The University of Damascus (Arabic: جامعة دمشق‎, Jāmi‘atu Dimashq) is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine (established 1903) and the Institute of Law (established 1913), also making it the oldest university in modern-day Syria. Until 1958 it was named the Syrian University, but the name changed after the founding of the University of Aleppo. Today, there are six other public universities and more than 10 private ones in Syria. The University of Damascus consists of several faculties, Higher Institutes, intermediate institutes and a School of Nursing. There is an institution specialized in teaching the Arabic language to foreigners, which is the largest institution of its kind in the Arab world. Syrian universities take great pride in the fact that most courses are taught in Arabic, which is something unique in the Arab World. For most courses in the first years, there are text books written in Arabic and authored by the university professors.