Saudi Arabia: Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Information on key aspects of a country’s education system, including governance, instructional language, and other structural features defined by national or regional regulations.

Ministry Responsible

Ministry of Education

Language of Instruction

Arabic, English

Academic Calendar

2 semesters

First (Fall) semester: August to December

Second (Spring) semester: January to May/June

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

The principal quality assurance and accreditation bodies.

No.	Quality Assurance and Accreditation Body	Institution Type
1	National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Evaluation (NCAAA)	Public universities Private universities and colleges Technical and vocational institutions (TVTC)

Admissions

No.	Institution Type	Entrance Examination	Administering Body
1	All higher education institutions	General Aptitude Test (GAT, Qudurat)	Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC)
2	All higher education institutions	Standardized Achievement Admission Test (SAAT, Tahsili)	Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC)

Institutions

Types and number of officially recognized institutions providing secondary education.

No.	Institution Type	Number of Institutions	Qualifications Offered	Quality Assurance and Accreditation
2	Private universities and colleges	38 (2024)	Associate degree Junior‑college diploma Bachelor’s degrees Higher diplomas Master’s degrees Doctoral degree	National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Evaluation (NCAAA) Ministry of Education (MoE)
1	Public universities	29 (2024)	Associate degree Junior‑college diploma Bachelor’s degrees Higher diplomas Master’s degrees Doctoral degree	National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Evaluation (NCAAA) Ministry of Education (MoE)
9	Technical and vocational institutions Community/junior colleges	314 (2024)	Diploma Associate degree Junior‑college diploma Vocational certificate Vocational diploma	National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Evaluation (NCAAA) Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) for some vocational programs

Source: Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia

Academic Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Associate Degree Junior College Diploma Applied College Diploma	General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihiyah) General Aptitude Test (GAT, Qudurat)	2 to 3 years	60 to 90 credits	Access to: bachelor’s degree (lateral entry)
2	Bachelor’s degree	General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihiyah) General Aptitude Test (GAT, Qudurat)	1-year Preparatory Year Program (PYP) (varies by program) 3 to 4 years	120 to 160 credits Minimum 2.0 GPA (on local scale) Internship, practical training required (for some programs)	Access to: higher diploma master’s degree
3	Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery	General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihiyah), with high grades in science subjects General Aptitude Test (GAT, Qudurat)	1-year Preparatory Year Program (PYP) 5 years 1-year clinical internship	Completion of full medical curriculum Successful completion of clinical internship	Access to: relevant licensing examination postgraduate medical specialty training fellowships, residencies
4	Higher Diploma Graduate Diploma	Bachelor’s degree (in relevant field)	1 year	24 credits (minimum) Project or research (varies by program)	Access to: master’s degree
5	Master’s degree	Bachelor’s degree Additional criteria often required depending on field	1 to 2 years	Research oriented programs: 24 credits Thesis Professional/non-thesis programs: 39 credits Major project	Access to: doctoral degree
6	Doctoral degree	Master’s degree (in relevant field)	2 years (minimum)	12 to 30 credits Candidacy examination Dissertation and defense	Access to:

Technical Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Attending Institutions	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Associate Diploma (Assistant Technician, Level 1)	Secondary Industrial Institutes, TVTC Secondary Institutes of Architecture and Construction, TVTC Private Training Institutes	General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihiyah)	1 year	30 credits	Access to: Entry to associate degree junior college diploma
2	Technical Diploma Intermediate Diploma (Technician, Level 2)	Colleges of Technology (MCT), TVTC Technical Colleges for Girls, TVTC Digital Technical Colleges, TVTC	General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihiyah), or Secondary Industrial Institute Diploma General Aptitude Test (GAT, Qudurat)	2 to 2.5 years	60 to 75 credits	Access to: Bachelor of Engineering Technology (lateral entry) in some cases
3	Advanced Diploma	Colleges of Technology (MCT), TVTC	General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihiyah) General Aptitude Test (GAT, Qudurat)	3 years	90 credits	Access to: Bachelor of Engineering Technology (lateral entry) in some cases
4	Bachelor of Engineering Technology	Technical Trainers College (TTC) Some Colleges of Technology (MCT), TVTC	Technical/Intermediate Diploma Advanced Diploma	2 to 3 years	75 to 90 credits Cooperative training Graduation project (capstone)	Access to: master’s degree in applied fields

Grading System

Examples of the most commonly used grading scales.

No.	Letter Grades	Grade Points
1	A+	5.00
2	A	4.75
3	B+	4.50
4	B	4.00
5	C+	3.50
6	C	3.00
7	D+	2.50
8	D/SC	2.00
9	F	1.00

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

Gross Enrollment Ratio

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

International Benchmarks

Academic Ranking of World Universities

Saudi Arabia

13 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

15 of 63

Source: ShanghaiRanking Consultancy

QS World University Rankings

Saudi Arabia

18 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

15 of 90

Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

Saudi Arabia

23 institutions in the top 1,000

Global Rank

14 of 74

Source: Times Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Ministry of Education

Arabic, English

2 semesters First (Fall) semester: August to December Second (Spring) semester: January to May/June

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Admissions

Institutions

Academic Qualifications

Technical Qualifications

Grading System

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Gross Enrollment Ratio

International Benchmarks

Academic Ranking of World Universities

13 institutions in the top 1,000

15 of 63

QS World University Rankings

18 institutions in the top 1,000

15 of 90

Times Higher Education World University Rankings

23 institutions in the top 1,000

14 of 74

2 semesters

First (Fall) semester: August to December

Second (Spring) semester: January to May/June