The Riphah International University was conceptualized when the founding Trustee, Islamic International Medical College Trust Major General (Retd) Muhammad Zulfiqar Ali Khan laid the foundation of Islamic International Medical College back in 1995 as the first private medical institution in the country.

In 2004, the university established Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and in 2005 School of Leadership as its Faculty of Management Sciences was materialized. With gradual progression the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences (IIMC) established Islamic International Dental College as Hospital. This is considered perhaps, the largest Dental Hospital in the Northern part of Pakistan.

Riphah International University (RIU) has six faculties:

Faculty of Computing
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Faculty of Management Science
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science
Faculty of Humanities & Science
Riphah Centre of Islamic Business (RCIB)