Academic and Admission

Kuwait University follows the Credit Hour System (approved hours), with teaching arranged on a semester basis, except in the Faculty of Law, which follows the yearly system of continuous teaching, and the Health Sciences Center’s faculties.
Academic programs operate on a semester calendar beginning mid-September and finishing at the end of May. Each semester lasts about 15 to 17 weeks. The fall semester commences the second week of September and lasts until the end of December. The spring semester commences at the end of January and lasts until the end of May. Enrollment in the summer program is optional. It lasts eight weeks, including the examination period, as approved by the University.

Admission is open to students who have successfully completed their secondary education and meet the requirements set forth by the university’s admission policy. All admitted students choose the degree program they wish to join and the courses they wish to attend on a full-time basis. Students admitted to the College of Graduate Studies pursue their studies either on full- or part-time basis.
Admission requirements may require students to take an aptitude test prior to being accepted to a faculty; in such instances, admission is determined using the equivalent average system (combining the student’s high school grade point average (GPA) with the results of the aptitude test) as a prerequisite for admission to the College of Engineering and Petroleum, Allied Health Sciences, Administrative Sciences, Health Science Center, Life Sciences, and Computing Science and Engineering, or through personalized interviews, as determined by the College of Law, and the College of Education.

An academic major consists of a group of courses necessary for specialization in a given discipline. An academic minor consists of a number of courses that usually constitute a less demanding specialization, taken in addition to the major.
Normally it takes eight semesters for students to successfully complete their programs, and to qualify for graduation. However, for the Engineering and Petroleum program, the courses normally last for nine semesters, and for the Architecture program, 10 semesters. The Medical and Dentistry programs require seven years of study to qualify for graduation. Students are awarded their university degrees upon successfully completing the required credit units.
An academic major consists of a group of courses necessary for specialization in a given discipline. An academic minor consists of a number of courses that usually constitute a less demanding specialization, taken in addition to the major.
Each faculty maintains a list of its honors students who achieve a grade point average of 3.5 and above. Students who finish their program’s requirements within the prescribed period and graduate with a grade point average of 3.67 are awarded an honors degree in recognition of their academic excellence.
Students may transfer internally from one department or faculty to another; students not currently enrolled may formally apply to transfer from another university to Kuwait University.