King Faisal University

King Faisal University is a public higher education institution in Al-Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1975, the university is large, with several thousand students from high school to graduate level and more than 2,144 academic staff, according to the university’s own figures. About 41,500 undergraduate and graduate students take part in studies on site, while a further 44,125 are said to be enrolled in distance learning and online courses. Undergraduate and graduate teaching takes place across 15 main departments, ranging from arts and education, to computer science and dentistry. Men and women are taught separately, as is custom in Saudi Arabia, where females and males have an equal chance in all 15 university colleges, including education, science, arts and healthcare. On-site facilities at King Faisal University include sports pitches, including a full-sized football stadium, and indoor gym equipment. The university’s sports department organises a number of competitions, clubs and activities such as football, basketball and swimming. Separate libraries for men and women are also on campus, and students are able to access journals and resources through the university’s e-library. Separate male and female student accommodation is available for undergraduates on the university’s main campus, where students can also access cafeterias, shops, mosques and study areas. Al-Hofuf itself is a relatively large city with 600,000 residents and a wider suburban area of more than 1,000,000 people. The region has a hot, desert climate with temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees celsius in summer, but is moderate throughout the rest of the year.