Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad is a top public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to the study of postgraduate education but expanded through the 1980s to an interdisciplinary university offering undergraduate and postgraduate education. The university has, as of 2015, grown into the largest varsity in Islamabad with a total enrolment exceeding 13,000 students. The university is on a 1700 acres (or 6.9 km²) campus on the foothills of the Margalla.
Divided into four faculties and nine affiliated research institutes, QAU is among Pakistan’s largest and highest ranked public universities. Currently, it is ranked between 551-560 in the world and top 133 in Asia by the QS World University Rankings while its regional publications ranked QAU among 120 in Asia in 2013.The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked QAU between 401-500 globally and top 79 in Asia in its 2020 lists.
The university is nationally known for its research, technological advancement, and intellectual interaction with international institutes, including the United Nations, University of Tokyo and the ICTP.It is one of the most popular universities in the country and counts several public figures and intellectuals among its current and former faculty, researchers, or alumni since its establishment. They include Maleeha Lodhi, Nasim Zehra, Shamshad Akhtar, Suhail Zubairy, Farzana Aslam, Tasneem Zehra and Salma Zahid. The university is currently led by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ali.
History
The University of Islamabad was established on July 22, 1967 under the Act of Fayaz Act. It was renamed as Quaid-i-Azam University Pakistan in honor of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan in 1976 – which was the year of his birth centenary. However, the spelling of the University’s name were kept different i.e. “i” was used instead of “e” for Ezāfe that links the two words in Jinnah’s title Quaid-e-Azam.
The University offered teaching and research programs for PhD and MPhil degrees in the beginning and later offered Master’s programs. The University now offers undergraduate programs as well.
Quaid-i-Azam University has four faculties and 38 departments, institutes, schools and centers.
Departments
Faculty of Natural Sciences
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Computer Science
• Department of Earth Sciences
• Department of Electronics
• Institute of Information Technology
• Department of Mathematics
• Department of Physics
• Department of Statistics
Faculty of Social Sciences
• School of Law
• Quaid-i-Azam School of Management Sciences (QASMS)
• Department of Anthropology
• Department of Sociology
• Department of Linguistics
• Department of Defence & Strategic Studies
• School of Economics
• Department of History
• School of Politics and International Relations
• Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations
Faculty of Biological Sciences
• National Centre for Bioinformatics
• Department of Animal Sciences
• Department of Biochemistry
• Department of Microbiology
• Department of Plant Sciences
• Department of Environmental Sciences
• QAU School of Medicine
• Department of Pharmacy
• Department of Biotechnology
Faculty of Medical Science
• Al-Shifa Eye Trust Hospital Rawalpindi
• Army Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute
• Health Services Academy, Islamabad
• Federal Medical & Dental College
• Quaid e Azam Postgraduate Medical College, PIMS
Institutes
• National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR) Center for Excellence
• Saulat Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research
• Center of Excellence in Gender Studies
• National Institute of Psychology
• National Institute of Pakistan Studies
• Area Study Centre for Africa, North & South America
Chairs
• Quaid-i-Azam Chair
• Benazir Bhutto Chair
• Rumi Chair (in pipeline)
Rankings and Reputation
Quaid-i-Azam University Pakistan was ranked 651-700 in the world by the QS World University Rankings of 2018 and 133 in Asia.
For QS Top 10 Asian universities, QAU was ranked 6th in the natural science category in 2010.The university was overall ranked between 100-200 among the QS world top universities in 2007 and 2009.According to the latest 2019 ranking of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University is ranked first in the general category. According to Times Higher Education Latest Rankings 2020, QAU is the only Pakistani University to be ranked among the world top 500 universities. As per rankings of OIC universities, QAU stood first in ranking among Muslim countries universities. More than 80% of the professors hold doctoral degrees and have overseas experience.
Notable alumni and Faculty
1. Abdul Rashid Ghazi
2. Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
3. Abrar ul Haq
4. Hamza Ali Abbasi
5. Ahmed Hassan Dani
6. Akbar S. Ahmed
7. Alamgir Hashmi
8. Ansar Pervaiz
9. Arshad Sharif
10. Asghar Qadir
11. Fayyazuddin
12. Ismat Beg
13. Irshad Hussain
14. Hareem Farooq
15. Ilhan Niaz
16. Khadija Mushtaq
17. Maliha Lodhi
18. Marriyum Aurangzeb
19. Mazhar Mahmood Qurashi
20. Muhammad Sharif
21. Muhammad Suhail Zubairy
22. Muhammad Zaman
23. Nasim Zehra
24. Nargis Sethi
25. Nisar Ali Khan
26. Noor Muhammad
27. Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema
28. Pervez Hoodbhoy
29. Qaiser Mushtaq
30. Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry
31. Rana Mubashir
32. Zafarullah Khan
33. Rasul Baksh Rais
34. Raziuddin Siddiqui
35. Rifaat Hussain
36. Shamshad Akhtar
37. Shireen Mazari
38. Tahir Amin
39. Tasneem M. Shah
40. Zia Mian
41. M. Jaffar-ur-Rehman (computer scientist)
42. Brigadier Anis Ahmed (military officer) Sitara-i-Imtiaz.
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