How to apply?
The only way to apply is through the following link, currently it is not open for applications, and I am not sure when it will open, the best thing to do is to check once every week.
Click here to Apply
(For links to other Saudi Schools see the bottom of this post)
Do you fit the requirements?
1) Under 25 years of age (This application is for MALE or FEMALE, although I wrote this as a MALE student most of it may be the same for a female, and I don't know of what further requirements she would need in terms of her travel arrangements with her guardian, etc. Please see the bottom for further Info for a woman.)
2) Completion of a High School diploma (Or GED) with a GPA of 80% or better
3) Relatively good health with medical tests
4) Police background report
5) Passport
6) Recommendation letters from local Islamic centers or Imams in your city
- A few more things maybe needed (Passport pics, etc) but nothing serious, when the application opens it will tell you exactly what you need to submit
Will you be accepted?
It depends on which country you were born and reside in, and how many of the above requirements you complete. If you fit all the requirements and you are from a country in which not many people apply (Brazil for example) you would most likely be accepted easily, on the other hand if you apply from a country such as Nigeria (Many Applicants/Majority Muslim country), the chances would be less likely unless your grades are better than those of the other applicants.
In my experience they can accept upto 4 people from any country each year.
Is it possible to be accepted without fulfilling any or all of the above requirements?
Anything is possible in the Kingdom with the right connections, which means if you know someone who knows someone they can use their position to push your papers along. I don't know someone.
However BEFORE that make sincere Du'aa to Allah and ask Him by His beautiful names and Most Lofty Attributes to make it easy for you.
If your grades were poor in Highschool but you then went to University and improved your grades and you feel your application was disregarded because of that, you can TRY to contact the Arabic Institute and give them proof from the University to show your improvement in your grades, however, this is just conjecture on my part, it may or may not work.
Here is the Contact information for the Arabic Language Institute:
Phone: 00966 1 4673155
Phone: 00966 1 46772819
Email: regali@ksu.edu.sa
My advice is, if you really want to study but you are worried you may not be accepted because of not fulfilling one or more of the requirements APPLY ANYWAYS. If Allah wants you to go study, regardless of what the rules say you will go study, DON'T give up. Take all the steps you need to take, make Du'aa to Allah, and have trust in Him.
If accepted what next?
You wait until they send you your acceptance letter, and visa number, then you have to hassle with your local Saudi Embassy to get them to issue your visa, this process takes around one year from the time of acceptance to the completion of the VISA process.
So for example you apply now (August 2014), you would most likely receive your acceptance sometime in April, then you would do your paper work and come in September 2015.
If you are SURE you have gotten accepted, meaning you received your letter, DO NOT GIVE UP. Push both the local Embassy and the School (Scholarship department) to process whatever they need to process to get your paper work finished and your visa issued.
Plane, train, automobile....
Once you are accepted, got your VISA and are ready to go there is a 50% chance the University issued a plane ticket to you alongside your VISA, that you can use to fly to Saudi (Saudi Arabian Airlines.) for free. If not, you would have to purchase the ticket using your own funds, and the school will reimburse you (3-6 months) later for the full price.
It's also possible that they will send someone to pick you up from the Airport, you have to inquire about that once you have your arrival date.
Once you get here, what do you get?
1) You receive 224 dollars as a monthly stipend for every month of every year that you are a student in the University
2) A room, possibly shared with a roommate
3) Free full medical insurance
4) A food card allowing you to eat discounted meals at the University restaurant
5) ONE yearly plane ticket to and from your point of departure
6) Free education for the duration of your stay here as a student under the Universities sponsorship, so as long as you are accepted as such and keep your grades to the proper level.
So you're here now!
So you got accepted, got your visa, and arrived. NOW things will start to get interesting, expect the unexpected. It will NOT be organized, rather it will be hectic. If you didn't have someone pick you up at the airport you will have to take a taxi, in which case they may or may not speak English...
To ask the taxi driver to bring you to the school you say:
"Jaami'atul Malik Saud- Sakin at-tulaab."
The price will be around 20 dollars (70 Riyals), and will take around 45 minutes.
After that, hopefully the guard will let you into the housing, you need your passport and acceptance letter readily available. Go straight to BUILDING 25, speak to the Mudeer (Most high level managers speak broken English or better), if that's not an option contact someone already in the school that you may know to help you.
They will set you up with a temporary room, then you have to figure things out.. NO ONE is going to help you without you asking or without you figuring out what to do.
