Qatar - Higher Education

The University of Qatar is the main institution of higher education in Qatar today. With the establishment of the College of Education in 1973 the foundation was laid for the official opening of the University of Qatar in 1977. At that time, there were four colleges: the College of Education, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Science, and the College of Shari'a and Islamic Studies. Since 1977 the university has added three colleges: the College of Engineering, the College of Administrative Sciences and Economics, and the College of Technology, and now has a total of seven. The university also has four research centers: the Scientific and Applied Research Center, the Sunna and Sirra Research Center, the Educational Technology Center, and the Documentation and Humanities Research Center. The main campus of the university is located in the northern part of the capital city of Doha, housed in attractive modern buildings.

Partly due to more Qatari men studying abroad than Qatari women, and also due in part to teaching being one of the more acceptable professions for women in Islamic societies such as Qatar, the women outnumber the men approximately three to one at the university. From the early 1980s to the 1990s the student population at the university nearly doubled, from 3,500 students in 1982-1983, to 6,873 students in 1992-1993. The following data show the number of students and their areas of study at the University of Qatar as of 1992-1993.

1. There were 2,010 first-year students with no declared major, including 510 men and 1,500 women.
2. There were 278 men and 1,786 women majoring in education.
3. There were 209 men and 728 women majoring in humanities.
4. There were 243 men and 425 women majoring in science.
5. There were 55 men and 404 women majoring in Shari'a (Religious Studies).
6. There were 294 men and 165 women majoring in administration.
7. There were 276 men and no women majoring in engineering.
8. In all majors, there was a total of 1,865 men and 5,008 women enrolled, for a total of 6,873 students.

As of 1999, the Shaqab College of Design Arts was another option for students at the higher level of education. The college is a Qatar-based extension of the Virginia Commonwealth University and offers educational opportunities in professional design. Students can earn a bachelor's degree in fine arts (BFA), in communication arts and design, fashion design and merchandising, or interior design in the college's four-year program.