The center was established under Law No. 116 on 7/31/1971 under the auspices and supervision of the University of Baghdad, the Ministry of Municipalities, and the Ministry of Planning. The center’s law stipulated that the University of Baghdad would grant a higher diploma in urban and regional planning to anyone who completed the study requirements set by the center and successfully passed the exams. However, this certificate became (Master’s) after the University of Baghdad approved it in accordance with the text of the law, and the center began to grant a Master’s degree in urban and regional planning starting from the academic year 1977-1978 (seventh session) after it had been granting a higher diploma in urban and regional planning starting from the first session until the sixth session. The center accepted a number of students at a rate of (20) students who had obtained a bachelor’s degree in the specializations (architectural engineering, civil engineering, surveying engineering, geography, economics, statistics, sociology, administration, agricultural economics, law). The study of the Master’s was suspended twice since its establishment, the first time in the academic year 1979-1980, when studies were suspended at the center to merge the center with the College of Engineering, and the second time in the academic year 1992-1993 and the academic year 1993-1994 due to the lack of professors holding the academic title qualified to open studies at that time due to the migration of professors outside Iraq due to the siege, and in the academic year 1994-1995
