Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University was established in 1937 as the Kyzlorda Pedagogical Institute, specialising in education training. In the 1970s, the institute expanded its offering by opening a branch of the Zhambyl Hydromelioration and Construction Institute. The institute gained university status in 1996, and gained its current name in 2020.
The university’s campus is located in Kyzylorda, in south-central Kazakhstan,
Over its 87-year history, the university has trained specialists with higher and postgraduate education across Kazakhstan and the South West region. The university also has a commitment to train reserve officers for the Defence Forces of Kazakhstan through its military department.
Today, the university offers bachelors, master's and doctorate programmes; nine of which are offered on a multilingual basis. Specialising in educating teachers, the university offers a range of pedagogical sciences from pre-school education to musical education. Outside of pedagogy, a wide selection of degree programmes are available across arts and humanities; social sciences, journalism and information; business, management and law; science, mathematics and statistics; engineering, manufacturing and construction; agriculture and bioresources; and service industries.
With over 24 student organisations and 21 sports clubs on campus, students have plenty to do in their downtime. The campus comes with dormitories, a computer park, canteens, a sports and recreation complex, six gyms and sports fields, museums, a students' palace, botanical garden, and several scientific centres.
