Effat University

Effat University is a private university located in Jeddah City, in Makkah al-Mukarramah Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was founded by Princess Effat al-Thunayan Al Saud, wife of King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in 1999. The university operates under the umbrella of the King Faisal Foundation and is one of the first non-profit private women's universities in the Kingdom.

Effat University began as 'Effat Private College for Girls in Jeddah' and commenced its activities in the 1999-2000 academic year with scientific specializations needed in the Saudi women's labor market, taught in English. These initial programs included Kindergarten and Computer Science. In the 2000-2001 academic year, three more programs were added: Information Systems, Educational Psychology, and English Language and Translation.

Effat College joined King Faisal Private University in the 2005-2006 academic year and introduced three new programs: Business Administration with two programs, for the first time in the history of Saudi women's education: Architecture, and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

In 2005, a decree was issued to separate Effat College from King Faisal University, making it an independent educational institution operating under the umbrella of King Faisal’s Charitable Foundation. In 2008, Effat College received recognition by the Ministry of Education (formerly the Ministry of Education) for its three colleges. In 2009, a Royal Decree was issued to transform it into a university based on the approval from the Higher Education Council to establish Effat Private University for women.

The Deanship of Graduate Studies was established in 2010, with its first graduate program being the Master's in Islamic Financial Management. In 2013, the Visual and Digital Production program was introduced in the College of Engineering. In the 2017-2018 academic year, the university launched a special program, the Master of Science in Energy Engineering.

Effat University has received several national and international accreditations. Effat College of Business acquired the international academic accreditation 'AACSB' in 2021 for all its undergraduate and graduate programs for a period of five years. Additionally, in the 2017-2018 QS World University Rankings, Effat University has been ranked among the top one hundred best Universities in the Arab Region, achieving a rank of eighty-one-ninety range. Additionally, Effat University has received local academic accreditation from the Education and Training Evaluation Commission.

The university received the King Abdulaziz Quality Award in 2016, in addition to academic accreditation for engineering and technology from the Engineering Accreditation Commission "EAC" and the Computing Accreditation Commission "CAC".

Effat University has four colleges: Effat College of Humanities, which includes the Departments of English and Psychology; Effat College of Business, with departments in Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Supply Chain Management, and Entrepreneurship; Effat College of Engineering, which includes the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and the Master of Science in Energy Engineering program; and Effat College of Architecture and Design, which includes the Departments of Architecture, Design, and Cinematic Arts.