Overview
In response to the Royal directives aimed at supporting and consolidating comprehensive development in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, His Majesty King Abdullah II laid the foundation stone for The University of Jordan, Aqaba Branch on 30 April 2009. The branch began welcoming students at the start of the academic year 2009/2010, and the Faculty of Basic and Marine Sciences was among the faculties established during this phase.
The Faculty of Basic and Marine Sciences is located within the main campus of The University of Jordan, Aqaba Branch in the city of Aqaba. This location contributes to scientific and academic interaction among the Faculty’s students, their peers in other faculties, and various academic and administrative units within the University. It also enhances cooperation with official research institutions and private-sector companies, given Aqaba’s strategic position as a vibrant hub on the Red Sea coast.
The Marine Science Station, established in the mid-1970s on the southern coast of Aqaba as an important scientific research center, constitutes one of the key pillars supporting the Faculty’s academic programs and student activities in the field of marine sciences. The station provides qualified personnel, including researchers, supervisors, and technicians, in addition to extensive and diverse research laboratories used in advanced scientific research applications.
In 2013, following the graduation of the Faculty’s first cohort of students, the Master’s program in Marine Sciences was introduced to enable graduates of the Faculty and other faculties to pursue postgraduate studies in various fields of marine sciences. This program has since become one of the successful postgraduate programs offered by the Faculty.
The Faculty has witnessed continuous development in its academic programs. Accordingly, its name was changed from the “Faculty of Marine Sciences” to the “Faculty of Basic and Marine Sciences” in the academic year 2019/2020, in line with the University’s vision to expand academic disciplines to include multiple areas of basic sciences, such as undergraduate programs in Life Sciences and Mathematics, in addition to the Master’s program in Marine Sciences.