Qatar government scholarships are mainly for Qatari citizens. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education’s plan, including the Amiri, Overseas and Domestic scholarships, sends Qatari students to approved universities at home and abroad. Many websites sell it as a chance to “study in 79 countries”, but any list of approved countries applies only to Qatari scholarship holders, and I could not confirm the 79 figure on any official source.
If you are an international student, the Qatar scholarships you can actually apply for are run by universities in Qatar. Qatar University has an International Students Scholarship for school leavers with a 95% average. Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) pays international master’s students QAR 7,000 a month. The University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) runs its own Amiri Scholarship open to students worldwide. Below I separate the two groups clearly, with the amounts and 2027 dates I could confirm.
Who can apply for Qatar government scholarships?
| Scholarship | Run by | Who can apply | Where you study |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amiri Scholarship (government) | Ministry of Education and Higher Education | Qatari students | 24 top overseas universities or 5 in Education City |
| Overseas Government Scholarship | Ministry of Education and Higher Education | Qatari students | Approved universities abroad |
| Domestic Government Scholarship | Ministry of Education and Higher Education | Qatari students | Accredited universities in Qatar |
| Qatar University International Students Scholarship | Qatar University | International students applying from outside Qatar | Qatar University, Doha |
| Qatar University Talent Scholarship | Qatar University | Non-Qatari students, including international applicants | Qatar University, Doha |
| HBKU graduate scholarships | Hamad Bin Khalifa University | Qatari, resident and international applicants | HBKU, Education City |
| UDST Amiri Scholarship | University of Doha for Science and Technology | Residents of Qatar and students from all over the world | UDST, Doha |
Ministry announcements describe the government plan as serving Qatari students and Qatar’s workforce plans, and the 2026 Amiri programme was announced for Qatari students. If you do not hold Qatari nationality, use the university routes further down.
Qatar government scholarships for Qatari nationals (2026-2027 plan)
The ministry launched its 2026-2027 scholarship plan on 21 April 2026. It added a track for students with disabilities, a bridging route that lets arts-stream students move into science subjects, and specialised awards in nuclear engineering and clinical psychology. Medicine and engineering students get higher stipends.
Amiri Scholarship benefits
You qualify by securing a final, unconditional offer from one of the 24 overseas universities on the Amiri list or one of five Education City universities. The ministry stressed at its July 2026 workshop that top grades alone are not enough without that offer.
| Benefit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly support | QAR 20,000 (QAR 8,000 basic stipend plus QAR 12,000 allowance) |
| Pre-departure allowance | QAR 40,000, paid once |
| Flights | Two business-class return tickets a year |
| Service | Study years count as years of service |
The 24 overseas universities named for 2026-2027 include MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, the National University of Singapore, Tsinghua and the University of Melbourne.
Overseas, domestic and medical scholarships
| Track | Benefit reported for 2026-2027 | Fields |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas | QAR 14,000 a month, airfare and a pre-departure allowance | Approved list; top performers may choose any field |
| Medical (overseas) | QAR 18,000 a month for the first four years, QAR 30,000 from year five | Medicine, under separate rules |
| Nuclear engineering | Up to QAR 20,000 a month and appointment at pay grade 9 on employment | Nuclear engineering |
| Domestic | Study at accredited universities in Qatar | Approved list; top graduates may choose any field |
Application windows
- Overseas, Education City and private universities: 1 July to 15 August 2026. This window has closed, and the deadline is 15 August 2027 (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens).
- Domestic scholarships at public universities: from 15 November 2026. The April announcement gave 30 December as the closing date; a July report said 30 November. Check the ministry portal before you rely on the later date.
Qatari applicants register on the ministry’s scholarship portal at scholarship.edu.gov.qa after getting an unconditional university offer, then upload documents and answer any missing-document alerts.
Qatar scholarships international students can apply for
Qatar University International Students Scholarship
This is Qatar University’s main award for undergraduates applying from outside Qatar. You need a high school average of at least 95%, and you must keep a cumulative GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 to hold it.
- Tuition and textbook fees
- A monthly salary of QAR 500
- Shared student housing with transport
- One return air ticket a year between Doha and the city nearest your home
- A residence permit sponsored by Qatar University
Qatar University also has a Talent Scholarship for non-Qatari students, including international applicants, who stand out in research, technology and innovation, literature, media, athletics or male acting. It needs an 80% average and pays tuition, textbooks and QAR 1,000 a month, with housing, transport, a ticket and a residence permit for international students. Medicine and dental medicine are excluded from its guaranteed admission.
