27 Best universities for Development Studies in Saudi Arabia

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Saudi Arabia ranked based on their research performance in Development Studies. A graph of 480K citations received by 26.2K academic papers made by 27 universities in Saudi Arabia was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. King Saud University

Saudi Arabia | Riyadh

For Development Studies

#24 in Asia

#274 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Enrollment: 61,412
Founded: 1957

2. King AbdulAziz University

Saudi Arabia | Jeddah

For Development Studies

#29 in Asia

#299 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 25%
Founded: 1967

3. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Saudi Arabia | Dhahran

For Development Studies

#141 in Asia

#726 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 17%
Founded: 1963

4. King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences

Saudi Arabia | Riyadh

For Development Studies

#162 in Asia

#785 in the World

Founded: 2005

5. Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University

Saudi Arabia | Dammam

For Development Studies

#202 in Asia

#927 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Enrollment: 20,000
Founded: 1975

6. Qassim University

Saudi Arabia | Qassim

For Development Studies

#291 in Asia

#1172 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 58%
Enrollment: 50,054
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 2004

7. Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University

Saudi Arabia | Al-Kharj

For Development Studies

#311 in Asia

#1218 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Founded: 2009

8. King Faisal University

Saudi Arabia | Al-Ahsa

For Development Studies

#315 in Asia

#1226 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 81%
Founded: 1975

9. King Khalid University

Saudi Arabia | Abha

For Development Studies

#337 in Asia

#1287 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1998

10. Umm Al-Qura University

Saudi Arabia | Mecca

For Development Studies

#364 in Asia

#1376 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Founded: 1981

11. Prince Sultan University

Saudi Arabia | Riyadh

For Development Studies

#426 in Asia

#1523 in the World

Enrollment: 6,269
Male:Female: 46:54
Founded: 1999

12. Jazan University

Saudi Arabia | Jazan

For Development Studies

#433 in Asia

#1546 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Enrollment: 54,999
Founded: 2005

13. Taibah University

Saudi Arabia | Medina

For Development Studies

#491 in Asia

#1696 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Enrollment: 74,877
Founded: 2003

14. Taif University

Saudi Arabia | Taif

For Development Studies

#495 in Asia

#1702 in the World

Enrollment: 42,765
Founded: 2003

15. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Saudi Arabia | Thuwal

For Development Studies

#532 in Asia

#1784 in the World

Enrollment: 940
Founded: 2009

16. Najran University

Saudi Arabia | Najran

For Development Studies

#571 in Asia

#1870 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Enrollment: 46,000
Founded: 2006

17. Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University

Saudi Arabia | Riyadh

For Development Studies

#578 in Asia

#1883 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Enrollment: 85,367
Founded: 1974

18. Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University

Saudi Arabia | Riyadh

For Development Studies

#582 in Asia

#1890 in the World

Founded: 2008

19. Alfaisal University

Saudi Arabia | Riyadh

For Development Studies

#637 in Asia

#2010 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Enrollment: 3,000
Founded: 2007

20. Al Jouf University

Saudi Arabia | Sakakah

For Development Studies

#708 in Asia

#2180 in the World

Founded: 2005

21. Majmaah University

Saudi Arabia | Al Majma'ah

For Development Studies

#822 in Asia

#2422 in the World

Enrollment: 19,956
Founded: 2009

22. University of Tabuk

Saudi Arabia | Tabuk

For Development Studies

#935 in Asia

#2688 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Founded: 2006

23. Shaqra University

Saudi Arabia | Shaqra

For Development Studies

#964 in Asia

#2741 in the World

Founded: 2008

24. Northern Borders University

Saudi Arabia | Arar

For Development Studies

#1083 in Asia

#2973 in the World

Enrollment: 15,300
Founded: 2007

25. Effat University

Saudi Arabia | Jeddah

For Development Studies

#1091 in Asia

#2994 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 1,311
Founded: 1999

26. Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University

Saudi Arabia | Khobar

For Development Studies

#1271 in Asia

#3356 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Founded: 2006

27. Al Baha University

Saudi Arabia | Al Baha

For Development Studies

#1341 in Asia

#3494 in the World

Enrollment: 22,914
Founded: 2006

The best cities to study Development Studies in Saudi Arabia based on the number of universities and their ranks are Riyadh, Jeddah, Dhahran, and Dammam.

Economics subfields in Saudi Arabia

Actuarial Science4

Agricultural Economics4

Econometrics and Mathematical Economics27

Environmental Economics15

Finance27

International Economics4

International Trade5

Investment Banking and Stock trading16