King Abdulaziz University


King Abdulaziz University is a public university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1967 as a private university, by a group of businessmen led by Muhammad Abu Bakr Bakhashab and including writer Hamza Bogary. In 1974, King Abdulaziz University was converted to a public university by a decision of the Council Ministers of Saudi Arabia under then-King Faisal's orders. In 2016, it was ranked the #1 Arab university by Times Higher Education. King Abdulaziz University has been placed in the top 200 universities in the world by four major ranking tables.

History

Private university

In the year 1964, the idea of establishing a private university in the city of Jeddah was originally put forward by Mohammed Ali Hafiz. In the same year, a preparatory committee of 6 members was formed, including Mohamed Ali Hafiz and Muhammad Abu Bakr Bakhashab. Shortly after, then-Crown Prince Faisal officially approved the idea. In 1965, the university's executive committee was formed. In 1966, the KAU held a competition to design their logo. The winning design was submitted by Adbul-Halim Radwi, a local artist from Jeddah.
In the year 1967, King Abdulaziz University was officially established as a private university, with goals to spread higher education in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Prior to this date, there were no higher-education institutions in Jeddah. These goals were met through efforts of high-ranking businessmen and notable Saudi figures; and additionally with the help of King Faisal's encouragement and financial support. The university started its first academic year in 1968, with a relatively small number of students. In 1969, the first faculty was established. In 1970, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities was established.

Public university (1974-Present)

In 1974, the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia decided to merge the university with the government; converting it to a public university. This major decision spurred the impressive transformation to where the university stands today. King Abdulaziz University has further witnessed tremendous quantitative and qualitative progress in terms of enrollment and diversity of academic programs. It is now recognized as a world-class university due to its international outreach and collaboration in research, innovation, accreditations and rankings. It does this while continuing to maintain its traditional commitment to delivering outstanding education and community service., it had almost 31,000 students, of which 28% are international, and is considered to be one of the best universities in the Arab world.
The building's construction was designed by Bangladeshi-American architect Fazlur Rahman Khan.
In 2018, it was ranked the 1st Arab university by Times Higher Education due to very strong citation impact and highly international outlook. It also ranked no. 1 in percentage of total publications with international collaboration, according to US News rankings.

Research Programs

Between 2004 and 2014, King Abdulaziz University enacted a program to attract the international community and has welcomed nearly 150 researches or various disciplines. The university has developed international research partners, including in Morocco where it has developed a joint lunar research program with the Astronomic Observatory of Oukaïmeden. The university has 13 different research centers, predominantly in the fields of medicine, environment and energy, climate change, and desalination.
Founded in the 1970s by Sami Angawi, the research center on pilgrimage to Mecca conducts a series of works around the religious event, notably on the aspects of logistics surrounding the pilgrimage.

Faculties

Faculty of Engineering

These programs are accredited by ABET as Substantially Equivalent Programs since 2003.

Faculty of Economics and Administration

The Faculty of Economics and Administration was the first college to be established in King Abdulaziz University, and until this day it is called "The Base of Founder's University," referring to the founder of the country.
In 2015, FEA received its fourth international accreditation, the AACSB making it one of the top business colleges in the middle east and across the world.

Faculty of Law

The Faculty of Law was established in 2012 as it segregated from Faculty of Economics and Administration.
There are many research groups in King Abdulaziz university
King Abdulaziz University is ranked between 101-150 since 2016 by Academic Ranking of World Universities Furthermore, according to U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, King Abdulaziz University is ranked 76 in 2019. And according to World University Rankings, King Abdulaziz University is ranked at number 186 since 2016 in the world's top universities ranking by the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds.
KAU has faced criticism for allegedly paying highly cited researchers from around the world to cite KAU as a "secondary academic affiliation" in order to boost their rankings.

Awards & Accreditations

Notable alumni