Qatar University’s published scholarship timeline currently covers only spring 2027 awards for residents of Qatar. It had not posted fall 2027 dates for the International Students Scholarship when I checked, so watch the scholarships section of qu.edu.qa.
HBKU graduate scholarships
HBKU considers every admitted graduate student for funding, with no separate scholarship form. Awards depend on merit, need and available funds, and they are not guaranteed. Stipend holders work as research assistants for about 10 hours a week and pay their own housing from the stipend.
| Level | International stipend | Duration | Tuition waiver (HBKU-sponsored) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | QAR 9,000 a month | Up to 45 months | 100% |
| STEM master’s (MS) | QAR 7,000 a month | Up to 21 months | 75% |
| Humanities, social science and policy master’s | QAR 7,000 a month | Up to 21 months | 60% |
| LL.M., MS Economics, certificates | Not stated | Not stated | 0% |
International students also get one inbound flight at the start and one outbound flight at graduation. For the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the application opened on 1 October 2026 and the deadline for international applicants is 1 February 2027. You need IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 79, two recommendation letters, a CV, a personal statement and a QAR 250 application fee.
Deadline
HBKU’s admission deadline for international graduate applicants is 1 February 2027. Funding is decided during admission, so a late application means no scholarship.
UDST Amiri Scholarship
UDST’s Amiri Scholarship is separate from the ministry’s programme and is open to students worldwide. It covers a bachelor’s degree in UDST’s applied fields: business, computing and IT, engineering and technology, and health sciences. International winners receive a tuition waiver, a monthly stipend, a textbook waiver, health insurance, accommodation and transport, visa fees and one economy return ticket a year. UDST does not publish the stipend amount.
- Grades: at least a 90% high school average, graduating in the application year or the year before.
- English: IELTS 7.0 (no band below 6.5), TOEFL iBT 95, SAT 550 EBRW, or an accepted equivalent.
- Maths: SAT Math 550 or ACT Math 22.
- Dates: the scholarship form for fall 2027 opens 10 January and closes 31 March 2027, after you submit your UDST admission application.
How international students should apply
- Match the award to your level: Qatar University or UDST for a bachelor’s degree, HBKU for a master’s or PhD.
- Check the grade bar: 95% for QU’s International Students Scholarship, 90% for UDST, 80% for QU’s Talent Scholarship.
- Book an English test early: HBKU and UDST both ask for IELTS or TOEFL, and UDST’s bar is high.
- Get your documents attested: UDST wants an attested transcript from international applicants, and HBKU wants official transcripts with a grading scale.
- Line up two referees: both HBKU and UDST ask for two academic recommendation letters. Our recommendation letter samples help here.
- Apply for admission first: at all three universities the scholarship follows from, or runs alongside, your admission application.
If you are comparing Gulf options, see our guides to the King Abdulaziz University scholarship in Saudi Arabia and Sultan Qaboos University scholarships in Oman, both open to international students.
FAQ on Qatar government scholarships
Can international students apply for the Qatar government scholarship?
Not the ministry’s Amiri, Overseas or Domestic scholarships, which serve Qatari students. International students apply for university scholarships at Qatar University, HBKU or UDST instead.
Is it true that the Qatar scholarship lets you study in 79 countries?
I could not find 79 in any official source. A 2023 ministry figure listed approved bachelor’s universities in 68 countries, and either way the list only applies to Qatari scholarship holders.
How much is the Qatar University scholarship stipend for international students?
The International Students Scholarship pays QAR 500 a month on top of tuition, books, housing and a yearly ticket. The Talent Scholarship pays QAR 1,000 a month.
Does HBKU give fully funded scholarships to international students?
PhD students can get a 100% tuition waiver and QAR 9,000 a month. Master’s funding is partial on tuition (75% for STEM, 60% for most others) with QAR 7,000 a month, and none of it is guaranteed.
Sources and updates
The 2026-2027 government plan and application windows come from Qatar News Agency’s 21 April 2026 report and Qatar Tribune. Amiri benefits, the 24-university list and dates come from Gulf Times and Marhaba’s June 2026 reports of the ministry announcement, and the overseas, medical and nuclear engineering figures from The Peninsula’s report of the ministry’s July 2026 workshop. The 2023 country count comes from a Qatar Tribune interview with a ministry official. Qatar University awards come from its scholarship types page, definitions page and scholarship timeline. HBKU stipends and waivers come from the HBKU scholarship page, and its deadlines and English scores from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences admission page. UDST details come from the UDST Amiri Scholarship page. Information checked on 24 October 2026. I will update this post when Qatar University publishes its fall 2027 international scholarship dates.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
