Independent University, Bangladesh
Independent University, Bangladesh () or IUB is a private university in Bangladesh. It is located in Bashundhara Residential Area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 1993 under the Private University Act, 1992. With an explicit focus on Research and Global partnerships. IUB has an enrollment of 7,378 students, 11,556 alumni and 401 faculty members (of which 38% have PhD's mostly from North America). The campus is spread over three acres and is well-equipped with an amphitheatre, a library, state-of-the-art laboratories and more than 70 classrooms. The university is committed to research and  global partnerships. This is why students are encouraged to engage in research projects, alongside conventional classroom-based learning. The Independent University has academic research collaborations with a number of prestigious universities including Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of Colorado at Boulder. IUB is the only university in Bangladesh that was shortlisted in the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2020 for student recruitment campaign of the year. IUB's position is at the top in the whole of Asia. According to world university rankings of Times Higher Education (THE) IUB stands within 400th universities globally in terms of various  aspects of impact analysis. The Ranking Web of Universities (RWU) credited IUB as the top institution in the country in 2019. IUB, ranked 1st in Bangladesh, was also ranked 859th among the 11,852 Asian universities (excluding the Middle East), 124th among the 4,479 universities in South Asia, and 3,006th among the 28,000+ universities in the world. For comparison, the lowest ranking institution in Bangladesh (i.e., 147th), was ranked 10,701st in Asia, 4,155th in South Asia, and 26,428th in the world, which clearly shows a wide spectrum of the quality of higher education in the country. As the leading host  institution for Fulbright Scholars in Bangladesh, the university offers exchange programmes with scholars from top American and Canadian universities. The academic curriculum at the Independent University is based on a North American liberal arts model, and courses are taught in English. There are five academic schools at the university: School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE); School of Engineering, Technology and Science (SETS); School of Environment and Life Sciences (SELS); School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (SLASS); and School of Pharmacy and Public Health (SPPH). There are a lot of opportunities outside of the classroom for students to get involved  in. The Division of Student Affairs is responsible for organising all student activities including the 17 university clubs. These include art club, debating club, economic club and film club. Students also participate in community service programmes such as blood donation, fundraising for victims of natural disasters and donating warm clothes in winter. Academics. School of Business and Entrepreneurship (SBE). Undergraduate program. The school offers an undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. Available areas of concentration are accounting, economics, finance, general management, human resource management, international business, management information systems, and marketing. Graduate program (MBA). The school offers an MBA  degree. Students are allowed up to five years from the date of initial enrollment to complete the degree requirements. It is possible to finish the program within five semesters by taking the maximum course load, or within three semesters if students have waivers or transfer courses. Available areas of concentration are: banking, finance, human resources management, and marketing. Graduate program (EMBA). The school also offers an EMBA degree. Graduate program (MSc Economics). The school also offers a Master of Science (MSc) in Economics degree. The program offers concentration in Development Economics, International Economics, Applied Econometrics, Financial Economics and Environmental and  Natural Resource Economics. School of Environment and Life Sciences (SELS). Undergraduate program. The school offers undergraduate programs on various majors under the Department of Environmental Science and Management and the Department of Life Sciences. Graduate program. The school offers graduate programs on various majors. School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (SLASS). Undergraduate program. The school offers undergraduate programs on a rare variety including Anthropology, Sociology, Global Studies and Governance (the only program of such kind in the country), Media and Communication, English Literature, English Language Teaching and Law. Besides the school offers undergraduate minors on all subjects mentioned above . It also offers many foundation courses ranging from history to philosophy, art to politics, music to culture. Graduate program. The school offers graduate programs in Development Studies, English Language Teaching, Media and Communication, and English Literature. School of Pharmacy and Public Health (SPPH). Undergraduate program. The school offers an undergraduate program on Pharmacy. Executive Master of Public Health. The school offers an executive master of Public Health. Faculty. The faculty includes scholars such as musicologist Mustafa Zaman Abbasi, microbiologist Shah M. Faruque, pharmacologist J. M. A. Hannan, and climatologist Saleemul Huq. Ekushey Padak and Independence Day Award recipient Enamul Haque  taught at the university.