University of Tobruk in Libya | Faculties, Majors, and International Rankings 2026
About the University of Tobruk
University of Tobruk a public Libyan university headquartered in the city of Tobruk in eastern Libya, and it primarily serves students in the eastern region and the far east of the country. It is a relatively young university in its current form, but it builds on an older academic institution that began in 1991 as a Faculty of Social Sciences affiliated with Omar Al-Mukhtar University. In 2016 the University of Tobruk was officially established as an independent university by government decision.
Today, the university comprises 15 faculties distributed across 6 university sites, and offers programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, medical technology, engineering, science, economics, law, arts, education, natural resources, tourism, archaeology, and sports science.
Official website: University of Tobruk – Official Website
History of the University of Tobruk
The university's history can be divided into two main phases:
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1991 | Establishment of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Tobruk, affiliated with Omar Al-Mukhtar University |
| 1991–2015 | Gradual expansion in establishing faculties and majors |
| 2016 | Official establishment of the University of Tobruk as an independent university |
| 2016–2026 | The university expanded to 15 faculties and 6 university sites |
QS data indicate that the university began asa Faculty of Social Sciences affiliated with Omar Al-Mukhtar University on September 28, 1991, then its institutions gradually evolved until the decision to establish the University of Tobruk in its independent form was issued in 2016.
This makes it a relatively young Libyan university compared with institutions such as the University of Benghazi or the University of Tripoli, while at the same time possessing a steadily expanding institutional and academic base.
Faculties of the University of Tobruk
According to university and QS data, the University of Tobruk comprises 15 colleges, namely:
Medical and Health Faculties
- College of Human Medicine.
- College of Oral and Dental Medicine and Surgery.
- Faculty of Nursing.
- Faculty of Medical Technology.
- Faculty of Pharmacy.
Scientific and engineering faculties
- Faculty of Engineering.
- College of Science.
- Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.
Humanities and social sciences faculties
- Faculty of Economics and Political Science.
- Faculty of Arts.
- Faculty of Law.
- Faculty of Education.
- Faculty of Education – Al-Asahab.
Specialized Faculties
- Faculty of Tourism and Antiquities.
- Faculty of Sports Sciences.
These institutions are distributed across 6 main university sites, giving the university a geographic reach that extends beyond the main campus in Tobruk.
Most Prominent Academic Specializations
Medicine and health sciences
The university comprises a broad system of health disciplines:
- Human medicine.
- Dentistry.
- Pharmacy.
- Nursing.
- Medical laboratories.
- Medical technology.
The QS database shows programs in medicine, dentistry, nursing, medical laboratories, and microbiology among the university's academic programs.
The health sector represents one of the university's most important areas of academic expansion, especially given Tobruk's location and its role in providing health personnel for the eastern region.
engineering
The Faculty of Engineering comprises programs in a range of disciplines, most notably:
- Civil engineering.
- Electrical engineering.
- Mechanical engineering.
- Chemical engineering.
- Computer engineering and computer science.
QS data indicate bachelor's programs in civil, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, in addition to computer science.
The mechanical engineering department's vision published on QS indicates the program's focus on design, production, and mechanical energy, linking engineering education to scientific research and serving the Libyan labor sector.
Science, Natural Resources, and the Environment
The university comprises the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.
Among the fields appearing in the university's programs:
- Chemistry.
- Botany.
- Geology.
- Geography.
- Environmental sciences.
- Marine resources.
- Earth sciences.
These disciplines acquire special importance given Tobruk's coastal location and the region's connection to natural, marine, and environmental resources.
From a research perspective, these fields can form an important base for the university in research on:
Water + marine environment + climate change + natural resources + biodiversity.
Economics and Political Science
The university offers programs in:
- Economics.
- Accounting.
- Business Administration.
- Political Science.
And Accounting among the graduate programs listed with QS, indicating that some disciplines extend to the graduate level.
Law
The Faculty of Law comprises programs in public law and private law, and graduate programs in law appear on QS.
One example is the Master of Public Law, which focuses on constitutional, administrative, financial, and tax law, while encouraging faculty members to research, publish, and participate in scientific conferences.
This represents one of the areas that can contribute to strengthening graduate studies and scientific research at the university.
Arts, Languages, and Humanities
The university's humanities programs include:
- Arabic Language.
- English Language.
- French language.
- History.
- Philosophy.
- Archaeology.
- Geography.
These programs appear within the university's QS academic database.
The university also offers programs in Tourism and archaeology, a field of special importance given the rich archaeological and tourism heritage of eastern Libya.
Graduate studies and scientific research
Although the university is relatively young, it has developed graduate study tracks in a number of fields.
QS data show master's programs in:
- Arabic Language.
- Islamic history.
- Modern and contemporary history.
- Law.
- Human geography.
- Physical geography.
- Accounting.
QS also notes that the university established a main scientific research center and a languages center, and that it has organized scientific conferences and workshops and founded two peer-reviewed journals.
From a rankings perspective, developing this research infrastructure will be important for transforming the university from a regional teaching institution into one with greater research impact.
University of Tobruk in Numbers
There is a discrepancy between the data published on the official website and QS data depending on the update date; therefore, when publishing figures it is best to indicate their source.
According to current QS data:
| Index | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total students | 7,956 |
| Undergraduate students | 98.4% |
| Postgraduate students | 1.6% |
| International students | 102 |
| Faculty members | 581 |
| International faculty | 6% |
| Undergraduate and postgraduate programs | 55 |
| Number of Faculties | 15 |
| University sites | 6 |
The university's official website currently displays 650 faculty members, 250 teaching assistants, and 6,150 graduates, which are institutional figures published on the homepage and should not be merged with QS figures without specifying the data source and year.
