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KAUST Fellowship

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology · Saudi Arabia

Level
Master’s and PhD (science & engineering)
Where
Saudi Arabia
Money
Full funding for admitted students
Fields
Medicine, Engineering

In short

KAUST fully funds the science and engineering students it admits — tuition, a living allowance, housing and insurance — with no separate scholarship form. It is international and English-taught, and research-intensive, so it suits Engineering and the biological and health sciences rather than Law.

A strong fit for Engineering and for Medicine-adjacent science (bioscience, bioengineering, environmental and marine science, public-health-related research). It is a pure science and technology university — there is no law school — so Law applicants should look elsewhere on this page.

Who can apply

  • You are applying to a KAUST MS or PhD in a science or engineering field.
  • You hold a relevant bachelor’s (for MS) or the degree below the one you seek, from a recognised institution.
  • You have strong grades and, for research, a good fit with KAUST faculty.
  • You are any nationality; teaching and research are in English.

Papers they ask for

  • The online KAUST admission application.
  • Transcripts and degree certificate(s).
  • A statement of purpose and references.
  • An official TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Cambridge C1 Advanced score. The published floor has been TOEFL iBT 81 or IELTS 6.5. Confirm it on the day you file.
  • Three recommendations. GRE is not required. A strong quantitative score helps, and that is all it is.

What it pays

  • Full tuition and the bench fee, which KAUST values at up to USD 35,000 a year
  • A stipend worth USD 20,000 a year on a master’s, and USD 25,000 to 30,000 a year on a PhD, depending on progress
  • Base housing: a shared room if you are single, a two-bedroom place if you are married. An upgrade costs extra
  • Health insurance for you and for eligible dependants who live on campus. Dental cover can differ for dependants
  • Relocation once, at the start, and the trip home at the end

How to apply

  1. Pick the intake: the August intake covers MS, MS/PhD and PhD; a January intake is PhD-only.
  2. Identify faculty whose research matches yours and strengthen your statement around it.
  3. Apply for admission by the intake deadline (3 January 2027 for August 2027 entry).
  4. Admitted students are considered for the fellowship automatically — no separate scholarship form.

Read this before you file

  • The fellowship follows admission. There is no standalone scholarship application to file.
  • Students who already hold external funding may not receive the fellowship on top.
  • Deadlines differ by intake and KAUST says they can move if the volume is high. The timeline does not print an hour for 3 January.
  • A bioscience project is not a medical degree and will not put you on the Medical and Dental Council register.

Checked against the provider’s page on 11 October 2026. If this note and that page disagree, the provider is right. Lanbuk does not award this scholarship.