Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU) () is the 12th oldest public university, and second science and technology specialized PhD granting public university, in Bangladesh. It is named after
Mawlana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), also known reverentially as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bangladeshi politician and statesman who was one of the founder of the Awami League, the oldest and main political party in B ...
. The medium of instruction is English. Every year, 925 students enroll in undergraduate programs at the university, delivered by around 243 teachers. In 2024, MBSTU was the 5th ranked research university in Bangladesh according to
Scopus-SCImago institution ranking.
History
Bhasani officially announced the establishment of the university on 8 February 1957. However, he was unable to start organising this activity until 1970. On 8 September 1970, Bhasani made his final proposal for a University in an article titled "My Plan for an Islamic University"; however, he did not implement this plan during his lifetime. In 1982, the head of state proposed the establishment of a government university following Bhasani's plan. On 15 December 1982, a 12-member committee was formed. The committee submitted their recommendation to the president on 22 May 1983. On 26 July 1984, the president formed a 9-member Board of Trustees for the Santosh Islami University (SEB) with educationist Mir Fakruzzaman as chairman and Syed Irfanul Bari as secretary. However, due to various complications, including political instability, the program did not advance further.
In 1996, the government enacted a plan to spread science and technology education to remote areas of the country. Part of this plan was to set up a science and technology university in Tangail. In 1997, the government decided to set up one science and technology center in an old district which did not have a university. The Board of Trustees of Santosh Islami University submitted a proposal to the government to establish a science and technology university in Santosh.
PM
Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...
laid the foundation-stone of MBSTU at
Santosh, Tangail in 1999. Aminul Hoque was appointed as the founder project director on 7 January 2001. Yousuf Sharif Ahmed Khan was appointed as vice-chancellor by the government on 21 November 2002, and classes began on 25 October 2003 with 5 teachers and 83 students. Initially, the university had two departments, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The following year two more departments were added, Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM).
[and Criminology and Police Science (CPS)]
In the 2003–2004 academic session, three new departments opened: Textile Engineering (TE), Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering (BGE), and Food Technology & Nutritional Science (FTNS). In the 2010–2011 academic session, four new departments were added: Business Administration, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics. In 2012, Mathematics and Statistics split into two departments. The Department of Economics was established within the Faculty of Social Science in 2012–2013, and in 2013–2014 Pharmacy and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology were founded.
Between 2013 and 2015, MBSTU was the scene of violent clashes allegedly involving the
Bangladesh Chhatra League
Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...
(BCL). University staff were beaten, payments were extorted, buildings were vandalized, classrooms set on fire and in May 2015, a student leader named Abu Sadaat Muhammed Khaled Musharraf was murdered. This caused vice chancellor Mohammad Alauddin to temporarily close the university.
List of vice-chancellors
Campus
The main campus is located in
Santosh
Santosh (), also spelled as Santhosh, is a given name in India and Nepal, usually masculine, sometimes feminine. The name means "Satisfaction" or "Happiness".
Notable people with the given name Santosh, male
* Santosh Bagrodia, former MP, politi ...
, in the southwestern part of
Tangail
Tangail (, ) is a city of Tangail District in central Bangladesh. A significant city in Bangladesh, Tangail lies on the bank of the Louhajang River, northwest of Dhaka, the nation's capital.
Etymology
''Tangail'' originates from the Beng ...
, a city about north-west of
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
. The main campus occupies about and a budget of approximately 3.66 billion BDT has been approved by the government for the enlargement of the university. This area includes six faculties, the administrative building, the central library, a cafeteria, seven student halls, a medical centre and a sports field. The historic auditorium, built under the supervision of Mawlana Bhashani, a big pond named after the mystic guru, Pir (saint/
wali
The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...
) Shah Zamaan, the Mazaar (
Shrine
A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
) of Mawlana Bhashani, a mosque, the Mawlana Bhashani museum and the Mawlana Bhashani Research Center are also located on the university's premises.
In 2023, Sirajganj Government Veterinary College became an Out Reach Campus (second campus) of MBSTU. The off-campus is the latest faculty of MBSTU, Veterinary Medicine and Animal husbandry. It occupies 10 acres of land, and includes a veterinary hospital, an animal shed, an auditorium and a student hall.
Academics
The academic departments of the university offer degree programs under five faculties: the faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Life Science, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Business Administration and Faculty of Social Science. All the departments offer undergraduate degree programs, and 20 departments offer graduate programs.
Ranking and reputation
Undergraduate degree programs
The university has 20 Departments under 7 Faculties.
