AUM is a private university founded by Mr. Hani Salah and Sadeen Education Investment Ltd. The Sadeen Group was committed to establishing a university on the American model that would deliver a university education of the highest international standards. The American University of Malta was officially born on 16 September 2016.

At that point AUM began to plan for its opening in fall 2017, with the acceptance of its first cohort of matriculating undergraduate and graduate students. AUM begins in fall 2017 with a small number of degree programs, and the number of programs, students, faculty, and staff will grow quickly over the ensuing several years.

Through the General Education requirements, the major program requirements, and the elective courses in which they choose to enroll, undergraduate students will emerge from AUM with a degree and an education that will equip them to succeed in whatever they pursue in their careers and their lives as active, engaged citizens.