1.King Abdulaziz University (KAU)
King Abdulaziz University (KAU) was established in 1967 in the city of Jeddah by the Red Sea as a private university bearing the name of the founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, in order to serve the needs of higher education in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. In 1973, KAU joined the Saudi public universities’ system. Since then KAU has gained successful experience and pioneered many academic systems and traditions in the development of higher education in the Kingdom. KAU 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 prestigious university brought about by its international outreach and collaboration in research, innovation, accreditations and rankings. It does this while continues to maintain its traditional commitment to deliver outstanding education and community service.
2.King Saud University
King Saud University has recently begun a massive program of investment and development to create a truly world class research university. Among the many initiatives to realize this aspiration are the recruitment of many distinguished international researchers, the Riyadh Knowledge Corridor, the Nobel Laureates Program and the establishment of several centers of research excellence. Recent appointments include Louis Ignarro, winner of the 1996 Nobel Award for medicine. There are no tuition fees at the university and generous scholarships are available for Saudi and international postgraduate students. Research and library facilities are of international standards. The university offers postgraduate courses in civil, electrical, mechanical, petroleum and chemical engineering, business administration, psychology, economics, accounting, law, political science, archaeology, European and Asian languages, education, social studies, Islamic studies and history and has special strengths in biology, chemistry, medicine and environmental sciences.
UNDERGRADUATE
King Saud University is the premier university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is highly respected in Arab and Muslim countries. It is the oldest university in Saudi Arabia and has educated many members of the national business, political and academic elite, including the royal family. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate courses in the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities and professional studies. Tuition is completely free and generous scholarships are available for Saudi and international students. The medium of instruction in undergraduate programs is English for medicine and engineering and Arabic for other subjects. Applicants are required to pass an Arabic examination if they are from a non-Arabic speaking country. English language support at all levels is provided by the Languages Unit. The university is located in a large modern state of the art campus and is equipped with the latest instructional technology. King Saud University has begun a massive program of investment and development that will enable it to achieve world-class status within a few years. It is already ranked first among Muslim countries on the Webometrics rankings and is confident of further international recognition of its achievements in the coming years.
3.Alfaisal University
Established in 2002 and opened to students four years later, Alfaisal University is part of a group of new private, not-for-profit universities in Saudi Arabia. It is located in the centre of Riyadh, the capital city, whose population grew at an unprecedented rate towards the end of the 20th century. The country’s political and economic centre, and one of the richest cities globally, its many skyscrapers offer views of surrounding desert. But at heart Riyadh remains traditional and not particularly westernised. Its climate means that temperatures can fluctuate significantly throughout the year.
AU teaches in English, which is also spoken by many locals, and is often considered one of the Saudi Arabia’s top universities for academic performance and quality of teaching.
AU’s College of Engineering is the biggest of the four colleges that form part of the institution, the others being the Colleges of Medicine, Business and Science and General Studies, the latter of which also offers a course in humanities & social sciences. As well as accounting, finance and human resources, the College of Business runs specialised courses including chartered financial analyst and certified Management Accountant.
Having been founded by the King Faisal Foundation, it is situated in the grounds of King Faisal Palace. Its relatively small size helps create something of a community feel on campus.
AU is a partner of nearby King Faisal Specialist Hospital and is linked to a large number of overseas universities as well as multi-national companies such as Boeing, BAE Systems and Shell.
