Students at the College of Arts and Sciences receive broad training in the humanities, social and natural sciences. The College presently houses the three departments of International Studies, Design, and Computer Science and Information Technology. The College of Arts and Sciences promotes an interactive liberal arts model of education, which embraces intellectual and academic curiosity and develops students’ capabilities in critical thinking and academic discourse. It aims to create a knowledge-based advanced society that is well-geared for sustainable development for the benefit of all people. Its mission involves educating young leaders through our innovative curriculum that develops students’ ability to effectively reason and communicate and offers specialties that are essential for society and the world at large.

The College of Arts and Sciences prepares critical thinkers and professionals in social and applied sciences, who become leaders in addressing social, technological, and environmental needs of the Kurdistan Region and contribute in the advancement and well-being of local, national, and global communities. The College also has a central role in supporting General Education and other inter-college programs by providing foundational courses in humanities, social and natural sciences.
Our vision in the College of Arts and Sciences at The American University of Kurdistan is to generate future professional leaders across the realms of humanities, social, and natural sciences.
  • Engagement and Leadership: We encourage our faculty and students to engage effectively and take the lead in initiating and devoting their expertise in the well-being of both the natural and human world.
  • Environmental and Social Responsibility: We educate our students to take the responsibility in exploring and facing dire environmental and social challenges facing our fast-growing and ever-changing complex world.
  • Life-Long Learning: We encourage our faculty and students to be life-long learners as both the natural and human world face new and increasingly complex challenges whose solutions demand multidisciplinary knowledge and up-to-date skills.
  • Integrity: We educate our students to be transparent, honest, and respectful in the workplace and be role models in caring for the natural and social assets of this planet.
  • To develop the student as a person with the desire for personal growth tempered with virtue, liberal values, self-discipline, a spirit of leadership, and integrity.
  • To equip students with professional competence within a field of specialization in the humanities or the social and natural sciences and to contribute positively to the well-being of local communities and beyond.
  • To develop an integrated personality able to function adequately in a world marked with rapid, progressive scientific, technological, and social changes.
  • To instill in the student a desire for rational and critical thinking and for expressing them appropriately.
  • To foster faculty and students’ sense of responsibility in facing global complex social and natural challenges.
  • To enhance AUK’s reputation locally and internationally with outstanding professional and personal prospects.
  • To boost the college’s local and international profile to attract more local and international students.

Minor Degree Specializations

The College of Arts and Science can offer the following two minor specializations that will be
available for other departments as well as other AUK colleges.

Faculty

Khedir Khedir, Ph.D.

Dean, Arts and Sciences

Thomas Hayes, MA

Chair, General Education

Mustafa Ameen, Ph.D.

Chair, Design

Dara Sherwani, Ph.D.

Chair, Computer Software and Security

Sarmad Majeed, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, International Studies

Jiyar Aghapouri, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, International Studies

Ali Shinwari, MCs

Lecturer, Computer Software and Security

Ahmad Afara, MSc

Lecturer, Design

Zinnar Ghassem, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Computer Software and Security

Miaad Hassan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, International Studies