In the early 1960s, the first independent government of then Northern Rhodesia appointed a Commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Lockwood, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, to advise on the development of tertiary education. In July 1964 the former Rhodes-Livingstone Institute, a research institute with an international reputation for research in social anthropology dating back to 1938, came under the jurisdiction of the Provisional Council of the University. In August 1965, the Oppenheimer College of Social Service was incorporated into the university.

The university began with three schools: Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. As facilities developed and additional needs recognized, new schools were added: Law (1967), Engineering (1969), Medicine (1970), Agricultural Sciences (1971), Mines (1973), Business and Industrial Studies (1978), Environmental Studies (1981), and Veterinary Medicine (1983).

In its first academic year, the University enrolled 312 students. The numbers rose to over 1,000 in 1970 and, 10 years later, stood at over 4,000. Total enrollment was expected to reach 8,000 students. Since this number could not be accommodated academically or residentially at the main campus in Lusaka, it was decided that the university would be developed federally to comprise three institutions, one at Lusaka, one at Ndola and athird at Solwezi in the North-Western Province. In 1987, however, the federal structure was abolished to create two universities, today the University of Zambia and the Copperbelt University.

Country fact file
Zambia has a population of 10.5m and an estimated per capita income of $800. The literacy rate stands at 81%, with an estimated 86% living below the poverty line.