into six faculties: agriculture, agricultural economics and rural sociology, agricultural engineering and technology, animal husbandry, fisheries, and veterinary science. It also has four institutes.<ref name="glance">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Faculty of Agriculture is one of the two original faculties of the university.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> It consists of 17 departments:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Columns-list
The Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology was added in 1963.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> It consists of five departments:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Departments drop down menu.</ref>
- Department of Agribusiness and Marketing
- Department of Agricultural Economics
- Department of Agricultural Finance and Banking
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Statistics
- Department of Rural Sociology
The Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology was added in 1964.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> It consists of five departments:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Department of Computer Science and Mathematics
- Department of Farm Power and Machinery
- Department of Farm Structure and Environmental Engineering
- Department of Food Technology and Rural Industries
- Department of Irrigation and Water Management
The Faculty of Animal Husbandry was added in 1962. It consists of five departments:<ref name="ah" />
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics
- Department of Animal Nutrition
- Department of Animal Science
- Department of Dairy Science
- Department of Poultry Science
The Faculty of Fisheries, started in 1967, is the newest faculty of the university. It consists of five departments:<ref name="fs" />
- Department of Aquaculture
- Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics
- Department of Fisheries Management
- Department of Fisheries Technology
- Department of Marine Fisheries Science
The Faculty of Veterinary Science is one of the two original faculties of the university.<ref name="Banglapedia" /> It consists of eight departments:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Columns-list
Institutes
The university runs four institutes: Graduate Training Institute (GTI), Institute of Agribusiness and Developmental Studies (IADS); Interdisciplinary Institute for Food Security (IIFS); and Char and Haor Development institute.<ref name="glance" />
Reputation and rankings
The 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking placed BAU 5th among 5 in Bangladesh and tied for 1775th in the world.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The July 2024 Webometrics Ranking of World Universities placed BAU 9th out of 170 in Bangladesh and 2323rd in the world.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> BAU was ranked 1001–1200 globally in the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Admissions and costs
Admission requires a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) or foreign equivalent and an entrance exam.<ref name="IAU2019"/>
Starting in 2019, all public agricultural universities adopted a cluster system for undergraduate admissions.<ref name="na28Nov2024" /> Under the system, an annual integrated entry exam takes place simultaneously at multiple locations around the country. In October 2024, 51,836 candidates sat the exam for 3,718 available seats. Of those, 1,116 seats were at BAU, with the remainder spread among the other public universities offering agricultural degrees.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the exam, BAU's academic council decided to pull the university out of the cluster admissions system.<ref name="na28Nov2024">Template:Cite news</ref> At the request of the Ministry of Education, the university agreed to continue with the cluster system for the 2024–2025 academic year to avoid confusion and disruption.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
BAU charges admission and residential hall fees, plus variable fees for each semester.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are different fees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and different ones for international students.
Publications
The Journal of the Bangladesh Agricultural University is published on behalf of the Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System. It is a peer-reviewed, open access journal, published quarterly. It accepts original research articles and review articles on all fields of agricultural science.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first volume was published in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Notable people
Faculty
- Humayun Ahmed, author<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- A. K. M. Saidul Haque Chowdhury, agriculturist, vice chancellor of Noakhali University of Science and Technology<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Abdul Karim, soil scientist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Shamsuzzaman Khan, folklorist<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Alumni
- M. Golam Shahi Alam, veterinarian and university administrator<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Shamsul Alam, economist, former state minister of planning<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Md. Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan, plant geneticist and university administrator<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Goutam Buddha Das, animal nutritionist and university administrator<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Sajjadul Hassan, MP for Netrokona-4 (2023–2024)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, MP for Gaibandha-3 (1986–1996), (1996–2013)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- M. Afzal Hossain, biochemist and university administrator<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Aolad Hossain, MP for Dhaka-4 (2024)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Md Mokbul Hossain (secretary), secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Md. Matiar Rahman Howlader, veterinarian and university administrator<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Md. Tofazzal Islam, biotechnologist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Jahangir Alam Khan, agricultural economist, Ekushey Padak recipient<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Md. Giashuddin Miah, agronomist and university administrator<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- M. Azizur Rahman, economist and university administrator<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, minister of agriculture (2019–2024)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Shawkat Momen Shahjahan, MP for Tangail-8 (1986–1988, 1999–2001, and 2008–2014)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Shahanaz Sultana, plant geneticist, Ekushey Padak recipient<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
References
External links
Template:Agricultural universities of Bangladesh Template:Public Universities of Bangladesh Template:Authority control