The Freshman Program is designed to bridge or narrow the gap between secondary and higher education (University) in Eritrea. High school students are not adequately prepared in secondary schools to be integrated into university programs, so the Freshman Program is committed to narrowing this gap. Efforts are focused on reducing the attrition rate to ensure the successful retention and completion of students enrolled in the freshman year. The Freshman Program offers various academic and advisory support programs to ensure the academic success of students during freshman and subsequent years.

Click here to read current admissions requirements for degree programs at the University. Students normally stay in the freshman year for two semesters and take at least 35 credits before they are placed into one of the various departments in the colleges.

In 1997, the Freshman Program started integrating students from different sectors of the community - especially Arabic-speaking students from Eritrea and the Middle East. The Special English Program is a one-year training meant to integrate the Arabic-speaking students into the university community to continue their studies. It is run by the Directorate of the Freshman Program with the cooperation of the Department of English. Those students with good command of English are not required to join the program.

• Orientation is given to incoming students at the beginning of the school year in Counseling, Academic Rules and Regulations, Student Services, and the use of the Library;
• Orientation to the various colleges and departments in the university is given during Semester II to give students adequate information and advice to be able to choose a major and begin to consider their future careers. A booklet is also distributed with information on departments, academic rules, etc. Students complete a form at this time, selecting their first and second choices of departments, which is processed in the directorate to be presented in the committee;
• The office prepares registration forms, processes Freshman grades, deals with re-sit exams of regular and readmitted; Keeps files and records of freshman students;
• The office advises Freshmen on add or drop courses if any;
• The office counsels students on withdrawals, seeking to make it possible for students to remain in the university to continue their studies;
• The office advises students changing from degree to diploma programs.