It is Governamental Omani state that enjoyes the administrative and financial independence from the government ministries concerned with higher education. It is the first university in the Sultanate of Oman and has nine faculties with different specialties.The establishment of Sultan Qaboos University was a promise of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said to the people at the celebrations of the 10th National Day 1980. Construction of the university started in 1982 and the university received the first batch of students in 1986. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said issued a Royal Decree No. 9/86 establishing the university. This decree marked the beginning of the university's study in five faculties: Faculty of Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences and Marine Sciences. After that, the College of Arts was added in 1987 and the Faculty of Commerce and Economics in 1993 and the Faculty of Law in 2006 and finally the Faculty of Nursing in 2008.
The design and construction of the campus was carried out with great care to achieve these objectives, as well as the general appearance of the university buildings, which, when planned, would meet the human, cultural and spiritual needs of students, faculty and staff alike.
Sultan Qaboos University was established in the state of Sayb in the valley at the foot of the Omani high mountains, which makes it look on the one hand the building architecture as a class of buildings that were designed with arches and various yards and it was built by sandstones of white and syphilis in a way that reflects traditional and Islamic architecture.
The Library was established in 1986 and opened its doors to students and faculty members in September of the same year. The library has been steadily growing since its establishment. The library has 233695 volumes, 8096 audiovisual materials and 3342 periodicals and cultural texts (481 Arabic and 2861) English) of which 1398 are ongoing (235 Arabic and 1163 English). Today, the main library has moved to its new premises at the Cultural Center in accordance with the Royal Orders.It has many research centers: excellence in marine biotechnology, communication and information research, seismic monitoring, environmental studies and research, oil and gas research, Omani studies, remote sensing and GIS, water research and human research,There are also service centers: Community Service and Continuing Education, Information Systems, Education Technologies, Staff Development and Development, Language Center, Career Guidance, Student Counseling, Self-Learning Center, Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
The University has a language center in two basic units, the Testing Unit and the Curriculum Development Unit. The tests unit will design and prepare tests to determine the language levels and abilities of newly enrolled students, as well as the preparation and design of English language tests that are part of the admission requirements of any university-level preparation programs.
English is also taught to students who need to improve their level. The Curriculum Development Unit undertakes the design and development of the courses offered by the Center to the university students of all kinds. This is done through research, studies, seminars and conferences in the field of teaching English, in addition to the use of experts specialized in the preparation and design of curricula and English language courses. In order to improve the educational process to the best levels, the Center prepares and organizes training courses for faculty members in cooperation with relevant bodies in this field, both inside and outside the university. The Center also holds an annual conference on issues related to teaching English, and attracts a large number of participants.
In order to carry out the role assigned to it and to achieve the objectives set for to the field of teaching English at the university, the Center has been provided with the means and the means to help it.
The Resource Center is one of the most important facilities available at the center. It includes three computer labs and two e-learning labs with a large number of computers equipped with the latest English language self-learning programs.
The center also equiped a library with numerous books and audiovisual materials to suit all levels.
The Islamic trend in the separation of males from females during the education process has had an impact on the design of the university building where separate entrances to the colleges were established through the corridors of pedestrian and upper for both men and women, in addition to separate seats for the sexes in the classrooms and lectures.In general, the campus represents a painting that reflects the Omani and Islamic architectural heritage, in addition to meeting all the requirements and competencies of modern life. The result was clear in creating a learning and life environment that was both practical and attractive.