The Department of Public Administration was established in 1399-1400 AH (1979 AD), and the department includes a group of distinguished professors with their scientific and knowledge production, who have contributed and continue to contribute effectively to enriching the various fields of public administration, and in providing effective solutions to the problems and challenges facing the public sector. The department also graduated a group of male and female students who have held leadership and executive positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

The department offers a PhD program in the philosophy of public administration in various tracks such as public finance, human resources and health administration; the doctoral program is one of the distinguished and rare specialized programs in the Kingdom. The department also offers a master's program in public administration to prepare and qualify human cadres and provide them with various administrative knowledge and skills, according to multiple tracks such as local administration, administrative leadership, human resources and public finance.

In line with the objectives of Vision 2030 and the administrative reform movement taking place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the department has developed a number of executive programs to keep pace with administrative developments in the public and private sectors. From this standpoint, a number of executive programs have been developed to contribute to enhancing the process of human and economic development in the Kingdom, including: Executive Master in Public Administration, Executive Master in Governance and Public Policies, Continuing Master in Public Administration and Executive Master in Justice Administration (joint).

In addition to the effective partnership between the department and a number of academic and executive bodies inside and outside the Kingdom, with the aim of enhancing and exchanging experiences, the faculty members of the department contribute to the implementation of a number of regular and executive programs in other departments at the university, and in preparing administrative, organizational and financial consultations for a number of government and private agencies.

Finally, the department always seeks to keep pace with developments in the field of public administration inside and outside the Kingdom, by updating the current programs and developing new programs that keep pace with the changes and contribute to supporting the development process witnessed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.