For the first time an Iraqi University has made the best universities in the world list. The University of Baghdad has made it onto the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It has been ranked in the 801-to-a-thousand range on the list of best universities. A director of the Times stated that the university had "distinguished" itself for having a "very strong international cooperation". He said the University of Baghdad had played a very important role in the rebuilding of Iraq after its recent wars and internal troubles.
The University of Baghdad is the largest university in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab world. Its roots go back to the year 1067. The first of the university's modern departments started in 1908. The University of Baghdad was formally established in 1956. It stayed open throughout the invasions and occupations of Iraq earlier this century. Many academics and students see the ranking as a prestigious accolade. One student said: "I am so proud of Baghdad University. It means the world to us to be held in such high esteem."