The Information Technology Department (IT) is one of five Departments in the College of Computers and Information Sciences at King Saud University (KSU). It is the first college department for girls in such a discipline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Realizing the important role that women play in the Saudi society, KSU undertook the task of reinforcing female students abilities in becoming vital citizens, highly qualified individuals in the field of information technology. The program of study for the department is intended to provide graduates that can efficiently and professionally participate in the government and private computer-based business technical sectors. Another goal of the program is to establish a solid base of future teachers in the field of information technology.

The Department officially opened in 1408H. At that time it was strictly an undergraduate program under the name of “Computer Applications”, consisting of 60 students. When the popularity of computer-related studies began to soar in the Kingdom, the undergraduate program was modified. In 1425H the name of the department was modified to “Information Technology” and a new updating of the curriculum was started aiming to better fit the quick developments in this field. Today the Department has about 1,400 undergraduate students and approximately 30 graduate students in a Masters program. The Department staff consists of good selected faculty members and well qualified full time lecturers that are dedicated to providing students with the best education in the information technology field and cutting edge technologies related to this field.

The technical goal of the IT undergraduate program is to provide a broad education in the technology of computing, offering over 20 courses that span the full range of topics in modern information technology. Every student is expected to be proficient in the theories of computing and be able to apply them to the processes of design and implementation of software systems, and to be a proficient user of IT in the various application areas.

As a foundation on which to build their computing proficiency, all our students develop a strong background in software development and mathematics. The IT undergraduate program also requires all students to get a background in other scientific disciplines and develop effective communication skills.

The department offers a Bachelor of Science degree in IT after completing 136 credit hours of study. There is also an education – oriented course of study for students who choose to pursue such a path in order to qualify as teachers for the various educational levels.

The department helps in offering a Master of Science degree in computer information systems and in computer science in collaboration with the other college departments for the students who choose to continue their graduate studies.