Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' External Scholarship Program (Excellence Path)

What you get

You will receive full funding to study abroad for a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree programme. The Saudi government will cover your tuition fees, living costs, health insurance and return flights. You can choose from around 70 partner universities in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Switzerland and other countries. You will study on the main campus, not at a branch campus. The programme is run by the Saudi Ministry of Education. Its ‘Excellence Path’ offers you 32 fields of study, including newer disciplines such as tourism, hospitality, sports management, environmental sciences, media, criminal law, human resources and international relations.

Who can apply

• Nationality: You are a Saudi national.
• Admission: You have already been offered an unconditional place at one of the universities on the approved list. ‘Unconditional’ means that this is a binding offer for which no further conditions need to be met.
• Field of study: Your degree subject is one of the 32 approved subject areas, such as business administration, economics, tourism, sports management, psychology or political science.
• Enrolment: You are a full-time student and regularly attend lectures on the university’s main campus.
• English: You meet the university’s English language requirements.
• Conduct: You have a clean criminal record.
• No employer needed: You do not need an employer to act as your sponsor. You apply for admission to the university yourself.

How to apply

Applications are made via the Ministry of Education’s online portal, ‘Safeer’. There is no fixed application deadline. Applications can be submitted throughout the year until all places have been filled; it is therefore worth applying early.

How realistic are your chances?

The actual selection criterion is the offer itself, not the scholarship. You must be a Saudi national and hold an unconditional offer of a place at one of the listed universities in one of the 32 subjects. If you can provide this letter of offer and meet the requirements regarding English language proficiency and conduct, your chances are good, as the funding is linked to your place at university. Apply as soon as you have received your offer, as places are allocated on a rolling basis.