The university was established by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South in 1998, while its first charter was granted by the Government of Pakistan in August 2000. Dr. S. M. Junaid Zaidi was the Founder Rector of the university and continued to serve the university till March 2017. The position of Rector remained vacant for the period of almost three years and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tabassum Afzal assumed charge as Rector in July 2020 and was tasked with leading the University after its transition from an Institute of Information Technology to a full fledge university having a new governance structure. Comsats was envisioned as Pakistan's first exclusive Institute of Information Technology. Previously, its name was COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, which was transformed into a full-fledged university called the COMSATS University Islamabad by an Act of Parliament in April 2018. The university was ranked among top 250 Asian Universities by QS University Rankings in 2014 and nationally it is ranked top-most in Computer Sciences and IT category and 1st overall in the country according to NatureIndex. CIIT is ranked amongst the top 10 universities of Pakistan as per HEC recent rankings. It is also a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities Its main campus, located in Islamabad, has over 8,500 students and 30,000 more students in its 6 satellite campuses. Its student body also includes international students from over 9 countries. It has 20 departments which combined offer 100 degree programs and has since inception produced over 315 PhDs. It has also established the country's first ever Student Startup Business Center to support and promote entrepreneurship and innovation in its academic environment.
International Rankings
· In , CUI has been placed among 801-1000 world best universities, and ranked 2nd in Pakistan. Besides, it was also ranked at #301-400 in THE Engineering & Technology, #401-500 in Computer Science, and Life Science and #501-600 in Physical Sciences subject rankings 2019. CUI was also ranked 159th in THE Emerging Economies Rankings 2020, 131st in THE Asian University Rankings 2019, and was among 150-200 THE top young universities of world in 2018. · Ranked at 301+ in , and 5th in Pakistan. Inaugural participant. Besides, CUI was ranked in its 07 SDGS out of 11: SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities SDG 13 Climate Action SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions SDG 17 Partnerships for goals 301+. ' · Ranked among 801-1000 world best universities as per QS World Universities Rankings 2020. Besides, it was ranked 135th in QS Asian Universities Rankings 2019. In 2013, it also received the prestigious 3-Stars Rating by QS. ' · Ranked first in Pakistan and amongst 501-600 ranked university of the world by Academic Ranking of World Universities prestigious Shanghai Rankings 2019.
Campuses
COMSATS university is a multi-campus university. Apart from the main campus in Islamabad, the university also has sub-campuses located in Lahore, Attock, Vehari, Abbottabad, Wah and Sahiwal as well as one campus.
Islamabad
The main campus in Islamabad was established in 1998. During the first year of its establishment, the institute offered only a few certificate courses and a postgraduate diploma in computer studies with a single class room and limited resources. Islamabad campus is situated at Chak Shahzad, Islamabad. Currently, more than 8,055 students are enrolled in various degree programs at this campus. The newly built campus is fully equipped with facilities of international standards. It is a marvel of modern architecture surrounded by a lush green environment and peaceful surroundings.
Abbottabad
The Abbottabad campus became functional in July 2001 and the first academic session started in September 2001. This campus is ideally situated in the vicinity of Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. The campus is built on 308 Kanals of land leased by the Pakistan Army at Toba Camp. The abandoned army barracks were converted into a living campus within a short period of two months by the university team. The first academic session started with a student strength of 121 and only three undergraduate programs.
Attock
Attock campus was established in 2004. There are 4 departments,9 undergraduate and 6 graduate programs are offered, more than 2,650 students are enrolled, qualified faculty strength of 179 including 55 PhDs. More than 500 research papers are published.
Vehari
Established in 2008, Vehari campus started with 45 students enrolled in one program and now it has more than 2,385 students, more than 180 faculty members, 14 programs and three functional academic blocks.
Lahore
The Lahore Campus is located on Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road and is at a 30-minute drive from the main city. This campus was established in January 2002.
Wah
The opening of COMSATS University in the historical and industrial town of Wah was a joint effort of the university and Pakistan Ordnance Factories which is located in Wah Cantonment. The university management started campus at Wah in a record period of 70 days. The then Minister for Science and Technology and Chancellor of the university formally inaugurated the institute on 14 September 2001. Initially, Wah campus started its operation in the small guest house of POF. In 2003, two purpose-built academic blocks were handed over to the university on long-term lease period by POF. Wah campus extended its academic facilities by purchasing land contiguous to the existing campus in 2012 measuring 96 Kanals. The campus has also acquired 20 Acres of land near Brahma Bahtar Interchange on M1 motorway to meet its future academic requirements.
Sahiwal
campus situated at Sahiwal was formally inaugurated in September 2007. It has 7 academic departmentsand 10 other services departments. It has 3800 students from different departments.
Virtual Campus
CUI virtual campus was established in July 2008 and started its regular function in January 2012. The campus was established in offices, laboratories and studios located in Islamabad having approximately 20,000 sq. ft. covered area. State-of-the-art servers, dedicated PERN bandwidth, as well as latest audiovisual equipment, was acquired to set up laboratories, studios and data centre. Virtual campus started its first academic session in Fall 2012 offering four undergraduate level degree programs in computer science and management science subjects. The Virtual Campus was stalled in 2016 due an absence of Virtual Education Policy by .