Where is the restaurant? What time does it open? How do you sign up for classes? Where is the scholarship department? Where is the Arabic Institute? Who do you speak to? Whats the first step?
These are all questions that you will have and not necessarily get an answer to, except by trial and error and by constant walking back and forth.
Always keep multiple Passport pictures on you, as well as your acceptance letter and your passport.
Some Things that you need to do first:
1) Go see "Abdur Rahman Al-Amri" at the Scholarship Department on the 3rd floor inside what we call the "Bahoo", He speaks English well and will instruct you to what you have to do next.
Here you will be able to find the paperwork needed for the Room Application, and you will also find the person you need to submit your passport to for the Residence Application (Sa'oud).
Best time to go here is between 10:00am to 1pm.
2) You will have to also figure out how to go about getting your medical card, which consist of you getting a full checkup again, first go see the small medical center inside the student housing, they will instruct you that you have to go to the MAIN Hospital which is a 15 minute walk. (I am not sure about the timings for the small medical center, I think it is from 4pm-10pm) as for the Hospital it is best to go from 9am-2pm.
During the first few weeks, you have to:
1) Figure out who you need to see to get your bank card, I believe this has to be done in the "Deanship of Admission and Registration" building. You should go here between 9am-12pm
2) Take an entrance exam at the Arab Institute so they can place you in the appropriate class. (8am-12pm)
3) Finish your application for the housing, housing is free, however, some people opt to pay around 200 dollars a semester to have a slightly better building and a guaranteed single room. (Building 25 in housing, 10am-1:30pm)
4) You will be doing a lot of walking back and forth between all those buildings shown on the map, if you make friends with other new students usually everyone will go together, if not find an older student to help you along and translate and fill out paper work for you.
To keep things in scale it is approximately half a mile from the housing to the Arabic Language institute, and takes around 15 minutes to walk.
More about the housing
The room as I mentioned maybe shared with another roommate, however, my personal experience dictates that it is not enough room for two people. The shared "Wing" has 8 bedrooms, one central hallway, a shared kitchen and a shared bathroom with 3 sinks, 3 toilets, and 3 showers.
Each room also comes with free High Speed internet access, and a mini fridge.
Inside the housing there is a Mini Market, two Masjids, A rec-room with pool, tennis, and air hockey tables, a Soccer field, a medium sized gym (Workout), and not far away is an indoor basketball court and another soccer field. They are currently re-building an indoor pool.
There is also a small food shop inside the housing which has Falafel, Broasted chicken, and some small sandwiches that is open until late at night.
As well as a coffee shop.
You can order food from local restaurants outside of the University and the delivery is free.
Within a 20 minute walk there is a bigger supermarket and other Misc. shops, a short taxi ride will bring you to local bookstores, electronic shops, malls, etc.
For whatever reason, most things in Saudi Are American prices... so multiple a dollar by 3.74 and you will know how much you need to pay for something.
For example a meal at Burger King might cost around 6.50 in America, here it would be 25 riyals. Although there are some things here that are cheaper, for example gas here is I guess 60 cents a liter.
More about the food
The food in the University Restaurant is decent, mostly comprising of rice, a meat, a fish, and random vegetables for lunch and dinner, as well as assorted drinks and fruits and desserts, in all you are allowed 6 items and the cost is less than 55 cents per meal.
For breakfast, you can have lentis, eggs, various cheeses, milk, juice, salad, fruits, etc.
Timings for the Restaurant are:
7am-10am (breakfast)
12pm-2pm (lunch)
After Maghrib (Approx 7pm) to Isha (8pm) and after Isha to around 9:30pm
What do you need to bring with you?
Personal experience dictates that you would need:
1) Socks
2) Underwear
3) T-shirts
4) A winter and a spring jacket, and a wool hat/gloves/scarf for the winter (YES it gets cold in the desert)
5) Pens
6) A school bag
7) A laptop
8) Twin fitted sheet
9) A good pair of shoes (Leather) semi dress or casual
10) Running sneakers
11) Exercise clothing
12) 500-1000 dollars because before your bank card arrives, you will NOT be getting the stipend, but your first payment will be 2-3 payments worth, but that can take a few months to arrive.
13) An Unlocked American cell Phone (or the equivalent), you can buy a sim card here for 25 riyals, and it's very important to have
Keep in mind that all of these items CAN be bought here, however the quality is not that good, and for better prices you can buy them back home (Western countries), if you choose to buy them here of equally good quality you will be paying much more than usual.
