Our Story and Tradition

Higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina were established only after World War II, with the establishment of the Yugoslav communist government. Their development was stimulated by the Scientific Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which later evolved into the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina were founded only after World War II, with the establishment of the Yugoslav communist government. Their development was encouraged by the Scientific Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which later evolved into the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. An important factor in the development of higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina was economic development and the increased social standard achieved in the 1970s. At that time, in addition to the previously established University of Sarajevo (1946), universities were founded in Banja Luka (1975), Tuzla (1966) and Mostar (1977), as well as the Faculty of Economics in Brčko and the Faculty of Transport and Communications in Doboj. The establishment of these institutions was in line with the needs of a society that sought faster economic progress and social upliftment.

After World War II, the wider Tuzla area experienced rapid economic development, which was based on the wealth of natural resources and industrial progress. Economic development also required university-educated personnel, especially professional personnel needed by the industrial sector. For these reasons, the first higher education institutions were founded in Tuzla already in the 1950s. First, in 1958, at the request of the mines of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Higher Mining School was established. The following year, the Faculty of Technology in Tuzla began operating as a dislocated faculty of the University of Sarajevo. Already in 1960, the Higher School of Mining grew into the Faculty of Mining. The emerging academic community in Tuzla was enriched in the same year with the establishment of the Higher Pedagogical School, which in 1969 grew into the Pedagogical Academy. The Higher Economic and Commercial School was founded in 1961 in Brčko, and these institutions began with the education of highly educated personnel in northeastern Bosnia.

Foundation of new faculties created prerequisites for the establishment of a university. The establishment of the Faculty of Medicine in Tuzla and the Faculty of Economics in Brčko in 1976 represented a crossroads from which the path of multidisciplinary development was taken, introducing other scientific fields in addition to technical sciences. The establishment of a new university proved to be a necessary and logical consequence, not only to continue the development of higher education, but also to ensure the further transformation of the most populous region in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The establishment of the University was preceded by the constitution of the Association of Higher Education and Scientific Research Institutions in the Region of Northeastern Bosnia in 1972 and the Consortium for the Development of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tuzla. By a decision of the Tuzla Municipal Assembly of 15 April 1975, an initiative committee for the establishment of a university was appointed with 104 members and the president was academician Ismet Mujezinović. The agreement on the association into a University was signed on 18 November 1976 in Sarajevo, and the ceremony marking the beginning of its work was held on 18 December in Tuzla.

From its foundation in 1976 to 1992, the University of Tuzla underwent intensive institutional and scientific development and strengthened its staff, giving a strong impetus to science and education, as well as the economic development of this area. Thanks to the work of the University of Tuzla, the number of students in northeastern Bosnia significantly increased - from 6,000 in 1971 to 14,000 in 1981. By 1991, 11,425 people had obtained a college degree and 6,790 had obtained a university degree at higher education institutions operating within the University of Tuzla; 230 people had obtained a master's degree and 125 people had obtained a doctorate. The war circumstances greatly complicated all processes at the University. In one day (May 15, 1992), 130 teachers and associates left the University. The blockade of Sarajevo severed ties with the relevant state institutions. However, even in such circumstances, the University of Tuzla proved to be a well-organized institution, which continued to operate in a complex war environment, organizing all the necessary key processes at the University. The teaching staff and students contributed to the defense of the country, but also to the organization of life in wartime conditions. It was during this period that the Pedagogical Academy became the Faculty of Philosophy.

The Faculty of Philosophy inherits the tradition of the Higher Pedagogical School, which was founded by the decision of the Assembly of the SR of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1960. As an expression of growing social needs, and drawing on the tradition of the Teacher Training School, the Higher Pedagogical School was the first higher education organization in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin the systematic training of primary school teachers. ... The Faculty of Philosophy inherits the tradition of the Higher Pedagogical School, which was founded in 1960 by the decision of the Assembly of the SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. As an expression of growing social needs, and relying on the tradition of the Teacher Training School, the Higher Pedagogical School was the first higher education organization in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin systematic training of teachers for primary schools. The school was the bearer of numerous actions for professional development of teachers and the organization of numerous professional and educational gatherings of educators. In 1966, construction of a new building began, in parallel with activities to transform it into the Pedagogical Academy. The transformation was completed in 1969, and the building was opened for use on October 2, 1970. The following departments operated at the Pedagogical Academy: Serbo-Croatian-Croatian-Serbian Language and Literature of the Yugoslav Peoples, Mathematics and Physics, Technical Education, Physical Education, Biology and Chemistry, and Classroom Teaching. This structure remained until the beginning of the aggression and war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the exception that in 1988 the Department of Mathematics and Physics ceased to operate. In 1976, the Pedagogical Academy became a member of the newly founded University of Tuzla. 9,912 teachers were educated at the Higher Pedagogical School, or Pedagogical Academy.

Development continued in 1993, when a new transformation occurred - the Pedagogical Academy became the Faculty of Philosophy. The first academic year, 1993/94, the Faculty began with seven study groups. The two-year teacher training program became a four-year program, and the number of study groups was also increased. The departments of History-Geography, Journalism, then English, German and Turkish languages ​​and literature, Social Work and Philosophy-Sociology were opened. Gradually, the departments of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology were separated and formed the Faculty of Natural Sciences, while the Department of Physical Education later became the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. Through the process of separating the aforementioned study groups, the Faculty of Philosophy became a higher education institution that educates students exclusively in the humanities and social sciences. The Faculty of Philosophy is today the most complex and largest faculty at the University, with 11 departments and 13 study programs in the first cycle of studies.

The Department of History and Geography, as a two-subject, four-year study department, was founded in the academic year 1993/94, as the seventh department of the newly formed Faculty of Philosophy in Tuzla. ... The Department of History and Geography, as a two-subject four-year study department, was founded in the academic year 1993/94, as the seventh department of the newly formed Faculty of Philosophy in Tuzla. It functioned as a two-subject study department (history-geography) until the academic year 1999/2000, when it was separated into two single-subject study departments: history and geography. The Department of History now operates as one of the study programs of the Faculty of Philosophy in Tuzla and has five full-time PhDs. The Department has four narrow scientific areas on the basis of which teaching is mainly conducted, namely: Ancient History, Medieval History, Modern History, and Contemporary History. The Department of History offers study programs in all three cycles of studies.