History
King Abdul Aziz University bears the name of the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz. The establishment of this university was in 1387 AH / 1967 AD as a private university, with the aim of spreading higher education in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Education
The university witnessed much development in quality and quantity since it was established until it becomes one of the distinguished universities in terms of the number of students, the number of scientific and theoretical fields of study and the exclusiveness of certain specializations such as Seas Sciences, Geology, Nuclear Engineering, Medical Engineering , Meteorology and Aviation and Mineralization.
Research
The pillars of King Abdulaziz University's vision, and from here, the university is implementing a precise plan to improve the number and quality of scientific papers and is also keen to increase the rate of publication and citation among faculty members to achieve its goal of being among the top 100 universities to achieve the Kingdom’s vision 2030. It also has an infrastructure of Specialized scientific and research entities represented by specialized entities, including supporting deanships, specialized research centers and laboratories, and research excellence chairs.
University Ranking
QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities
2025
149 -6
2024
143 -37
2023
106
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
2024
201 -50
2023
151 -50
2022
101
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
World University Rankings by Times Higher Education
2025
351 -100
2024
251 -150
2023
101
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report
2025
-
2024
74 -9
2023
65
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
Library services
- The library took up temporary headquarters in 1385 AH in an apartment in the Prince Mansour bin Abdulaziz Building at the end of Qabel Street, which intersects with King Abdulaziz Street
Medical services
- The University Medical Services Center offers its medical services to all university community such as male and female faculty members and employees and their dependents through its general clinics, specialized clinics, dental clinics, and their support departments such as reception, medical files, pharmacy, labs, radiology, general dressing, etc.
Campus life
King Abdulaziz University has two separate campuses; one for male students and another for female students, as required by the Islamic teachings. Interestingly, each campus is equipped with all state-of-the-art academic, sports, and leisure facilities as well as a huge library provided with the latest modern technologies to serve students and faculty members.
Sports facilities
Sports stadiums services are provided to university students and employees in coordination with the Department of sports activities of Deanship of Students Affairs The sports stadiums include:
- Sports stadium (new) includes an international court with the possibility of holding all the track and field on its ground, with room for more than 7 thousands of spectators and physiotherapy clinics and contains electronic clocks with color screens and parking lots that can accommodate more than 1,000 cars.
- Three tennis courts.
- Four volleyball courts.
- Three basketball courts.
- Three handball courts.
- Reserve football Stadium.
Student clubs
- Horsemanship Club.
- The university Scout and Ranger Club.
- Sons and daughters of university employees Club.
- School of Economics and Management Accounting Club.
- Hobby Center, with a number of student clubs of different tendencies and hobbies are:
- Club of scientific innovations.
- Computer Club.
- plastic arts and Calligraphy Club.
- Optical imaging Club.
- Relations Club.
- Literary Club.
- Social Club.
- Hope Club for people with special needs.
- Theater Club.
- Folklore Club.
Accreditation
After a lengthy and rigorous self-examination process and demonstrating compliance with academic standards and accreditation criteria, King Abdulaziz University (KAU) has been accredited by the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA).