Jahangirnagar University is a public university in Bangladesh, located in Savar, 30 kilometers from the national capital Dhaka. It was established on 20 August 1970 as Jahangirnagar Muslim University. Although, Jahangirnagar University was formally launched on 12 January 1970, and this date is observed as University Day. In 1973, its name was changed to Jahangirnagar University. The university is residential; every student has an accommodation in one of the residential halls of the university. It is the only one fully residential university in Bangladesh. In 2010, the university had a total of 10,500 students, 672 teachers, 206 staffs and 1,200 other employees.
During 1960s, because of a large population, the pressure of Dhaka University was rapidly increasing. To ease the student pressure of the Dhaka University, the Education Department of the Government of East Pakistan (Present Day Bangladesh) framed a plan in June 1964 to establish a university near Dhaka. The central government of Pakistan also had a plan to build a residential university in East Pakistan, modeled on The Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, West Pakistan (Present Day Pakistan). In June 1965, the Executive Board of the National Economic Council approved the plan. The government first chose Salina in Gazipur District as the preferred location of the university. Even the President of Pakistan Field Marshall Ayub Khan laid the foundation stone there. Later, the location was abandoned due to some bureaucratic difficulties, and the present site was chosen instead.
The university project started its implementation in April 1968 as Jahangirnagar Muslim University, and Professor Surat Ali Khan was made the first Project Director. On 20 August 1970, Jahangirnagar Muslim University Ordinance, 1970 past starts the academic programs of the university. Professor Mafiz Uddin Ahmad was appointed as its first vice-chancellor on September 24, 1970. In 1973, Jahangirnagar Muslim University Act was amended as Jahangirnagar University Act.
