Umm al-Qura University


Umm Al-Qura University is a large public Islamic university in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The university was established as the College of Sharia in 1949 before being joined by new colleges and renamed as Umm Al-Qura by royal decree in 1981.
UQU started primarily as an Islamic university offering degrees in Islamic Law and Arabic language studies. It now offers more courses in such diverse subjects as Technology Management, Business Management, Islamic Economics, Marketing, Engineering, Technology, Medicine, Education, Architecture, as well various Applied, Social and Engineering Sciences. In 2015, the UQU annual budget hovered around SR 3 billion.

History

In 1949 King Abdulaziz Al Saud established the College of Sharia in Mecca, making it the first higher education institution in the country. It constituted the kernel of Umm Al-Qura University. It was followed by the establishment of the Teachers' College in 1952. This continued until 1959 when the College of Shari'a took the responsibility of teachers' preparation and became the College of Shari'a and Education. In 1962 the College of Education was established as an independent college.
In 1971 the Colleges of Shari'a and Education became part of King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah and constituted its branch in Mecca. However, The University of Umm Al-Qura was established in 1981 by the royal decree number 39 of 1981 and the colleges of Shari'a and Education were detached from King Abdul Aziz University and joined by new departments to form the new university.
Currently, it has student exchange programs with Purdue University, Tufts University, and King's College London.

Academics

The medium of instruction in most UQU academic programs is English, with exceptions like College of Sharia, College of Arabic Languages, College of Islamic Economics and Finance, as courses on Islamic studies and Arabic language are taught in Arabic. University offers degrees of Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. The grading system is the standard 0 to 4.0 scale with classes of:

Colleges

- The Department of Aqeedah ;
- The Department of Media ;
- The Department of Qera'at.
The College has four departments:
Department of Da'wa and Usul-ud-Din;
Department of Kitab and Sunna;
Department of Aqidah ;
Department of Qera'at.
The postgraduate studies in the specializations of the college started since it was supervised by the College of Shari`ah and Islamic Studies, before their separation is effected. In 1420 A.H, the deputy deanship of the College of Da'wa and Usul-ud-Din for postgraduate studies was established as it started to supervise the postgraduate studies in the college.
1- The departments of chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics were transferred from the College of Education to the College of Applied and Engineering Sciences, which was established in 1402/1403 AH.
2- The departments of geography and English language were transferred to the College of Social Sciences, which was established in 1404/1405 AH.
Department of Geography;
Department of English Language;
Department of Social Work;
Department of Information Science;
Department of Islamic Media; and
Center of English Language.
1. Department of Islamic Architecture.
2. Department of Electrical Engineering.
3. Department of Mechanical Engineering.
4. Department of Civil Engineering.
5. Department of Computer Engineering.
Graduates of these departments are offered the bachelor's degree. All academic programs offered by the College are Accredited. Bachelor's degree Requirements: The bachelor's degree normally takes five years of full-time study, and each department requires successful fulfilment of a certain number of credit hours as follows:
1- Department of Mechanical Engineering: credit hours.
2- Department of Civil Engineering: credit hours.
3- Department of Electronic Engineering: credit hours.
4- Department of Islamic Architecture: credit hours.
All programs in all the engineering-related colleges were evaluated for "Substantial-Equivalency" recognition by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. They were found substantially equivalent to similar accredited programs in the US and elsewhere.
In May 2014, all Business and Management degree programs offered by the College of Business are formally declared Eligible for Accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The CoB is an academic member of AACSB International and EFMD Global. Nevertheless, with an unfortunate change of CoB leadership and departure of a key professor, these efforts were brought to a screeching stop by the then new-dean Sultan Albogami. With the appointment of a new dean, Ehsan Al-Mua'taz, these efforts towards development and improvement may start again.
As of Sept. 2015, all Medical, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy related academic programs are globally accredited by accrediting bodies in North America and/or European Union.
In addition to these global accreditations, all UQU academic programs in business and management are formally declared Eligible for Accreditation by the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment of Saudi Arabia. These programs are in advanced stages of getting full accreditation by NCAAA.