JEDDAH: The Ministry of Higher Education has begun accepting applications from students wanting to study abroad under King Abdullah External Scholarship Program, which is in its fourth year.

Candidates, who are required to submit their applications online via the Ministry of Higher Education’s website, have until July 16 to do so. Unlike previous years, undergraduate scholarships are only available in medicine-related courses.

This year’s applicants for undergraduate courses should also have a minimum high school GPA of 90 percent and not have left school more than three years ago.

Postgraduate students, on the other hand, have the option to pursue courses in law, accounting, e-commerce, insurance, finance and marketing, medicine, dentistry, applied medical sciences — which includes nursing, radiology, health sciences, medical laboratories, medical technology, pharmacology, engineering, computer science — and basic sciences, including mathematics, physics and chemistry.

This year’s postgraduate applicants should have graduated no more than five years ago and the GPAs of their previous degrees should be 2.75/4, 3.75/5 or 80 percent.

According to Ministry of Higher Education regulations, undergraduate medical students should have finished their internship before applying for scholarships.

In addition, Ph.D. applicants should not be aged over 30 and those applying for a master’s scholarship should not be over 27.

Although the majority of scholarships available are for Asian countries, students generally prefer to travel West.

Abdullah Al-Mousa, general supervisor of scholarships at the Ministry of Higher Education, said there is an agreement between the ministry and six Asian countries to absorb 1,500 students.

Undergraduate students have the option of traveling to the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Spain, Slovakia, Poland and Romania.

Postgraduate students can choose universities in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, India, Spain, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic, Austria, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Students can submit their applications online via the Ministry of Higher Education’s website www.mohe.gov.sa.