The Qassim University was established in 2004 by merging the Qassim branches of King Saud University and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. Subsequently, its constituent colleges that were scattered throughout different cities of Qassim became a part of Qassim University.
At present, the university encompasses 28 colleges for both male and female students in different cities across the region. The number of male and female students registered at the university during the academic year of 2010-2011 approached 50,000, and the number of faculty members and staff reached well over 4,000.