History of King Khalid University College of Dentistry (KKUCOD)
The Council of Higher Education approved King Khalid University (KKU) on July 9th, 1998. Based on the recommendation of the King Khalid University Board, the Supreme Council of Higher Education issued its approval on February 4th, 2001, for the establishment of a Dental College at King Khalid University.
The key reasons for the establishment of the program were:
➢ High demand for Saudi dentists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
➢ Provide general and specialist dental services to the general population in the region.
➢ Need for oral health promotion throughout the country.
➢ Generate employment opportunities for Saudi dental graduates.
➢ Expansion of KKU programs in line with national Higher Education policy
A Royal Consent ratified the approval in 2001, and accordingly, the new College admitted its first batch of male dental students during the academic year 2003/2004 in the Alsamer campus. This class of students graduated in July 2009. In line with the rapid expansion strategy of KKU, the male campus of the College of Dentistry was relocated to the Graiger University campus in February 2009. In September of the same year, the first batch of female dental students was admitted to the dental program at the Alsamer campus.
The total number of enrolled male and female students in the College has reached 1130 and 610 by the end of semester 2 of 2019-20. Approximately 100 students undergo the Internship Training Program over the two semesters of each academic year.