University of Tobruk and the International Rankings 2026
Webometrics 2026
In the Webometrics – January 2026 The University of Tobruk came in at:
9,458 worldwide
7th place in Libya
according to the Webometrics table of Libyan universities.
The university's indicators were as follows:
| Index | Score |
|---|---|
| World Rank | 9,458 |
| Country Rank | 7 |
| Impact Rank | 9,752 |
| Openness Rank | 5,429 |
| Excellence Rank | 7,464 |
Webometrics historical data reveal that the university's world rank changed as follows:
| Edition | Global rank |
|---|---|
| January 2022 | 6,357 |
| January 2023 | 6,803 |
| January 2024 | 7,890 |
| January 2025 | 8,658 |
| July 2025 | 8,658 |
| January 2026 | 9,458 |
This indicates a relative decline in the world ranking compared with previous years, while emphasizing that Webometrics measures a set of digital presence, openness, and research excellence indicators—not teaching quality alone.
International Rankings Table for the University of Tobruk
| Ranking | Year | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Webometrics | January 2026 | 9,458 worldwide |
| Webometrics – Libya | January 2026 | 7th in Libya |
| THE World University Rankings | 2026 | No published numerical rank appears |
| ARWU Shanghai | 2026 | Does not appear in the world ranking |
An Analytical Reading of the University of Tobruk's Performance
From the perspective of International Rankings and Academic Strategy, the University of Tobruk differs from older Libyan universities in one key respect: the youth of its institutional age.
1. The university is young but has expanded rapidly
It began as a limited academic nucleus in 1991, became an independent university in 2016, and then reached 15 faculties and 6 university sites.
This expansion is a strength in terms of the ability to offer multiple disciplines, but it conversely poses a challenge in maintaining uniform quality across different faculties and sites.
2. The medical sector represents a strategic opportunity
The presence of:
Medicine + dentistry + pharmacy + nursing + medical technology
provides a strong base for building an integrated health research ecosystem, especially in chronic diseases, public health, clinical medicine, and applied medical sciences.
3. The geographic location provides a research advantage
The university's location in Tobruk and eastern Libya gives it the opportunity to develop research specializations linked to:
- The marine environment.
- Marine resources.
- Geology.
- Water.
- The desert and coastal environment.
- Tourism and Archaeology.
- Border development.
These are areas that could distinguish the university from other Libyan universities if they become institutional research priorities.
4. QS Contributor status is an important step, but it is not a ranking
From a rankings management perspective, the university's participation in QS as aContributor is a positive step, because it means communication and data submission to one of the most important international higher education platforms.
But the next phase should be the transition from contributing data to achieving ranking eligibility and a stronger digital and academic presence.
5. Webometrics reveals an area for improvement
The move from 6,357 worldwide in 2022 to 9,458 in January 2026 indicates that the university needs to strengthen its digital and research presence, particularly in the openness and research excellence indicators.
What does the University of Tobruk need to improve its international presence?
From a strategic perspective, I propose that the university focus on six axes:
1. Building an institutional ranking strategy
Defining QS, THE, and Webometrics as institutional projects with annual performance indicators.
2. Unifying researchers' digital identity
Linking faculty members to ORCID, Scopus, and Google Scholar profiles and ensuring the university's name is unified.
3. Raising the quality of scientific research
Focusing on high-impact research and citations, not just the number of publications.
4. Building research centers of excellence
particularly in:
Marine sciences and environment + health and medicine + energy and engineering + archaeology and tourism.
5. Increasing international cooperation
Raising the share of joint research with international universities and increasing international programs, researchers, and students.
6. Improving the website and digital repositories
Making research, journals, and institutional data available in an organized, indexable, and discoverable manner.
This path is also important for improving the university's chances of moving from merely QS Contributor to a university with a clearer digital ranking presence.
The University of Tobruk Among Libyan Universities
in Webometrics January 2026 The University of Tobruk ranked seventh nationally:
| Rank in Libya | The university is | Global rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Benghazi | 4,423 |
| 2 | Tripoli University | 4,442 |
| 3 | Omar Al-Mukhtar University | 5,479 |
| 4 | Misurata University | 6,207 |
| 5 | University of Sebha | 6,302 |
| 6 | Libyan International Medical University | 8,793 |
| 7 | University of Tobruk | 9,458 |
| 8 | University of Zawia | 9,631 |
This places the University of Tobruk among the group of Libyan universities with a measurable international digital presence, though it still trails the more established Libyan universities in Webometrics.
University of Tobruk a relatively young public Libyan university whose institutional roots began in 1991 as a Faculty of Social Sciences affiliated with Omar Al-Mukhtar University, then was officially established as an independent university in 2016. Today it comprises 15 faculties across 6 university sites, and covers broad disciplines including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, medical technology, engineering, science, economics, law, arts, education, natural resources, environment, tourism, archaeology, and sports science.
And in 2026, the most important ranking point to record precisely is that the University of Tobruk is not numerically ranked in the QS Arab Region Rankings 2026, but rather holds the status of QS Contributor; meaning it contributed data to QS but did not obtain a published position in the ranking table.
As for Webometrics January 2026, where it placed 9,458 worldwide and seventh in Libya.
Strategically, the University of Tobruk has a good opportunity to build a distinctive research identity, particularly in medicine, health sciences, marine resources, environment, engineering, and archaeology. The core challenge will be converting its academic expansion into high-impact research output, greater international cooperation, and a stronger digital presence, qualifying it in the future to move from QS Contributor status to a stronger digital and academic ranking presence.