In November 1985 the university component of the then Academy of South West Africa was officially designated an autonomous university.
The new university did not have a department of nursing science with which the Windhoek and Oshakati Nursing Colleges could be associated. It was consequently resolved to establish a Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in the university and this faculty assumed responsibility for the professional training of nurses and midwives, both in Windhoek and at Oshakati after 01 January 1986.
The School of Nursing and Public Health had several name changes over a period of years since its foundation in 1986. The first change was when the new University Act (No. 18 1992) was passed and the University of Namibia came into being on the 1st of September 1992. During this time the School of Nursing and Public Health was known as the Department of Nursing, and only become known as School of Nursing and Public Health in 2010.
The School of Nursing and Public Health currently provides undergraduate (preregistration) courses in nursing at the Windhoek and Oshakati campuses. An undergraduate (preregistration) course in diagnostic radiography is also presented at the Windhoek campus. In addition, post graduate courses are provided in nursing and Public Health, but only at the Windhoek campus.
