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Praise be to Allah
who created and perfected the universe in the best manner, and
organized its affairs through ultimate wisdom, which He bestowed
upon scientists and literary scholars. Allah says in the Qur’an: “He
who is granted wisdom has been given abundant good” – (Al-Baqarah:
269). He also says: “Reflect on the grace Allah has bestowed on you;
and heed what has been revealed to you of the Scripture and Wisdom”
– (Al-Baqarah: 231). May Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon
Prophet Muhammad, the best of His creations and the most eloquent of
all Arabs; for it is he who said: “Allah has raised me in the best
manner”.
Verily, Allah has granted a prominent status to men of wisdom and
intellect, and literary scholars for they bring out the best traits
of a nation; organize its affairs; advise its rulers; and modernize
their countries. Hence, in this Islamic nation, scholars have been
accorded great respect and a high degree of appreciation.
With this in view, and to elevate the status of men of thought and
wisdom, and literary scholars,
King Abdulaziz University – which is named after the Kingdom’s
founder – established the
Faculty of Arts & Humanities in 1969-70 in order to satisfy the
nation’s need for highly qualified national experts who are devoted
to shaping the lives of citizens intellectually, spiritually and
socially.
At present, this
faculty is considered one of the largest and most prominent
faculties of arts & humanities in the Kingdom and the GCC States –
in terms of the number of students, departments and scientific
output. During the last three decades, its departments have been
making great strides, as its staff members – who graduated from
internationally acclaimed multicultural universities and scientific
centers – have kept abreast of all relevant fields of knowledge.
Consequently, the
faculty’s academic programs have long transcended the stage of
theoretical studies to that of wide-ranging relevant applied fields.
This is because the
faculty has relied on experimentation and application rather
than on theories and hypotheses, as was the case in most humanities
studies. Today, the
faculty’s departments effectively utilize research tools, labs,
equipment and studios for teaching and training students in research
methodology, experimentation as well as inductive and deductive
reasoning, so as to enable them to develop numerous basic skills in
various specializations.
As we are grateful to Allah, the newly developed program – with its
emphasis on quantitative and experimental research on social
phenomena, public opinion surveys, soil research; and its
utilization of state-of-the-art computerized language labs – has
enabled the
faculty to compete with faculties of applied science.
Throughout its long history, the
faculty has continually been keen on modernizing its various
academic programs and curricula in all majors, both in form and
content; and on adopting the latest educational technologies for the
transfer of knowledge to students – in keeping with the world's most
advanced scientific and educational trends.
In all its present and future plans, the
faculty has tried to strike a balance between scientific
progress and the needs of the Saudi society, so that all its output
in the various majors would fulfill such needs, and produce
graduates for the required highly qualified and well-trained cadres.
This has always been and will continue to be at the forefront of the
faculty's priorities.
These achievements could not have been realized without the grace of
Almighty Allah – in the first place – as well as the support of the
Kingdom's rulers, and KAU's higher administration as represented by
the President, and Vice Presidents; and the
Faculty of Arts & Humanities' Vice Deans, Department
Chairpersons and dedicated staff and personnel.
May Allah guide us all towards further success and achievement!
Our ultimate supplication is: "Praise be to Allah – the Master of
all creation."
Dean,
Faculty
of Arts & Humanities
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