Initially, AUC was intended to be both a preparatory school and a university. The preparatory school opened on October 5, 1920,  with 142 students in two classes that were equivalent to the last two years of an American high school. The first diplomas issued were junior college-level certificates given to 20 students in 1923. At first an institution only for males, the university enrolled its first female student in 1928, the same year in which the first university class graduated with two B.A.'s and one B.S. degrees awarded.  Master's degrees were first offered in 1950.

Originally AUC offered instruction in the arts and sciences and in education.  In 1921, the School of Oriental Studies was added to the university, followed in 1924 by the Division of Extension. This division was later renamed the Division of Public Service, and finally evolved into the Center for Adult and Continuing Education. AUC's high school division, known as the Lincoln School, was discontinued in 1951.

In 1956,  the School of Oriental Studies was incorporated into the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as the Center for Arabic Studies. The English Language Institute was added the same year. After the Faculty of Education was discontinued in 1961 and degree offerings  were dropped from the Division of Public Service, university degree work was consolidated into a single academic structure, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Programs in sociology, anthropology, political science and economics were added to the curriculum and the natural science offerings were significantly expanded.

Two applied research units, the Social Research Center and the Desert Development Center, were established in 1953 and 1979, respectively. Another landmark in the history of the university was the development of professional programs: the departments of Engineering, Computer Science, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Management now offer several degree programs at the Bachelor's and Master's levels.

In 1960,  AUC enrolled approximately 400 academic students. By 1969  the university had more than tripled its degree enrollments to over 1,300 students, 450 of whom were pursuing graduate studies. Since then academic program enrollments have grown to 5,022 students (Fall 2001), with 749 students at the master's degree level. Adult education expanded simultaneously and now serves approximately 30,000 individuals each year in non-credit courses and contracted training programs.

In 1993 the academic programs offered through 13 departments were organized into three schools: Humanities and Social Sciences; Sciences and Engineering; and Business, Economics and Communication. Educational training and major research projects continue to be carried out through the Center for Adult and Continuing Education, the Desert Development Center and the Social Research Center. Through subsequent reorganizations and additions, as of the 2001 fall semester the university has 19 departments/institutes offering undergraduate, masters and graduate diploma programs.