King Saud University

King Saud University

جامعة الملك سعود
Former names	Riyadh University (1964–1982)
Motto	ريادة وتميز
Motto in English	Leadership and Excellence
Type	Public university
Established	6 November 1957; 66 years ago (6 November 1957)
Founder	Saud bin Abdulaziz
Endowment	US$2.7 billion (2013)[1]
President	Dr. Abdullah S. Al-Salman
Administrative staff	4,952
Students	61,412 (2022)[2]
Location	Riyadh , Saudi Arabia 24°43′19″N 46°37′37″E / 24.722°N 46.627°E / 24.722; 46.627
Campus	Urban, 2,224 acres (900 ha)
Language	English, Arabic
Website	ksu.edu.sa/en/

King Saud University (KSU, Arabic: جامعة الملك سعود, romanized: Jāmiʿa al-Malik Saʿūd) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia.^[3] It was known as Riyadh University from 1964 until it was reverted to its inceptive name in 1982.^[4] It was converted into an independent non-profit academic institution in 2023.^[5]

The student body of KSU today consists of 40,000 male and female students, 7% of which are international.^[6] The female students have their own disciplinary panel,^[7] and there is a center supervising the progress of female students, either personally by female faculty members or by male faculty members via a closed television network.^[8] The university offers courses in the natural sciences, the humanities, and professional studies, and many courses are tuition-free.^[9] The medium of instruction in undergraduate programs is English and Arabic depending on the chosen major. Among Arab universities, its medical programs are highly regarded.