Hawassa University (HU) was established at Hawassa in April 2000.Since 1976 the different colleges of HU had been operational starting with the college of Agriculture. The University has been formed by merging three colleges in Southern Ethiopia: Awassa College of
Agriculture (ACA), Wondogenet College of Forestry and Dilla College of Teacher
Education and
Health Sciences. The historical background of the three colleges is briefly described below.
Awassa College of
Agriculture (ACA) was established in July 1976 to offer a 2-year Diploma course with specialization in Plant Science, Animal Science, Agricultural Engineering and Home
Economics with the objective of training middle level technicians that would serve as
agriculture development and home agents all over the country. In the 1990-91 academic years the college launched a four-year Program in Plant Production and Dry Land Farming, Animal Production and Range Land
Management and a five-year program in Agricultural Engineering and Mechanization. Moreover, the teaching staff of the college has actively been engaged in conducting research and offering consultancy services to various organizations.
Wondo Genet College of Forestry (WGCF) was established as Forestry Resources Institute in January 1978 to train forest technicians in a two-year Diploma program. In 1996/7 academic year, the college was upgraded to a four-year degree program following the transfer of the Forestry Faculty from Alamaya University to WGCF. Through sustained effort and support provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the college has been successful in establishing training programs as well as building essential infrastructure, teaching facilities, staff and over all institutional capacity.
Dilla College of Teacher
Education and
Health Sciences was established in 1996 with two faculties: Faculty of Teacher
Education and Faculty of
Health Sciences. The objective of the college was to train secondary school teachers and mid-level
health professionals. The college was afterwards separated from Hawassa University and now stands as a university by its own; however, the
Health faculty has been moved to Hawassa.
Last Updated on: Apr 24, 2025