More recently, the university has initiated programmes in teacher education, the study of Muslim civilisations, journalism, early childhood development and public policy.

Subsequently, in 1980, the contract for the main complex of Aga Khan University Hospital and Medical College was signed in London.

[6] The subsequent academic years, 2022–23, witnessed the launch of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on the Stadium Road Campus in Karachi, Pakistan.

[8] The Aga Khan University accounts for 75% of all biomedical research in Pakistan while the remaining 25 percent is shared by all the other institutions.

[9] AKU publishes more research articles in peer-reviewed, indexed internationally recognised journals than any other university in Pakistan.

[9] Faculty promotions are dependent on publications in indexed journals while most medical students have published by the time they graduate.

[citation needed] Undergraduate medical students have published up to 50 research papers in indexed health journals.

At the centre of the seal is a star or sun representing light – a universal symbol of the enlightenment that education provides.

The star incorporates 49 points to commemorate the university's founding by Prince Karim Aga Khan, the Forty-Ninth imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

In Pakistan, the university is an 84-acre campus including a hospital with two on-campus male and female hostels with a capacity of 300 each.

Existing campuses and international programmes include: The Aga Khan University (AKU) uses an absolute grading system with a fixed range.

In London, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations is a dedicated interdisciplinary research and graduate school that brings together humanities scholars and social scientists to critically engage with cultural, historical, political, economic, legal and religious aspects of Muslim societies.

The Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC) was founded in 2002 and accepted its first intake of graduate students in 2006.