Founded in 1968, SUE is the oldest and largest public comprehensive university in Kurdistan region of Iraq. The University was transferred to the city of Erbil, locally known as Hawler, in 1981 after its establishment in the city of Sulaymania. Initially, the university included seven colleges: Science, Agriculture, Engineering, Administration, Arts, Education, and Medicine. In 1985, the college of Law and Politics was added. Several more were established in the following years so that by 2004, the university offered courses in 12 colleges.