Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University is a public university south of Riyadh, created by royal decree in 2009 when King Saud University’s Al-Kharj branch became an institution of its own. Its colleges sit across six governorates, from Al-Dilam 30 km from the main campus to Wadi Al-Dawasir 567 km away.
The university admits non-Saudi students on scholarship through resident and international routes. The university’s external scholarships are limited to male applicants.
Every discipline is open to scholarship students except the health specialties, which the university reserves for Saudi nationals. Funding follows the national rules the Ministry of Education sets for public-university scholarships, which run from a fully funded place to a partial one or a paid seat.
Benefits & funding
- Accepted external scholarship students may receive university housing, health care for the student and eligible family members, a financial reward on arrival, and annual travel tickets.
- A partial scholarship carries only part of that package — in practice a study place on its own, or a place with housing.
- Paid places are also offered, with fees set under the university’s own rules.
- Listed program lengths include two years for master’s programs and four or five years for bachelor’s programs.
- Scholarship holders use the same student services as enrolled Saudi students.
- Neither the university nor the Ministry publishes a monthly allowance figure for these scholarships.
Eligibility
- Open to nationals of every country except Saudi Arabia; Saudi students enter through the regular admission route.
- Two routes cover every place of residence: internal for legal residents of the kingdom, external for applicants living outside it.
- Applicants must be at least 17; the maximum is 25 for undergraduate study and 30 for a master’s degree.
- Bachelor’s applicants need a secondary-school certificate, while master’s programs admit applicants with a bachelor’s degree.
- International bachelor’s candidates are ranked on the highest secondary grades or the equivalent.
- Internal route: a legal residency in the kingdom valid for at least three months at the time of applying, and a secondary certificate obtained in the kingdom.
- Internal route: a female applicant needs a mahram who holds a scholarship or a valid residency.
- External scholarships at the university are limited to male applicants.
- External applicants need certificates attested by the Saudi embassy or cultural attaché, a security clearance, and a passing medical examination.
- No applicant may hold another scholarship from an institution in the kingdom, or have been dismissed from one.
- Health specialties are closed to scholarship students; all other disciplines are open.
- An applicant may hold a scholarship application at one Saudi university only.
- External scholarship students may not take paid work while studying, and leave the kingdom within three months of finishing.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
USA · Canada · Mexico · Guatemala · Costa Rica · Nicaragua · Honduras · El Salvador · Panama · Belize · Cuba · Haiti
+ 221 more
Jamaica · Bahamas · Barbados · Dominican Republic · Dominica · Grenada · Antigua and Barbuda · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago · Anguilla · Aruba · Bermuda · Bonaire · Saba · Sint Eustatius · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Curaçao · Montserrat · Puerto Rico · Guadeloupe · Sint Maarten · Turks and Caicos Islands · US Virgin Islands · Greenland · Brazil · Argentina · Chile · Colombia · Peru · Ecuador · Paraguay · Bolivia · Uruguay · Venezuela · Guyana · Suriname · Falkland Islands · UK · France · Germany · Italy · Spain · Portugal · Netherlands · Belgium · Luxembourg · Switzerland · Austria · Sweden · Norway · Denmark · Finland · Iceland · Faroe Islands · Gibraltar · Guernsey · Jersey · Isle of Man · Åland Islands · Svalbard and Jan Mayen · Ireland · Poland · Czechia · Hungary · Romania · Serbia · Greece · Bulgaria · Estonia · Latvia · Lithuania · Ukraine · Russia · Albania · Andorra · Belarus · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Croatia · Cyprus · Kosovo · Liechtenstein · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · North Macedonia · San Marino · Slovakia · Slovenia · Vatican City · China · Hong Kong · Macau · Taiwan · Japan · South Korea · North Korea · Singapore · Malaysia · Thailand · Vietnam · Indonesia · Philippines · India · Nepal · Brunei · Pakistan · Bangladesh · UAE · Israel · Palestine · Türkiye · Mongolia · Cambodia · Laos · Myanmar · Timor-Leste · Sri Lanka · Bhutan · Afghanistan · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Georgia · Iran · Iraq · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Lebanon · Maldives · Oman · Qatar · Syria · Tajikistan · Turkmenistan · Uzbekistan · Yemen · South Africa · Kenya · Nigeria · Egypt · Morocco · Ghana · Uganda · Cameroon · Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d'Ivoire · DR Congo · Republic of the Congo · Djibouti · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Zambia · Zimbabwe · Saint Helena · Australia · New Zealand · Fiji · Papua New Guinea · Samoa · Solomon Islands · Tonga · Vanuatu · Kiribati · Marshall Islands · Micronesia · Nauru · Palau · Tuvalu · American Samoa · Cook Islands · French Polynesia · Guam · New Caledonia · Northern Mariana Islands · Pitcairn Islands · Niue · Tokelau · Wallis and Futuna
Education required
High School · Bachelor
Age requirement
≥ 17 yrs
Appears to be for women “female applicant”
confirm in the requirements
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Application process
- 1Decide which route applies: internal for non-Saudi residents of the kingdom, external for applicants abroad.
- 2Internal applicants apply electronically through the Study in Saudi platform during the designated application period, following the admission timeline.
- 3External applicants apply through the Ministry of Education’s Study in Saudi platform and select Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University.
- 4Upload the documents required for the chosen level: a secondary certificate and record for bachelor’s study, or a bachelor’s degree and transcript for master’s study, plus the requested identity document.
- 5Have certificates attested by the Saudi embassy or the cultural attaché in the home country, and obtain a security clearance.
- 6Selected candidates confirm the place by the stated deadline, then submit originals, a good-conduct certificate, a medical report and a passport valid for at least two years.
Program timeline
the last published internal scholarship window opened.
2 July 2024
that window closed at 8 am.
14 July 2024
first-round results for internal applicants.
16 July 2024
deadline to confirm a place, at noon.
23 July 2024
Next cycle
dates follow each academic year, announced on the university portal for internal applicants and on the Ministry platform for external ones.