King Saud University was founded on 6 November 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz to address a shortage of skilled workers, and it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. Students began at the College of Arts in 1957 and 1958, and the colleges of sciences, business, now public administration, and pharmacy followed between 1958 and 1960. Royal Decree 112 of 1961 made it an independent legal entity with its own budget. It was called Riyadh University from 1964 to 1982 and then took back its name.
Branches opened at Abha in 1979 and 1980, with a medical school, and at Qassim in 1980. The Qassim campus became independent in 2003, and in 1998 King Khalid University was created in the south from branches of King Saud University and Imam University. The university became an independent non-profit academic institution in 2023.
The campus lies in Riyadh and covers about 2,224 acres, around 900 hectares. King Khalid University Hospital opened in 1982 with 850 beds. The King Salman Central Library covers 51,400 square metres on seven floors and has more than 4,000 seats. Enrolment was reported at 61,412 students in 2022, and the university had 4,952 administrative staff. The endowment was reported at 2.7 billion dollars in 2013.
The colleges cover architecture and planning, business administration, engineering, science, food and agriculture, and computer and information sciences. In health, they include medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, applied medical sciences, nursing and the Prince Sultan College for Emergency Medical Services. The humanities and education colleges include arts, education, law and political science, languages and translation, tourism and archaeology, and teaching, together with the Preparatory Year Program, the Arabic Language Institute and the Riyadh Community College.
Graduate studies were overseen by the Graduate College from 1977, which became the Deanship of Graduate Studies in 1998, the year the Deanship of Academic Research was also established. The King Abdullah Center for Consulting and Research was approved in 1996. Alumni include Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Fahad Al-Jalajel, Minister of Health. Fees differ by programme and nationality. Check the current tariff. Teaching is in Arabic and in English.
Domains taught:
Agriculture, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Data Analytics, Engineering, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Software Engineering
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
King Khalid University Hospital, King Salman Central Library, and the King Abdullah Center for Consulting and Research.
Research:
Medicine, engineering, sciences, food and agriculture, computer and information sciences, with the Deanship of Academic Research since 1998.
Famous Alumnis:
Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Fahad Al-Jalajel, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Rania Nashar, Haifa al-Mogrin
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
N/A
Current students***:
61412
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
First university in Saudi Arabia, very large urban campus in Riyadh, university hospital, wide range of colleges, very large library.
Cons
Campus is large and spread out, much teaching in Arabic, summer heat in Riyadh.
Best For
Students seeking the first and one of the largest universities of Saudi Arabia, with a wide choice of colleges and a university hospital.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Another national school that puts chemistry, life sciences and data analytics at the centre is King Khalid University, and it runs the same bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes, and covers finance as well.
On content, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University and this university are close, as both teach life sciences, data analytics and software engineering; it covers finance and industrial design as well, and has almost the same size, at about 60,000 students.
Another national school that puts chemistry, physics and mathematics at the centre is King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and it also offers graduate diploma programmes and covers marine science and materials as well.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
The closest overseas parallel on agriculture, civil engineering and chemistry is University of Lisbon, located in Portugal; it also offers mba programmes and covers finance as well.
A foreign alternative with a similar emphasis on agriculture, civil engineering and chemistry is Cairo University in Egypt, and it covers finance as well, and is far larger, with about 207,853 students against roughly 61,412 here.
University of Granada in Spain is the nearest foreign match on chemistry, physics and mathematics; it covers astroscience as well, and has almost the same size, at about 60,000 students.
Abroad, University of Turin (Italy) covers agriculture, chemistry and physics in a comparable way, and it is slightly larger, at about 81,200 students against roughly 61,412 here, and is also a public institution.
Seen from abroad, Charles University (the Czech Republic) is a close relative on subject matter, since chemistry, physics and mathematics are central to both, and it teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's and doctoral, and covers microbiology and genetics as well.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is King Saud University?
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a campus of about 900 hectares.
When was it founded?
On 6 November 1957, by King Saud bin Abdulaziz.
Is it the first university in Saudi Arabia?
Yes.
What was it called from 1964 to 1982?
Riyadh University.
When did it become independent?
It became an independent non-profit academic institution in 2023.
How many students does it have?
Enrolment was reported at 61,412 students in 2022.
What is King Khalid University Hospital?
The university hospital, opened in 1982 with 850 beds.
How large is the King Salman Central Library?
51,400 square metres on seven floors, with more than 4,000 seats.
Which colleges does it have?
Among others medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, science, computer sciences, business, arts and law.
What does it cost?
Fees differ by programme and nationality. Check the current tariff.
Architecture, Biology, Engineering, Innovation, Research and Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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