We list 3 fully Funded Scholarships Open to Nigerian Students in Saudi Arabia, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms.
Written from the 3 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 3 fully funded scholarships in Saudi Arabia that are open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the provider, and every one of the three is open to Nigerian applicants. These are not partial awards or tuition-only discounts. They are the kind of funding package that covers the cost of study and, in most cases, the cost of living while you are there.
The three providers are King Abdulaziz University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). Each appears once on this list. All three are in Saudi Arabia, and all three are open to international students, which is why Nigerian applicants can apply.
The list is built for postgraduate study. All 3 awards are open at Master's level, and all 3 are open at PhD level. One award also accepts Bachelor's applicants, so if you are finishing WAEC or NECO and looking at undergraduate study abroad, there is one route on this page for you.
On nationality, the picture is straightforward. None of the three awards names Nigeria specifically, and none of them names a region that includes Nigeria. Instead, all 3 carry no nationality restriction at all. That means you are applying as an international student on the same terms as everyone else, not against a Nigeria-specific quota. It also means you should read each award's own eligibility text carefully, because the requirements are set by the university, not by your nationality.
All 3 awards state that they cover living costs. That is the line that matters most for a Nigerian applicant doing the maths on rent, food and transport in a Saudi city. 2 of the three state that they cover tuition, and 2 state that they cover accommodation. 1 states that it covers travel.
Read those counts as what the awards say in writing, not as a promise about your particular offer letter. Funding packages are confirmed in the admission letter, and the exact items can differ between a Master's and a PhD offer, or between one department and another. If a benefit is not named in the award text, ask the admissions office directly before you commit to anything.
One award on this page gives a duration breakdown: undergraduate 4 years, Master's 2 years, PhD 3 years. That is the funding period you should plan your finances and your family arrangements around.
The paperwork is where most Nigerian applicants lose time, so plan backwards from the deadline. All 3 awards ask for letters of recommendation. 2 ask for an English test score (IELTS or TOEFL). 2 state a minimum degree class. 1 asks for work experience.
Two practical points follow from that. First, recommendation letters take the longest to organise, because your referees are busy and you may need them to sign and stamp physical copies. Ask early, and ask more people than you need. Second, if an award asks for a minimum degree class, check how your Nigerian classification translates. A Second Class Upper, a Second Class Lower and an HND are read differently by different admissions offices, and the award text is the only authority on what it accepts.
On English tests: where a test score is requested, budget for it in advance, because IELTS and TOEFL fees are paid in foreign currency and test slots fill up. Where a test is not named in the award text, do not assume a waiver exists. Confirm with the university.
None of the three awards on this page carries a fixed calendar date in our listing. All 3 are recorded as undated at the collection level, which means the deadline sits inside the award page rather than on this list. One award, King Abdulaziz University, is open all year. KAUST gives two dates, January 11 and October 1. KFUPM points you to its details page.
That has a consequence you should take seriously: there is no single application season here, and no month where everything closes at once. Instead, each university runs its own cycle. If you are targeting a September intake, work back from the date on the award page, not from a general assumption about when scholarships close.
Saudi Arabia hosts a real international student population, and Nigerian students are part of it. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 1,338 Nigerian students were studying in Saudi Arabia in 2024, placing Nigeria 14th among the countries sending students there. That is a useful number for one reason: it tells you there is an existing Nigerian community, and existing Nigerian students who have already navigated the document process you are about to start.
The three universities on this page are research institutions with large campuses, and two of them, KAUST and KFUPM, are strongly oriented towards science, engineering and technology. If your background is in those areas, the fit is natural. If it is not, check the individual award pages for the fields each university actually offers.
Start with the award that matches your level. If you are applying for a Master's or PhD, all three are open to you. If you are applying from secondary school, King Abdulaziz University is the one to open first.
Then work through this order:
Three awards is a short list, and that is an advantage. You can read every one of them properly rather than skimming twenty. Do that, and apply to the ones where your qualifications genuinely match what the award asks for.
Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education among international students. With top-ranked universities, Islamic culture, and generous government support, it offers some of the best fully funded scholarships in the Muslim world. These scholarships are ideal for students who want to pursue Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD programs in a welcoming academic environment with full financial coverage.
The Saudi government and various universities offer scholarships that cover tuition, living costs, accommodation, healthcare, travel, and more. These programs aim to attract talented individuals from Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, and offer opportunities to grow academically and professionally.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2024.
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