King Khalid University topped Saudi universities by earning first place nationally, second place in the Arab world, and fiftieth place globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) for Most International Universities in the World 2025 ranking.

The Vice President for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Prof. Hamed bin Majdou’ Al-Qarni, explained that the university’s distinction in this ranking is a key indicator of its internationality and academic openness, which contributes to enhancing its position in academic circles and attracting the best talents from students and faculty members. It also enhances joint research and innovation cooperation and contributes to improving the quality of higher education and scientific research. He emphasized that this achievement is a culmination of the university’s efforts to achieve academic excellence and enhance its international presence, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to strengthen the position of Saudi universities among the best educational institutions globally.

In addition, the Supervisor of the International Rankings Unit, Dr. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Qahtani, explained that this ranking is based on four main criteria, equally distributed with 25% for each criterion, including the percentage of international faculty members, the percentage of international students, international research cooperation, and global academic reputation.

Al-Qahtani pointed out that King Khalid University, as one of the strategic enablers for the rise of the Asir region, and in light of the university’s 2030 strategy, which is aligned with the region’s development strategy, has placed at the top of its priorities the enhancement of its global presence in international rankings. He stressed that the university’s successes in this direction reflect its distinguished efforts and practices in the fields of education, scientific research, community service, and institutional administrative and organizational work.

It is worth noting that the university has achieved significant leaps in a number of international rankings within two years.