King Abdulaziz University (KAU)

King Abdulaziz University (KAU) bears the name of the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz Al-Saud. It was founded in 1967 as the first private institution in the Kingdom and later became a public university in 1971. KAU has witnessed tremendous quantitative and qualitative progress in terms of enrollment, diversity of academic programs in both social and natuaral sciences. It is recognized as a prestigious university in Saudi Arabia with unique professional disciplines and specializations. Some of these are Marine Sciences, Meteorology, Earth Sciences, Nuclear Engineering, Mining, Medical Engineering and Aeronautical Engineering which distinguishes it from other universities in the Kingdom. The strategic plan of the university states its mission "The advancement of society through pioneering research, and encouraging academic and scientific excellence". Its vision is that "KAU will be known as a beacon of knowledge, islamic values, rich university tradition, curricular comperhensiveness, professional excellence, unique specializations, ethical convictions, pioneering development, inventiveness, scientific diversity, applied research and collaborations for the advancement of society". KAU has the following Faculties : 1) Economics & Administrations 2) Arts & Humanities 3) Science 4) Engineering 5) Medicine 6) Earth Sciences 7) Meteorology & Environment and Arid Land 8) Marine Sciences 9) Dentistry 10) Environmental Design 11) Pharmacy 12) Allied Medical Sciences 13) Computing & Information Technology 14) Jeddah Community College 15) Jeddah Teachers College 16) Girls' College of Education in Jeddah 17) Girls' College of Education for Home Economics 18) Girls' Faculty of Medical Sciences 19) Institute of Tourism 20) English Language Institute 21) College of Education-Humanities 22) College of Home Economics. It has the following Deanships : 1) Research 2) Community Services & Continuing Education 3) Students Affairs 4) Admission & Registration 5) Graduate Studies 6) Information Technology 7) Library Affairs 8) Research & Consultation. It has the following Research Centres : 1) King Fahd Medical Research Centre 2) Research Centre for Islamic Economics 3) Water Research Centre 4) Research & Development Centre 5) Faculty of Arts & Humanity Research Centre. Further, KAU has the following Centres of Excellence in Research in : 1) Nanotechnology 2) Water Desalination technology 3) Genomic Medicine 4) Environmental Studies.