What this is
A graduate fellowship, not a separate contest
KAUST is a graduate research university on the Red Sea north of Jeddah. You apply for an M.S., an integrated M.S./Ph.D., or a Ph.D. in one of 17 STEM fields. If you are admitted — and you are not on a partnership or external-sponsor track — you receive the KAUST Fellowship automatically. Official FAQs say there is no separate fellowship application and no cost to apply.
That is the opposite of Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, or Knight-Hennessy, where funding is a second contest after (or beside) university admission. Here the offer letter is the fellowship letter. Details of stipend, housing, insurance, and relocation are spelled out after you are admitted.
Not the Global Fellowship
This handbook is only about the KAUST Fellowship for admitted graduate students. The KAUST Global Fellowship is a separate postdoctoral programme (concept note + full proposal, hosted PI) at kgfp.kaust.edu.sa. If you already hold a Ph.D. and want an independent postdoc, that is the other door. Do not send a Global Fellowship concept note when you mean M.S. or Ph.D. admission.
Campus snapshot on the official admissions homepage, correct as of September 2024: 1,741 students, 120+ nationalities, 46% international, 37% female. THE ranked KAUST #1 Arab University for 2023–2025.
Official money
What the Fellowship actually pays
Figures below are taken from admissions.kaust.edu.sa/fees-funding and the official onboarding pages. Aggregator blogs often invent monthly SAR amounts; use these.
Tuition and bench fees
Up to $35,000 / year
Full coverage. KAUST prices the academic cost of study at up to this figure.
Monthly stipend
$20k–$30k / year
M.S. is $20,000 a year. Ph.D. is $25,000–$30,000 depending on qualifications and progress. Onboarding lists $1,667 / $2,083 / $2,500 a month.
Housing
Base included
Shared for single students; 2-bed for married. Upgrades cost extra. Pets are not allowed.
Insurance and move
Covered on campus
Health insurance for you and eligible dependents living on campus. Relocation (visa, travel) for the first arrival and the return at graduation only.
Official FAQ: average student spend is about $1,320 a month, which the stipend is designed to more than cover. Externally sponsored students may not receive the Fellowship. See Funding.
2026–2027 calendar
Verified against the official timeline
Checked on 21 September 2026 at Admission Timeline (note the official slug is admission-timelines, plural). These dates match what third-party pages currently list. KAUST marks them as tentative and subject to application volume.
| Round | Who | Opens / closes | Decision / start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | Ph.D. only | Open now · closes 27 Sep 2026 | 8 Nov 2026 / 17 Jan 2027 |
| Fall 2027 | M.S., M.S./Ph.D., Ph.D. | Opens 28 Sep 2026 · closes 3 Jan 2027 | 14 Feb 2027 / 29 Aug 2027 |
You can submit only one application at a time, and only one academic programme per year. If you are unsuccessful, you may reapply the following year. Full calendar notes live on Deadlines.
Who should apply
STEM graduate applicants, any nationality
Official minimums: a relevant bachelor’s for M.S.; a relevant master’s for Ph.D. (professional master’s degrees are not treated as equivalent — declare them); age 18 or older on entry; GPA at least 3.0/4.0. Typical admitted profiles sit higher: 90% above 3.3, 75% above 3.5. English is required unless you completed an in-person degree in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, or New Zealand, or a prior degree on the Thuwal campus.
You do not need a faculty supervisor before you apply. M.S./Ph.D. and Ph.D. applicants may list faculty they want to work with. Admissions staff review first; strong files are forwarded to faculty, who may then contact you.
Eligibility
GPA, English, GRE optional, sponsorship exceptions.
17 programmes
Which tracks offer M.S./Ph.D. and which intakes are open.
How to apply
Five official steps plus the five-stage review.
Life on campus
Harbour housing, Core Labs, Red Sea recreation.
Combined checklist
Eligibility, documents, apply steps, and onboarding in one tracker.
Start on the official site
This is an independent handbook. Programme lists, dates, and money change. Use KAUST pages as the source of truth, then come back here for the process notes they leave implicit.