The Kingdom now boasts eight major universities:

• King Saud University in Riyadh, founded in 1957 as Riyadh University and renamed King Saud University in 1982
• Islamic University in the Holy City of Madinah, founded in 1961
• King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, founded in 1967
• Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, founded in 1953 and given university status in 1974
• King Faisal University in Dammam and Hofuf, founded in 1975
• King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, founded in 1963 and given university status in 1975
• Umm Al-Qura University in the Holy City of Makkah, founded in 1979
• King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz University, founded in May 1998