Graduate degree programs
Faculty of Engineering
* Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)
* Department of Information and Communication Technology (ICT/ICE)
* Department of Textile Engineering (TE)
* Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME)
Faculty of Life Science
* Department of Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM)
* Department of Criminology and Police Science (CPS)
* Department of Food Technology and Nutrition Science (FTNS)
* Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (BGE)
* Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB)
* Department of Pharmacy (PHAR)
Faculty of Science
* Department of Chemistry (CHEM)
* Department of Mathematics (MAT)
* Department of Physics (PHY)
* Department of Statistics & Data Science (STAT)
Faculty of Business Studies
* Department of Accounting (ACCT)
* Department of Management (MGT)
* Department of Business Administration (BBA)
Faculty of Social Science
* Department of Economics (ECON)
Faculty of Arts
* Department of English (ENG)
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science
* Department of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry
Academic calendar
The academic year is divided into two semesters, each of 18.4 weeks. Classes run from 8:00am to 5:00pm five days a week (Saturday through Wednesday).
Thursday and Friday are the weekend. A full-time undergraduate course consists of four sessions (academic years), or eight semesters. A regular examination is held at the end of each semester as a final examination. Other measures of progress include class tests, assignments, and projects.
Admission

BSc admission to MBSTU is competitive, and is determined in part through an admissions test. After completion of the
higher secondary
Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate, Higher Secondary Education Certificate (HSEC) or Intermediate Examination is a secondary education qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is equivalent to the f ...
level (HSC) education, a student can submit an application for an undergraduate admission test if they fulfil the minimum requirement. Students with a minimum grade in the subjects related to the respective departments in their higher secondary examination are allowed to appear in the admission test. There are four units in the admission test program: unit A for Engineering, unit B for Life Science, unit C for Science and unit D for Business Studies and Social Sciences. For the admission of the undergraduate programs in 2016–17 at MBSTU, 66730 candidates competed for 795 places. The most competitive unit is A, for the engineering departments. In 2016-17, approximately 23,000 students competed for 165 places in unit A.
For admission to M.S. and PGD programs, candidates are required to take admission tests.
Campus life
Cultural activities such as
Ekushey February (International Mother Language Day),
Shwadhinota Dibosh (Independence Day),
Bijoy Dibosh (Victory Day), Mawlana Bhashani's birth and death anniversaries,
Pohela Boishakh
Pohela Boishakh () is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengalis, Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam ( ...
(the first day of the
Bengali calendar
The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar (, colloquially , or , , "Bangla Year") is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. In contrast to the traditional Indian Hindu calendar, which begins with the month Chait ...
) and Boshonto Boron (the first day of spring in the Bengali calendar) are celebrated annually. In addition, many other festivals such as programming contests, seminars, workshops, symposiums, debating competitions, quiz contests, a film festival and a book fair are organized throughout the year.
Library

The central library contains a large collection of course-related books, along with reference books and books that cover subjects beyond the courses offered by the university. The university library has been proposed to become an electronic library in keeping with the motto "Digital Bangladesh".
In addition to the Central Library, every department has its own seminar library to fulfil the demands of the students and teachers, with collections of books on topics across the academic courses of that department.
Halls of residence
There are 9 halls (7 halls on the main campus and 2 halls on the Sirajganj campus) to provide residential accommodation and non-residential attachments for MBSTU students. A provost/superintendent and an assistant provost are appointed for every hall administration. The halls are listed below:
Male halls
* Jananeta
Abdul Mannan Hall (also known as JAMH )
* Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...
Hall (also known as BSMRH )
* Shahid
Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...
Hall (also known as SZRH )
* Sheikh Rasel Hall (also known as SRH)
* Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Hall (Sirajganj campus)
Female halls
* Alema Khatun Bhashani Hall (also known as AKBH )
* Shaheed Janani
Jahanara Imam Hall (former residence of the
Zamindar
A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...
of Santosh during the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
, now MBSTU property)
* Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall
* Bangamata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall (Sirajganj campus)
Several other academic halls are under construction.
Health services
The medical centre of MBSTU offers free medical services and medicines to students, teachers and staff of the university, as well as family members of teachers and staff. It also has its own ambulance service.
See also
*
Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST)
*
Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU)
References
External links
University's Official WebsiteMawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University Act, 2001* https://journal.mbstu.ac.bd/
{{Authority control
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
Public universities in Bangladesh
Universities of science and technology in Bangladesh
Tangail
1999 establishments in Bangladesh