Al-Azhar University Scholarships and Free Education Program for African Students

What "free education at Al-Azhar" actually means

Al-Azhar University has a long reputation as an open door for Muslim students worldwide, and that reputation is only partly accurate today. Full tuition exemption, subsidized housing, and a monthly stipend apply to students who hold an Al-Azhar scholarship, not automatically to every foreign Muslim who enrolls.

A 2009 academic estimate of Al-Azhar's foreign intake, published in research on Al-Azhar's African students , counted far more self-funded foreign students than scholarship holders, and no newer public breakdown has replaced it. More recent scholarship guidance for the 2025 cycle put the number near 1,200 scholarship places offered annually, drawn from over 100 countries, though this figure comes from a third-party scholarship guide rather than an Al-Azhar or Egyptian government page.

What the scholarship covers

• 🎓 Full exemption from tuition fees for the length of your program.

• 🏠 Near-full exemption from student housing costs, with placement in dedicated residence halls for scholarship students.

• 💵 A monthly cash stipend to cover living expenses.

• 🏥 Medical care through the university's health services.

• 📩 A free Arabic language course for students who arrive without Arabic proficiency, before they start their main program.

These benefits, listed in Egypt scholarship guidance , apply for the full length of a scholarship holder's program, not just the first year.

Fields open to scholarship students

Scholarship places span Islamic studies and Arabic language as the traditional core, alongside faculties covering medicine, engineering, commerce, and other general sciences that Al-Azhar runs alongside its religious curriculum. Which faculties accept foreign scholarship students in a given cycle depends on available places, so confirm the current list with your nominating body rather than assuming every faculty is open every year.

Who qualifies

Al-Azhar scholarships target Muslim students recommended through official channels, rather than open direct applications from every interested student. Your national Islamic affairs ministry, a recognized Muslim student council, or your country's Egyptian embassy typically manages the nomination process and forwards a shortlist to Al-Azhar's Department of Foreign Students Affairs, also known as the Wafedin office.

Academic requirements follow Al-Azhar's own entry standards for your intended level of study, whether that means a general secondary certificate for undergraduate entry or a completed bachelor's degree for postgraduate study.

How African students apply

1. Contact your country's Islamic affairs ministry or Muslim student council to check whether it runs an active nomination channel for Al-Azhar scholarships.

2. Where no national channel exists, apply directly through Al-Azhar's Department of Foreign Students Affairs or through the Egyptian embassy in your country.

3. Prepare your academic certificates, passport copies, and passport photographs ahead of the nomination or application deadline your channel sets.

4. Confirm current deadlines directly with your nominating body each cycle, since Al-Azhar's scholarship intake calendar shifts from year to year.

If you arrive without Arabic

Non-Arabic speakers admitted on scholarship start with the university's Arabic language course before joining their main faculty. This preparatory period brings your Arabic to the level needed for study, since Al-Azhar's Islamic studies, Arabic and humanities faculties teach entirely in Arabic. Some applied faculties, including medicine, deliver much of their teaching in English, so confirm the language of instruction for your specific faculty before you enrol.

If you do not get a scholarship

Missing a scholarship place does not close the door to Al-Azhar. You still enroll on your own account, paying standard tuition and housing costs the way most of Al-Azhar's self-funded foreign students do.

Reapplying for a scholarship in a later cycle remains an option once you are already enrolled, so check with the Wafedin office about switching from self-funded to scholarship status if your circumstances change.

Practical tips

• Start your nomination inquiry with your Islamic affairs ministry a full academic year before you plan to enroll, since nomination cycles run on their own calendar separate from Al-Azhar's own dates.

• Keep certified copies of your academic certificates in Arabic or English translation, since Al-Azhar's admissions process reviews documents in these languages.

• Ask your nominating body directly whether the stipend and housing exemption apply from your first semester or only after an initial preparatory period.