Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University

The Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University is the largest women’s university in the world. It was established in 1970 as the first College of Education for women in Saudi Arabia.

The university is named after the sister of the country’s first king and leader, King Abdulaziz. Princess Nourah was known for her great wisdom and was considered to have "the minds of 40 men". She was also one of the few women of her period who was able to read and write. Nourah was a highly progressive figure and remains an inspiration for women studying at the university today.

Constructed in a record time of two years, the university’s campus is located in the east of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. The campus is fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. It has 600 high-tech smart buildings, three spacious recreation centres, a university hospital and an Olympic sized swimming pool. The campus is so large that in 2012 an automated metro system was constructed to transport students.

In 2018 the university became the first in Saudi Arabia to provide a driving school for women. This was introduced after King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud granted women the right to drive in the Kingdom.

Until 1956 Saudi women had very few opportunities to be educated. The recent development of higher education institutions for women, such as Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, have enabled Saudi woman to emerge, not only at a local level, but at an international one too. Women have graduated from the university and become experts in the fields of culture and specialised research.