Exploring Al-Azhar University's Student Enrollment Figures

Al-Azhar University is a public university in Cairo, Egypt, with a rich history dating back to its founding in 970 or 972 AD. It is Egypt's oldest university and the only ancient university in the Arabic world that has survived as a modern university. With an impressive range of academic programmes, Al-Azhar offers a unique blend of secular and Islamic education. The university's current enrolment numbers are unknown, but it has a vast network of affiliated schools with approximately two million students.

Al-Azhar University has around 2 million students enrolled across its network of schools

Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, has a rich history and is the country's oldest degree-granting university. It was founded in 970 or 972 and has since become one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic learning. The university has a vast network of schools, with approximately two million students enrolled across Egypt.

The university's long history is closely tied to the development of Islamic learning and its reputation in the region. Founded by the Fatimid Caliphate, the university initially served as a centre for the study of the Qur'an and Islamic law, alongside logic, grammar, rhetoric, and the calculation of moon phases. Over the centuries, Al-Azhar has experienced political upheaval and the destruction of its texts, but it has persevered and evolved.

In the late 19th century, the university introduced admission requirements, examinations, and modern subjects. Significant reforms in the 1960s nationalised the university, adding faculties of medicine and engineering, and opening its doors to women. This modernisation ensured Al-Azhar's survival as a modern university, a distinction it holds as the only ancient university in the Arabic world to do so.

Today, Al-Azhar University offers a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including secular subjects such as business, economics, science, medicine, engineering, and agriculture. It maintains its reputation for Islamic teachings, with separate faculties for men and women in keeping with Islamic custom. The university comprises 81 faculties, 9 institutes, 359 academic departments, 42 centres, 6 university hospitals, and 27 general administration units.

Al-Azhar's library is considered the second most important in Egypt, after the Egyptian National Library and Archives. The university's global reputation for academic excellence is further enhanced by its high rankings in various subjects, including biology, chemistry, engineering, and mathematics.

The university itself offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and graduate study programs

Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, has a long and impressive history as a centre of Islamic learning. It was founded in 970 or 972 and is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university.

Al-Azhar University's main thematic focus areas are science and technology, management and business administration, arts, languages and humanities, agriculture, dentistry, and medicine. The university's prestigious Islamic teachings continue to be a central part of its curriculum. However, it has expanded to include secular subjects, making it the only ancient university in the Arabic world to survive as a modern university.

The university's undergraduate and postgraduate programs cover a wide range of faculties, including Islamic theology, jurisprudence and law, Arabic language, Islamic and Arabic studies, Islamic call "Dawa", education, language and translation, the Glorious Quran, dentistry, engineering, agriculture, humanities, life sciences, and medicine.

Al-Azhar University's rich history and diverse range of programs attract students from Egypt and around the world, contributing to its reputation as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic learning.

It has 81 faculties, 9 institutions, and 359 academic departments

Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, is a globally recognised university with an impressive history. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt, founded in 970 or 972. The university has a wide range of faculties, institutions, and academic departments, offering diverse study programs to its students.

The university's organisational structure is extensive, with 81 faculties, 9 institutions, and 359 academic departments. This allows Al-Azhar University to provide a comprehensive education to its students across various fields of study.

The 81 faculties cover a broad spectrum of knowledge, including Islamic Theology, Jurisprudence and Law, Arabic Language, Islamic and Arabic Studies, Islamic Call "Dawa", Education, Language and Translation, the Glorious Quran, Dentistry, Engineering, Agriculture, and Humanities. Each faculty is dedicated to a specific area of study, providing students with specialised knowledge and skills.

In addition to the faculties, the university also comprises 9 institutions. These institutions offer focused academic environments for students, enhancing their learning experience.

Furthermore, the 359 academic departments showcase the depth and breadth of Al-Azhar University's academic offerings. These departments cover a wide range of disciplines, allowing students to explore specific areas of interest within their chosen field of study.

The university's organisational structure, with its numerous faculties, institutions, and academic departments, reflects its commitment to providing a well-rounded and comprehensive education to its students. This structure enables students to pursue their academic interests, gain specialised knowledge, and develop their skills across a diverse range of subjects.

Al-Azhar University's long-standing reputation as a centre of Islamic learning and its modern inclusion of secular subjects make it a unique and prestigious educational institution in the Arabic world.

Al-Azhar University is ranked #327 in Best Global Universities

Al-Azhar University offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate study programs, with 81 faculties, 9 institutes, 359 academic departments, 42 centres, 6 university hospitals, and 27 general administration units. The university's main thematic focus areas include Science and Technology, Management and Business Administration, Arts, Languages and Humanities, Agriculture, Dentistry, and Medicine.

Al-Azhar has a rich history and is the only ancient university in the Arabic world to survive as a modern university by including secular subjects in its curriculum. The university underwent substantial reforms in the early 1960s, adding faculties of medicine and engineering, and admitting women in 1962.

In addition to higher education, Al-Azhar oversees a vast network of schools with approximately two million students. The university's library is considered the second most important in Egypt, after the Egyptian National Library and Archives.

Al-Azhar University's rankings in specific subjects are as follows:

• #107 in Biology and Biochemistry
• #229 in Chemistry
• #575 in Clinical Medicine
• #549 in Engineering
• #644 in Environment/Ecology
• #252 in Materials Science
• #99 in Mathematics
• #72 in Pharmacology and Toxicology
• #253 in Physical Chemistry
• #355 in Physics
• #99 in Plant and Animal Science
• #36 in Polymer Science

The university's overall ranking is influenced by its performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence, including global research reputation, regional research reputation, normalized citation impact, and international collaboration.

It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt

Al-Azhar University, a public university in Cairo, Egypt, is the country's oldest degree-granting university. It was founded in 970 or 972 by the Fatimid Caliphate as a centre of Islamic learning, where students studied the Quran and Islamic law, along with logic, grammar, and rhetoric, and how to calculate the phases of the moon. The university is named after the mosque in Cairo's medieval quarter, which was founded by the Shi’ite Fatimid Dynasty in 970 AD and was formally organised by 988 AD.

The educational format at Al-Azhar remained informal during much of its early history. There were no entrance requirements, no formal curriculum, and no degrees. The basic program of studies included Islamic law, theology, and the Arabic language. It was founded as a mosque by the Fatimid commander Jawhar al-Siqilli at the orders of the Caliph and Imam Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah as he founded the city of Cairo.

Al-Azhar is one of the relics of the Isma'ili Shi'a Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descent from Fatimah, daughter of Prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet. Fatimah was called al-Zahra (the luminous), and the institution was named in her honour.

In the 12th century, following the overthrow of the Isma'ili Fatimid dynasty, Saladin (the founder of the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty) converted Al-Azhar to a Shafi'ite Sunni centre of learning. During this time, Al-Azhar experienced much political instability, with Saladin destroying 100,000 texts.

In the late 19th century, admission requirements, examinations, and modern subjects were introduced. In the early 1960s, Al-Azhar was nationalised and underwent substantial reforms, resulting in the addition of the faculties of medicine and engineering. Women were also admitted to study in 1962.

Today, Al-Azhar University is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the only ancient university in the Arabic world to survive as a modern university by including secular subjects in its curriculum. It offers a wide range of programmes, including business, economics, science, medicine, engineering, and agriculture, in addition to its prestigious Islamic teachings.

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