The National University of Uzbekistan traces its founding to 1918 as the Turkestan People's University, making it the oldest university in Central Asia, and it has operated under five different names through the Soviet period and Uzbekistan's 1991 independence before adopting its current name honoring the astronomer-ruler Mirzo Ulugbek. Today it enrolls more than 31,500 students across 17 faculties in Tashkent, with particular strength in mathematics and the natural sciences reflected in alumni such as Vladimir Vapnik, co-inventor of the support vector machine algorithm. International tuition runs approximately 1,800 USD per year for undergraduate programs and 2,200 USD for graduate programs, with student housing included. The university ranked 721-730 in the QS World University Rankings 2026, an improvement from its 781-790 band the previous year.
Founded on April 21, 1918, as the Turkestan People's University, NUUz is the oldest institution of higher learning in Central Asia, predating Uzbekistan's Soviet period and its later independence in 1991 by decades. During the Soviet era, under its name Tashkent State University, the institution placed first among Central Asian institutions in the regional education system between 1961 and 1969. Its alumni include Vladimir Vapnik, whose support vector machine algorithm, developed with Alexey Chervonenkis, remains a standard technique taught in machine learning courses worldwide, a direct and checkable link between this specific university and a widely used computational method. Students choosing NUUz are choosing an institution renamed the National University of Uzbekistan after Ulugbek, the 15th-century astronomer-ruler of Samarkand, a naming choice the university itself frames as a link to Central Asia's historical scientific tradition.
Application deadlines are being updated. Check the official website for current dates.
| Program | Level | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Mathematics and Intellectual Technologies | BACHELOR | 3-4 YRS |
| Physics | MASTER | 1-2 YRS |
| Chemistry | PHD | 3-5 YRS |
| Biology | MBA | 12-24 MO |
| Mathematical Engineering and Computer Science | BACHELOR | 3-4 YRS |