knowledge of Russian, with 57 graduating from the course to enrol in the university. This initial course was mostly taught by teachers from the Soviet secondary school in Ulaanbaatar. In addition to these graduates, some teachers with Russian language skills were selected, with the first enrolment consisting of a total of 93 students. Among Mongolians, those with sufficient Russian language skills were mostly of the Buryat ethnic group, many of which were the children of those purged in the 1930s. 70-90 percent of these first students were Buryats, while a sizeable minority were USSR citizens. Socialist period In 1943 the Faculty of Zootechnics was formed. In 1946 the first graduation ceremony was held for 35 graduates. In 1947 the Faculty of Social Sciences was formed, comprising departments of history and economics. In 1949, the faculties of Veterinary Sciences and Zootechnics merged to form the Faculty of Agriculture. Shortly thereafter in 1951, the Faculties of Chemistry and Biology were formed, while in the same year the Faculty of Pedagogy was spun off into a separate Pedagogical Institute (now the Mongolian State University of Education). Foreign language programs started in 1956, while programs for performing arts were started in 1957. In 1958, the Faculty of Agriculture was spun off into a separate Agricultural Institute (now the Mongolian State University of Agriculture). Legal studies commenced in 1960, while programs in Geology in Mechanical Engineering were introduced in 1961. The same year, the Faculty of Medicine was made into a separate Medical Institute (now the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences). In 1962, programs in Meteorology, Construction, and Energy Engineering started. The Nuclear Research Center was established in 1965, with cooperation of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, USSR. In 1969, the Polytechnical Institute was established under the NUM, comprising faculties of Civil Engineering, Power Engineering, Geology and Mining, Mechanical Engineering, and Engineering Economics. This institute was eventually formed into its own separate university in 1982, the Mongolian University of Science and Technology. The Russian language institute was established in 1979, with this separating into an institute in 1982, eventually forming into the current University of the Humanities. Modern era The university played a crucial role in the Mongolian Revolution of 1990, playing host to various secret groups discussing democracy. In 1994, 13 students were awarded master's degrees. In 1997, the department of postgraduate affairs was established with the purpose of increasing