Scholarships for Nigerian Students in Saudi Arabia 2026-2027

What this page lists

This page collects 5 scholarships in Saudi Arabia that are open to international students, including Nigerians. Every award on the list is at a Saudi university, and each one is run by the university itself rather than by an outside foundation or a government agency.

The providers are King Abdulaziz University, the Islamic University of Madinah, King Saud University, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). One award each. There is no filler here, and no award appears twice.

The list is small, which is worth knowing before you start. Five awards is not a wide net, so the work of applying well matters more than the work of applying widely.

Who can apply

Four of the five awards are open to Nigerian applicants. None of those four names Nigeria or the African region in its eligibility text; they are open because they carry no nationality restriction at all. For one further award, the eligibility is not stated on the award page, so you would need to confirm it with the university before spending money on a transcript or a courier.

That is the honest picture. Saudi universities admit large numbers of international students, and Nigerian students are part of that intake. UNESCO Institute for Statistics recorded 1,338 Nigerian students in Saudi Arabia in 2024, which placed Nigeria 14th among sending countries. That figure tells you the pathway exists and is used. It does not tell you that any particular department will admit you.

If you hold a B.Sc or HND and are looking at master's study, or an M.Sc and are looking at a doctorate, you are in the right place. Three of the five awards also take undergraduate applicants, so a WAEC or NECO result plus a strong secondary school record can be enough for those.

What the awards pay for

Four of the five awards are labelled fully funded. One does not state its funding either way, so nothing should be assumed about it.

Among the awards that describe their benefits in writing:

• Living costs — named by 4 awards
• Accommodation — named by 3 awards
• Tuition — named by 2 awards
• Travel — named by 1 award
• Health insurance — named by 1 award
• Research or training costs — named by 1 award

These counts describe what the awards say in their own text. They are not a promise, and they are not a substitute for reading each award page before you apply. Where an award names a stipend, the figure is stated on that award's own page rather than here.

One award on this list sets out a duration: undergraduate study of 4 years, a master's of 2 years and a doctorate of 3 years. If you are planning around a Nigerian salary, a family obligation or a job you would have to leave, that timeline is the number to build your plans on.

What the applications ask for

The requirements stated across these awards are ordinary ones, and most of them cost you time rather than money:

• Letters of recommendation — required by 4 awards
• An English test score (IELTS or TOEFL) — required by 3 awards
• A minimum degree class — required by 2 awards
• Work experience — required by 1 award

The recommendation letters are the item most likely to slow you down. Approach your lecturers or your former supervisor early, give them your CV and your statement, and give them a date. A referee who is asked two weeks before a deadline will often say yes and then not deliver.

The English test is the item most likely to cost you money. Three awards ask for IELTS or TOEFL, so budget for the test and for the score report to be sent to Saudi Arabia. Check each award page for whether a waiver is available to you — some universities waive the test for applicants who studied their previous degree in English, but you should confirm that with the university rather than assume it.

Deadlines

None of the five awards on this page carries a fixed closing date in the way a typical European or American scholarship does. All five are undated in our records, and none is currently flagged as closing soon.

What the individual awards say instead varies:

• King Abdulaziz University (KAU) Scholarships 2026-2027 — open all year
• Islamic University of Madinah Scholarship 2026-2027 — ongoing
• King Saud University (KSU) Scholarships 2026-2027 for International Students — deadline not published; the admission timeline is shown on the award page
• King Abdullah University Scholarship 2026-2027 (Fully Funded) — January 11 and October 1
• King Fahd University Scholarship 2026-2027 Fully Funded — see the award page for the deadline

The practical reading is this: an "open all year" or "ongoing" label usually means the university accepts applications on a rolling basis and admits in intakes, not that you can apply at any hour of any day and be considered for the next term. Confirm the intake you are targeting before you pay for anything.

Levels and where the awards sit

The five awards break down by study level as follows. These groups overlap, because several awards take more than one level.

• Master's — 5 awards
• PhD — 4 awards
• Bachelor's — 3 awards

Master's study is the level every award on this page covers, which makes it the most straightforward target if you already hold a first degree. Doctorate applicants have four awards to work with. Undergraduate applicants have three, and those are concentrated in the two universities that run large undergraduate international intakes.

If you are applying from Nigeria with a B.Sc and no master's, the master's route is the one to plan. If you already hold an M.Sc and want to move into research, the doctorate route gives you four options and, at the science and engineering universities on this list, a supervisor to contact before you apply.

How to approach this list

Five awards is a short list, so treat each one as an individual application rather than a form to be copied across. The steps below are the ones that decide most outcomes.

• Read each award page in full before you do anything else. Eligibility, funding and required documents are stated there, and they differ between universities.
• Decide your level first — master's, PhD or bachelor's — and drop the awards that do not take it.
• Confirm the intake and the deadline with the university directly if the award page says "ongoing", "open all year" or does not publish a date.
• Request your transcripts from your Nigerian institution early. This is the slowest item in most applications, and courier costs are yours to carry.
• Ask your referees now, not after you have written your statement.
• Book IELTS or TOEFL only if the award you are targeting asks for it, and check whether a waiver applies to you.
• For research degrees, identify a supervisor and make contact before submitting.
• Keep a single folder with your certificates, transcript, passport data page and test score so you are not rebuilding it for each application.

Start here

Begin with the four awards that are open to Nigerian applicants, and treat the fifth as one to confirm rather than one to assume. The master's level is covered by all five awards, so if you hold a B.Sc or HND, that is the most direct route into this list.

Work through the award pages linked above, note what each one asks for, and give yourself enough time for the documents that depend on other people — transcripts, recommendation letters and test scores. The list is short, but every award on it is a real, university-run scholarship in Saudi Arabia, and each one is worth reading properly before you decide where to spend your application effort.