KUWAIT UNIVERSITY

College of Social Sciences

 

The College of Social Sciences was established by Amiri Act No. 109 for the year 1998.  Decree No. 31 dated 6/12/1998 from the Minister of Education and the President of the University of Kuwait marked the official inception of the College and indicated that the College of Social Sciences would consist of 4 Departments namely:

 

1.    Department of Sociology and Social Work;

2.    Department of Psychology;

3.      Department of Geography;

4.      Department of Political Sciences which formerly belonged to the College of Business   Administration.

 

In the University Council meeting on 30/10/2001,  it was approved that the programme of Library and Information Sciences would be supervised by the College of Social Sciences.  Among the main aims of the College is to preserve and disseminate knowledge on national, regional and individual levels; to prepare personnel who are specialised and better qualified in the different branches introduced by the College's Departments; to pay attention to the extensive use of modern techniques; to maintain scientific ties with some world universities; and to contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of Kuwaiti Society.

 

In the year 2000/2001, the number of staff members in the College was 73 members (21, 20, 17, and 15 members for each College Department respectively). The total number of students was 1,578 in 99/2000 and rose to 2,394 in 2000/2001.

 

The College of Social Sciences is very keen to evaluate the different programmes introduced by its Department to ensure their development and efficiency. For this purpose, the College invited 7 academic consultants, namely: Professors Christopher Vanderpool, Abrahim Karwan,  Donna Gelfand, James Lee Ray, Wolfgang Kainz, Keith Clark, and Fredrick Seidl, from some American and European Universities to evaluate the Departments of the College and their developed major sheets for the period 2002-2005.

 

The College  established a Centre for Consultation and Training which was in operation in 1998/1999. The main aims of this Centre are to provide graduates and citizens with the opportunity to pursue advanced training and knowledge in matters having direct significance to community services and continuing education. The Centre has carried out 12 training programmes in the year 2000/2001. An international conference on the importance of Social Sciences was held on April 2001, in the College.

 

At present, some Departments of the College of Social Sciences are based in Keifan, while the Department of Political Sciences is in Al-Adilya and the Programme of Library and Information Sciences is in Khaldiya. It is hoped that all the Departments will be collected together on Shuweikh Campus in the year 2002/2003.

 

Academic Programme

The College of Social Sciences provides courses meeting the requirement for the Degree of B.A. in Social Sciences from its 4 Departments. Post-graduate studies for the Degree of M.A.are also offered by the Department of Psychology, and the Programme of Library and Information Sciences. According  to the curriculum and major sheets of its Departments, a total of 126 units are required for graduation, except for graduation from the Department of Political Science which needs 120 units only. The University requirements for both compulsory and elective courses are 30 units in all the Departments. The types of compulsory courses and the number of elective ones vary from one Department to another. It is illustrated in the newly developed major sheets of the Departments of the College of Social Sciences (2002-2005 ), that both compulsory and elective courses will be largely similar. Within this suggested project, the curriculum pays attention to the study of statistics, the use of computers in Social Sciences, and an introduction to Information Sciences.

 

Students’ Activities

The students’ Society of the College of Social Sciences offers a good deal of social, cultural and sporting activities for its students.  According to the rules, the Society has the right to nominate and elect its members annually

 

Contact Information

Address:           Dr. Ali A. Altarrah, Ph.D.

Dean of College of Social Sciences

Kuwait University

P.O.Box 68168

Keifan 17862

Tel:                   4844956.

Fax:                  4841020

Email:               altarrah@Hotmail.com

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www.kuniv.edu.kw