King Abdullah Scholarship Program opens invitations to students

The online registration for scholarships at the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) for the year 2012 begins July 21 and ends Aug. 3.
In an announcement in local papers yesterday, the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) said applicants should meet the terms and conditions.
The basic conditions for the eighth phase include that an applicant should be a Saudi national; the age must be in accordance with the stated condition in every study degree; the year of obtaining degree should be in line with the stated age, and the applicant should be healthy and fit. Applicants cannot be a government employee or hold an accredited certificate from a non-Saudi institution.
Saudi women must be accompanied by a mahram (a legal guardian) to travel and to stay with her until she finishes the course so she can attend the classes physically, full-time and stay in the place where she is studying.
The program includes the following courses: medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, applied medical sciences (nursing, radiology, health sciences, medical laboratories, medical technology), engineering, computers, basic sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry), nano-technology, law, accounting, e-commerce, insurance, finance, and marketing.
Launched in 2005, KASP is the largest scholarship program in the history of Saudi Arabia. With more than 60,000 students in over 30 countries worldwide, KASP has ambitious objectives for its graduates.
King Abdullah issued a royal decree on May 25, 2005 launching this program for a period of five years to achieve these aims. The program began by sending a group of students to study in the US. Its scope was then broadened to include a number of advanced countries in diverse fields of specialization to meet the needs of the labor market in the Kingdom.
After the program completed its initial five stages, the ministry was convinced it served a good purpose. The ministry requested King Abdullah to renew it for a further five-year period, beginning in 2010. The King approved this request in February. 2010. This decision would enable more Saudi men and women to realize their ambitions and aspirations, while supplying the government and private sector with highly qualified individuals.
The program seeks to accommodate thousands of graduates from secondary schools and universities to study abroad in various specializations in accordance with the national needs of the local, regional and international economic trends in the labor market.
Through the program, Saudi students go to the best universities in the world to pursue higher studies in their respective fields.
The number of specializations and the number of students have been identified according to the needs of the ministries, national institutions and the private sector in line with the requirements of the labor market and those of the regions, governorates, universities and the industrial cities.
The program is mainly concerned with the rehabilitation of the Saudi youth to play their role in development in various fields of the public and private sectors.
The program aims to send qualified Saudis to study in the best universities in the world, thus promoting a high level of academic and professional standard through the scholarship program. Through the program it will exchange scientific educational and cultural expertise with those universities, build qualified and professional Saudi cadres in a working environment, and develop their level of vocational professionalism.
The top 10 host countries for KASP students are the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia, France, India, China and Germany.
All students sponsored by KASP are provided with the following benefits during their study period abroad: full tuition coverage, academic supervision, monthly stipend for living expenses, full medical and dental insurance, annual round trip tickets, financial incentives for a high GPA. Dependents of the students receive the same benefits.