If you’ve read this series’ UAE entry, this one will feel familiar in structure but different in substance — Saudi Arabia has its own version of a locally developed English test, and it’s arguably even more directly built into scholarship eligibility than the UAE’s equivalent. It’s called STEP (the Standardized Test of English Proficiency), and King Saud University lists it explicitly, side by side with IELTS, as an accepted alternative — with a specific score conversion, not a vague footnote.

The Local Test Worth Knowing About

STEP 85 is treated as directly equivalent to IELTS 6.0 in King Saud University’s own published requirements. That’s a genuinely useful fact, because STEP is administered locally and through partner centers regionally, which for some applicants is faster and cheaper to access than booking an official IELTS session. It’s not accepted everywhere in Saudi Arabia — check program by program — but where it is, it’s treated as fully equal to IELTS, not a lesser substitute.

The Ten Options

1. KAUST Fellowship (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)
Full tuition, bench fees, monthly living allowance of $20,000–$30,000 annually, accommodation, medical and dental coverage, and relocation support for Master’s and PhD students.
🔗 kaust.edu.sa
KAUST requires TOEFL iBT 79 or IELTS 6.5 as a baseline, but its own admissions documentation confirms exemptions exist for qualifying applicants — including PhD candidates who may receive conditional admission with lower scores paired with an English course requirement, rather than an outright rejection.

2. King Saud University Scholarship (Deanship of Graduate Studies Initiative)
Tuition, housing, monthly stipends of SAR 990–1,500 ($264–$400), return flights, and full health insurance for master’s and PhD applicants.
🔗 dgsinitiative.ksu.edu.sa
This is the one with the STEP alternative built directly into its published requirements — IELTS 6.0, TOEFL, or STEP 85 are all listed as equally accepted. A full waiver from any English test is also available specifically for applicants who already hold a Master’s degree from an English-medium accredited institution.

3. King Abdulaziz University International Student Scholarships
Tuition coverage and stipend support for international bachelor’s and graduate applicants at one of Saudi Arabia’s largest public universities.
🔗 kau.edu.sa/en/page/international-student-scholarships
Check this university’s specific program page directly for its accepted English-proficiency documentation, since — as at most Saudi public universities — policy is set faculty by faculty rather than institution-wide.

4. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Scholarships
Full tuition and stipend support for international graduate students in engineering, petroleum sciences, and related technical fields.
🔗 kfupm.edu.sa
One of the Gulf region’s most research-intensive technical universities — confirm current English-proficiency thresholds directly, since KFUPM’s programs are highly competitive and internationally benchmarked.

5. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Programme
Full tuition, housing, monthly stipends, and health insurance for international students pursuing Islamic studies, Arabic language, and related humanities fields at Saudi universities, taught primarily in Arabic.
🔗 studyinsaudi.moe.gov.sa
Worth including specifically because IELTS is genuinely irrelevant here — this program is Arabic-medium by design, so the relevant proficiency documentation is Arabic-language ability, not English, similar to how Sorbonne’s French-taught programs sidestep the English question entirely in this series’ France entry.

6. Umm Al-Qura University Scholarships
Funding for international students, particularly in Islamic studies and related disciplines, at this Mecca-based public university.
🔗 uqu.edu.sa
Like the Custodian program above, many of Umm Al-Qura’s international offerings run in Arabic — confirm which specific track (Arabic or English-medium) applies to your intended program before assuming either language’s test is relevant.

7. Prince Sultan University Scholarships
Merit-based tuition support for international students in business, engineering, and computer science programs delivered in English.
🔗 psu.edu.sa
A private university with a genuinely English-medium academic model — check its own admissions office for the current accepted proficiency test list and whether prior English-medium education can substitute directly.

8. Alfaisal University Scholarships
Merit-based funding for international undergraduate and graduate students across Alfaisal’s medicine, business, and engineering colleges.
🔗 alfaisal.edu
One of Saudi Arabia’s more internationally oriented private universities, with English as its primary teaching language — confirm current scholarship terms and accepted test list directly with the admissions office.

9. Effat University Scholarships
Merit and need-based tuition support for international female students at this Jeddah-based private university.
🔗 effatuniversity.edu.sa
A genuinely distinctive option among this list as a women’s university with a strong English-medium curriculum — check current-year scholarship terms directly, since these are revised periodically.

10. External Scholarships Portal (King Saud University and Equivalent Programs)
A centralized application system connecting eligible international applicants to scholarship opportunities across multiple Saudi institutions.
🔗 isd.ksu.edu.sa/en/node/3091
Worth knowing about as a starting point if you’re unsure which specific university’s scholarship fits your profile — note the age restriction (typically under 25) and requirement that you haven’t previously been accepted into a similar program within Saudi Arabia.

Making Sense of the English Requirement Across the Board

The pattern that holds across most of Saudi Arabia’s public universities: IELTS, TOEFL, and STEP are treated as roughly interchangeable, with a full waiver commonly available to applicants who already hold a degree from an English-medium (or, in KSU’s specific case, a prior Master’s) institution. Where a program is Arabic-medium instead — the Custodian scholarship and much of Umm Al-Qura’s offering — the English question doesn’t apply at all, and Arabic proficiency becomes the relevant document instead.

Timing and What These Scholarships Don’t Cover

KAUST’s Spring 2027 PhD deadline is September 27, 2026, with its Fall 2027 window running from September 28, 2026 to January 3, 2027. King Saud University’s recent cycle ran March 24 to May 15, though confirm the current year’s exact dates directly, since these shift annually. The Custodian scholarship and other government-run programs typically follow their own separate national calendar through the Ministry of Education’s Study in Saudi portal.

Whatever route applies to you, budget for what most of these don’t fully absorb: Saudi Arabia’s student visa sponsorship requirements (arranged through your university), mandatory health insurance, and the standard medical fitness screening required for most programs. A service like Wise is worth using to move remaining funds without a heavy bank markup.

Two Questions Worth Asking

Is STEP accepted at every Saudi university, or just King Saud University?
Just at specific institutions — King Saud University lists it explicitly, but it’s not a nationwide standard. Confirm directly with your target university before assuming it applies elsewhere.

Does Saudi Arabia’s student visa process check my English separately?
No. Your university sponsors your visa as part of admission, and language proficiency has already been assessed at that stage — the visa process itself focuses on sponsorship documentation, financial proof, and medical fitness.

Before You Apply

  • Check whether your target university accepts STEP, since it’s a genuinely distinct, Saudi-specific alternative to IELTS most guides overlook
  • If your prior degree is a Master’s from an English-medium institution, check King Saud University’s specific full-waiver eligibility directly
  • Confirm whether your intended program runs in Arabic or English before assuming either language’s test applies
  • Note the age restrictions on several Saudi scholarship programs (commonly under 25) before investing time in an application
  • Budget for visa sponsorship, medical screening, and health insurance separately from any tuition scholarship
  • Re-verify every scholarship’s current deadline and English-proficiency policy directly on the official link before applying

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