The University of Dschang is located in the town of Dschang, West Cameroon, about 425 kilometers northwest of Yaoundé. It has its roots in three agricultural training schools, and evolved from an agricultural institution to a university in 1993. In 1977, the Government of Cameroon authorized the creation of university centers at locations in Cameroon. The University Center at Dschang (UCD), was created by Presidential Decree No. 77/108 of April 28, 1977. In May 1978, ENSA (Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique) in Yaounde and the Institute for Agricultural Technologies in Dschang were incorporated into the UCD. ENSA was to be transferred to Dschang as soon as possible. These two institutions were later merged into a single academic entity "The National Institute of Rural Development". In 1979-80, the US government, in exchanges with the Cameroon government, decided to provide assistance to UCD. In 1981, the University of Florida was selected on a competitive basis to design that assistance, through what was named the Agricultural Education Project. In 1993, the UCD was transformed into the University of Dschang.