Umm al-Qura University is an Islamic public university located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The university was initially founded as the College of Sharia in 1950 before being renamed to Umm al-Qura University 1980. It started off by primarily offering courses in Islamic studies and Arabic language but has since expanded to offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in a wide range of disciplines such as technology, business management, Islamic economics, marketing, engineering, technology, medicine, education, architecture, and engineering sciences. Umm al-Qura University, popularly referred to as UQU teaches most of its programmes in English and its academic programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA). The university has academic partnerships with universities across eight different countries in the world. Some of these include Purdue University, Tufts University, and the King’s College London. UQU has a spacious campuse and branch colleges. The university has a number of research centres such as the Institute of Consulting Research and Studies and the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as well as amenities like cafeterias, residential halls, gymnasiums and libraries.