It's NORMAL to wear the clothing of your country, so if you are American you can wear American clothes, or Indonesian, or Nigerian, or whatever the case may be. So pack that which you feel most comfortable in, most people opt to wear mostly thobes, if you are a westerner and want to dress in Muslim clothes and you are NOT originally from a Muslim country, you should either dress like a Saudi or dress in a simple thowb with a kufi or a Shmagh or dress like a westerner. If you are a white American (For example) and dress like a Sudani while being in Saudi Arabia, it will be considered strange.
(Actual picture of students inside of Housing Masjid with the Imam to the left listening to a lecture by a guest speaker)
Thobe prices range from anywhere between 13 dollars to 50, in the winter months it's considered appropriate to wear colorful thowbs, in the summer they should be white or off white.
Shmaghs should be either white or red, with or without Iqaal (black ring.)
Shoes can be leather dress shoes, or Saudi Sandals or any regular sandals but NOT shower shoes while going to class or in public.
You shouldn't wear "Sleep" thowbs (as shown below) to school or to do your paperwork, it is considered weird. It's the equivalent of wearing Pajamas to work....
Study life
When you first enter the Arabic Institute (as far as I remember) you generally study from 8am-12pm Sunday-Thursday, we have Fridays and Saturdays off, and generally that is from September to June, and there are 3 breaks a year, Hajj (if hajj falls during the school year), winter break between the two semesters lasting between 2-4 weeks, and spring break.
After completing the Arabic Institute you MUST study a year called "Preparatory Year", in it you will have to study English, Maths, Communication, Computer, Arabic. There is NO WAY AROUND IT, although for native English speakers you can make a deal with your teacher so that you only have to take the exams and not attend the classes.
After that you would choose your college, King Saud is a secular college with an Islamic department being a branch of the Education college, you are NOT required to choose this college, depending on your GPA in "Preparatory Year" and which track you were given (Arts/Sciences) depending on your High School Diploma, you can pick almost any college, ranging from Medicine to Engineering.
The Islamic department has multiple majors
1) Qu'ran (Learning the recitation methods and focusing on Tafseer and language)
2) Fiqh and Usool al Fiqh (Fiqh at KSU is based almost entirely on the Hanbali Madhab.)
3) Hadeeth and Quranic Tafseer
4) Aqeedah which includes learning about other Methodologies
5) Arabic Language and Literature (In the college of Arts)
After finishing preparatory year you would spend at least another four years in the college of your choice in order to achieve your BA. Which means that you should expect to spend a good 7 years of your life here to get your degree.
Things to know about Saudi Culture
There is very little to no free mixing between the sexes neither inside or outside of the university, and when in a public place it is not appropriate to speak to or interact with a woman that you do not have relations with or with who you don't need something from. (A cashier for example)
Saudis are very hospitable, kind, and generous. I would say 95% of the people you meet will be fascinated to meet someone from another country, in the rare chance you meet someone that isn't they would still show respect.
When in Saudi, MIND YOUR BUSINESS unless you really feel it's something you can fix, DON'T get involved, it's not worth it, if anything notify Security or the police.
In the case of an emergency and you are western, make it CLEAR that you are, even if you have to scream it, no matter how sad it is, western citizenship is respected.
If someone is trying to take your rights away from you, or not do what they should be doing, be assertive but respectful, while at the same time get used to being told "Tomorrow, Insha'a Allah" for things that can be done within seconds.
The non-religious youth will still respect you so as long as you show respect (especially if you are western), and you can order them to leave evil as as long as you do so with wisdom (lower the music for example.)
Emergency Services
- Police - 999
- Fire service - 998
- Ambulance service (public) - 997
- Traffic Police (Al Maroor) - 993
- Najm (Najm Insurance Services Company) - 9200 00560
Most operators usually speak English, especially enough to understand the circumstances of an accident or emergency. However, in case it is not possible to reach an English-speaker, it is advisable to keep the number of an Arabic-speaking contact handy to help request assistance and describe the situation.Also keep your embassy's number on you at all time, as well as a copy of your passport once the University takes it and gives you your residence card.
US Embassy Riyadh
Pursuing your Masters after your BA
The Application process for the MA is similar to the BA, they generally will accept 1-2 people from each country in the MA after having completed the BA in this University (Or another Saudi University), and you have to have a GPA of 80% or better. The MA currently takes 3-5 years, however there is a strong chance that they are changing it to make it similar to the American Curriculum in that it will only take 2 years to complete the MA.
