Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) () is a private research university, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1983, Syed Babar Ali, a renowned businessman in Pakistan, recognized the shortage of qualified managers in the country. He proposed to establish a world-class university that would attract and retain the highest caliber of students and faculty. He shared this idea with fellow businessman and close friend, Abdul Razak Dawood, who was in full support of the vision. The university has since then expanded, launching a liberal arts undergraduate school in 1994, an engineering school in 2008, a law school in 2004 and an education school in 2017. The university launched a National Outreach Programme (NOP) in 2001 to provide financial aid to students and in 2015, in partnership with Afghan government, launched a scholarship programme for Afghan students to diversify its student body. As of 2021, the university has a student body of 5,092 graduate and undergraduate students, a faculty of 300 out of which nearly three-quarters have doctoral degrees. Its campus, where more than half of its student population and faculty lives, spreads over 100 acres. Its business school is accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. It is also one of two business schools in Pakistan to be certified by the South Asian Quality Assurance System and is ranked as one of the top business schools in the country. The university is also a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. LUMS is ranked as the top university in Pakistan in the QS University Rankings for the year 2016, 111th in Asia and among the top 700 in the world. It is also ranked by QS as among the top 250 universities globally for business and among the top 400 universities globally in mathematics. In 2020, LUMS was ranked 40 globally in "World's Best Small Universities" by Times Higher Education, being the only Pakistani university on the list. Following a liberal arts curriculum, LUMS is one of Pakistan's most expensive, selective and progressive universities. LUMS counts several prominent Pakistani intellectuals and public figures among its alumni and current and former faculty including Umar Saif, Hina Rabbani Khar, Adil Najam, Arif Zaman, Amer Iqbal, Ayesha Jalal, Asad Abidi, Osama Siddique and Pervez Hoodbhoy. It also counts several Fulbright, Chevening and Rhodes scholars among its alumni. History The university was granted a charter by the government of Pakistan in March