AUG / About AUG / History

AUG History

Al Azhar University-Gaza (AUG) is a Palestinian, public, non-profit and independent higher education institution. It was established in 1991 in the Gaza City by a presidential decree issued and signed by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be a non-conventional lighthouse in the course of higher education in Palestine

AUG had a modest beginning with only two faculties; the Faculty of Law, and the Faculty of Education. However, numerous improvements were brought in 1992 including establishing four more faculties; the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, the Faculty of Science, and the Faculty of Arts & Human Sciences. Due to the continuous development of the university, the Faculty of Applied Medical Science was opened to meet the needs of the Palestinian community in the medical aspects. The success of the Applied Medical Faculty encouraged the university to open the Faculty of Medicine in 1999 as the first medical faculty in the Gaza Strip.

AUG always makes sure to be in the lead and to keep up with the rapidly developed sciences. Therefore, it has taken an important step by opening the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology in 2001 as the tenth faculty of the university. AUG aspires to help the Palestinian society as much as it can. Therefore, Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi Faculty for Dentistry was opened to provide the Palestinian with the opportunity to study dentistry at home.

In 2009, the Faculty of Sharia for Islamic Studies was re-opened in order to graduate highly specialized students in sharia to deal with society issues, using a convincing method and communicative mentality able to direct and lead. Moreover, to instill Islamic concepts, apply it in action and spread the awareness of the Sharia laws.