By the tiswa editorial team, from the official sources listed at the end of this guide. How we write our guides
A post lands in your feed: Saudi university scholarship, full coverage, register now. You tap, and the site wants your ID, a photo of your certificate and a small registration fee. The students who fall for this are not careless. They had no search routine that starts with the issuer instead of the advert.
Where can I get a scholarship in Saudi Arabia?
Scholarships do not come from one place, and each source has its own door. The table pulls together what the official pages confirm, and what you must check on your own university’s site.
| Type of scholarship | Who issues it | Where to apply |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas study scholarship | Ministry of Education | The Safeer portal only1 |
| Scholarships to study at Saudi universities, for international students | Study in Saudi platform | Through the institution you choose2 |
| Support from your own university | The university | The student affairs or admissions pages on its website |
| Support from online learning platforms | The platform | Its own financial aid page, for example Coursera financial aid |
I give no figures or conditions for the third row, because universities differ and what one announces another may not. Open your university’s website, search for scholarship or student support, and ask the student affairs deanship about anything you cannot find.
Can I get a scholarship in Saudi Arabia? Check eligibility first
Eligibility comes first because it settles the question in a minute. A student who spent two weeks building a file, then found the call did not cover the major, lost time nobody gives back.
- Find who the call is addressed to
Is it for Saudis or for international students? Study in Saudi, for example, is aimed at international students and researchers.2 A Saudi student studying at home is not who it addresses.
- Read the level and the major
Bachelor’s or master’s, and is your major covered? Many adverts put the level in a line far from the headline.
- Look at what is covered
Fully funded, partly funded, or self-funded study. The national platform itself separates a fully funded scholarship from one covering part of the fees and from paying your own way.2
- Learn the application route
For the overseas program it is the Safeer portal, and an emailed request is not accepted.1 For a university award, it is the university’s own official page.
- List the papers you still lack
Certificates, transcript, a language test if one is asked. Write what is missing before you begin.
Thinking of a master’s abroad? That is a track of its own, covered in scholarship after a bachelor’s, and scholarships for Saudi students sets out the program’s tracks and rules from the ministry’s pages.
How do I know a scholarship advert is real?
Three minutes of checking is usually enough. Start with the link. The national platform says Saudi government sites end in gov.sa and use HTTPS, so look before you type any personal data.2 Then search for the scholarship on the website of the body that claims to offer it, not through the link you were sent. If it leaves no trace there, stop.
The other rule comes from the ministry’s page. Applications for the overseas program go through the Safeer portal alone, and an application sent by email is not accepted.1 So a body asking you to send scholarship papers to an email address or a WhatsApp number is not the ministry. The ministry’s official page also names its contact service, Tawasul.1
What should I ask before accepting any scholarship?
A real scholarship can still be wrong for you. Read what falls on you after acceptance. Are you committed to a set programme? Is the award withdrawn if your grade average drops below a line? Does it cover fees only, or living costs too? I give no answers here because they change from award to award. They sit in the scholarship’s terms or arrive from the body in an official email.
Hello, I am [name], a student of [major] at [university]. I read about the [scholarship name] on [the body’s website]. Please confirm who the scholarship is open to, what fees it covers, what obligations apply after acceptance, the official application route and the closing date. Thank you.
How do I organise my scholarship search during the semester?
Give it two hours a week, at a fixed time. Keep one file with the scholarship name, the issuer, who it is for, the application route and what you still lack. That layout is an example of how to organise your search, not an official format. If your bigger decision right now is how to manage money before any award arrives, start with a personal financial plan.
One more thing students miss. Scholarships are not the only way to cut costs. What you save on the subscriptions and software you pay for monthly can add up to a small grant of its own, and the offers open to students sit in student discounts in Saudi Arabia.