So you want to get married or bring your wife....
If you want to get married and you haven't started University yet, or just got accepted or are still in the Arabic Institute and you plan on marrying a girl back home and bring her, it will be very difficult. The school generally does NOT allow it.
When in the college things would get a bit easier so as long as your grades are acceptable, but it's not a guarantee that they will allow her to come, and the rules can change at the drop of a hat.
I advise new students to complete the Arabic Institute before getting married.
The school will NOT financially support your wife, they will not increase your stipend, they will not give you a place to live, and they will not give you her plane ticket. All they will do is give you her visa, residency, and medical insurance, everything else is your responsibility.
If you choose to get married and bring her keep these facts in mind.
Housing tends to go for at least 2,700 dollars a year at the low end, with an average of 4,000 to 7,000. This must be paid in at least 6 month increments (Usually a whole year is due upon signature of the contract to rent.) The FURTHER away you live from the University the cheaper it would be.
These houses do not come with furniture, nor kitchen cabinets or appliances. The price for these things are comparable to American prices and can be bought second hand.
2-4 rooms (Bedrooms included) 1-2 bathrooms, 1 kitchen, -Maybe a small dining room. Obviously the more you pay the more rooms you will get.
Electricity is not expensive, maybe 25 dollars a month.
Water is also either free, or relatively low priced, but this water can't be drank, you must purchase 5 gallon bottles, usually 4 a month will do for a small family and that would cost around 7 dollars.
Food prices in the supermarket are similar to American prices, the more "western" the food, the more expensive it would be.
If you have children they would also be given Medical, and Residency if your wife is, however similar to your wife nothing else is included.
Schooling for children is expensive, however I don't know the price exactly.
Transportation
In order to get about the city, especially if married you need a car. A decent used car can be bought for 4,000 dollars.
If you are single you can get by without one, but you will not be leaving campus much and when you do you will have to rely on Taxis and that can get expensive.
You can transfer your western Drivers License to a Saudi one within a day at nominal fee.
Scholars
Apart from the knowledge you will get from the scholars in the University, their are weekly busses to Sh. Saalih Al-Fawzaans lectures, and sometimes we have visiting scholars, or speakers inside the University. Also the Khateeb of the Main Masjid gives classes weekly during school year.
We also have many scholars in Riyadh from the Committee of Senior scholars, and other than them spread throughout Riyadh.
There is Quranic reading programs in the Student housing Masjid ran by the Imam with Hufaadh helping along daily during school semesters.
Some of the most important things you will need
1) Correct intention
2) Patience
3) Prayer
4) Don't have high expectations but be thankful for the opportunity
Misc
You can come here with ZERO arabic and still get by albeit with some difficulty. If anything you should know how to read basic Arabic words which means knowing the letters and the different diacritical marks.
Have a hobby besides studying Arabic/Islamic studies, because you may become overwhelmed and it will help your brain and happiness.
Look into purchasing some beginner Arabic courses, especially on Grammar or verb Conjugation in English/Arabic, because the classes in the Arabic Institute are entirely in Arabic, you may feel lost at times.
Find a good balance between studies and "chilling", don't be of those who completely don't socialize because as humans we need that interaction, but on the other hand don't come here to go out and sit in a coffee shop for 2 years and then fail your classes and go back with nothing.
The students here are laid back and are not "Cliquish", we all get along even with our minute differences, it doesn't mean we all have to be best friends either, but since there are not that many westerners we tend to stick together and help one another out.
-Here is the contact information for the Women section of the Arabic Institute:
Women's section general supervisor:
Dr. Mohammed I. Al-Fouzan
Tel: + 966 1 46 92969
Email: malfouzan@ksu.edu.sa
Morning program Responsible:
Mrs. Foza Al shammari
Tel: +96614682692
Fax: +96614682359
Email:Fksha2011@hotmail.com
The following links are for OTHER schools inside of Saudi Arabia that offer similar programs however, the process may be different.
King Abdul Aziz University Jeddah
Umm Al-Qurra University Mecca
Qaseem University
The following links are links to Universities that accept foreign students but whose application are not online or I wasn't able to find them.
Imam Muhammad University Riyadh
Islamic University Medina
Princess Nora University (Women ONLY)
