Kuwait University

The university has seen its enrollment grow from about 418 to 40,000 students, faculty from 31 to 1,565, colleges from 4 to 17, and administrative and academic support personnel from 200 to more than 5,000. Kuwait University has more than 100,000 alumni serving the country and the region and some have attained prominent positions.

The strategic plan of the university is set by the government. Its executive powers are vested in the President, who heads the university, and is responsible for its scientific, intellectual, technical, administrative and financial affairs. The President oversees implementation of KU laws, bylaws and the University Council’s decisions, and sustenance of institutional development through policies, plans and strategies geared to advancement.

The sphere of Presidential responsibilities finds expression in five core offices - Academics, Research, Health Sciences, Planning, and Academic Support Services, each headed by a Vice President. Another executive office is the KU General Secretariat, an arm of the institutional administrative affairs, headed by the Secretary General, which together with the five Vice Presidents, constitute Kuwait University’s senior leadership and executive authority.

Kuwait University academic system

Kuwait University follows the Credit Hour System (approved hours), with teaching arranged on semester basis, except in the Faculty of Law, which follows the yearly system of continuous teaching, and the Health Sciences Center’s faculties.

Academic programs operate on a semester calendar beginning mid-September and finishing at the end of May. Each semester lasts about 15 to 17 weeks. The fall semester commences the second week of September and lasts until the end of December. The spring semester commences at the end of January and lasts until the end of May. Enrollment in the summer program is optional. It lasts eight weeks including the examination period, as approved by the University.