Getting Saudi Transcripts and Degrees Evaluated for US Admission
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 19, 2026
US universities read your Saudi thanawiyyah certificate or university degree through a credential evaluation from a NACES member agency, which converts your grades into an estimated US GPA and degree equivalency.
🎓 A four-year Saudi bachelor's degree with about 120+ credit hours matches a US bachelor's degree.
📩 Order your evaluation from a NACES member agency, not directly from your university.
💵 Evaluation fees and turnaround time vary by agency. Check each one's current rates before you order.
🕐 Order your evaluation as soon as you have your final transcripts. Evaluations take weeks.
Why US universities want a credential evaluation
US admission officers do not automatically know how a Saudi thanawiyyah GPA or a Saudi university transcript compares to the US system. A credential evaluation from an independent agency translates your Saudi education into terms a US school understands: a US-equivalent GPA, a degree-level match, and sometimes a course-by-course breakdown of credit hours.
Many US graduate programs require this evaluation before they review your application.
Some undergraduate programs accept your original transcripts directly and evaluate them in-house instead. Check each school's international admission page before you order one, so you do not pay for an evaluation your target school does not need.
How the Saudi education system maps to US terms
Saudi secondary school runs three years, grades 10 through 12, ending in the General Secondary Education Certificate, commonly called the thanawiyyah. Students choose a stream in grade 10: a general science or liberal arts track, a religious studies track, or a technical-vocational track.
The certificate lists your stream and your cumulative average, according to World Education Services . This certificate is the Saudi equivalent of a US high school diploma.
Saudi higher education follows a structure close to the US model, which makes evaluation more straightforward than in some other countries.
| Saudi credential | Typical length | US equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Associate diploma | 1 year, about 30 credit hours | Certificate or partial associate credit |
| Associate degree | 2-3 years, 60-90 credit hours | Associate degree |
| Bachelor's degree | 4 years, 120+ credit hours | Bachelor's degree |
| Master's degree | 1-2 years, roughly 24-39+ credit hours plus a project or thesis | Master's degree |
| Doctorate | 2+ years | PhD |
Grading in Saudi schools and universities uses a numerical scale, so your evaluator converts your percentage or point average into a US-style 4.0 GPA. The exact conversion formula differs slightly between evaluation agencies, which is why two evaluators can produce a slightly different US GPA from the same transcript.
Choosing a credential evaluation agency
Use an agency that belongs to the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).
US universities trust NACES members because the association vets their evaluation methods. The current member list, including agencies such as World Education Services and Educational Credential Evaluators, is on naces.org .
Ask your target university if it names a preferred evaluator or accepts any NACES member. Some schools want a document-by-document evaluation covering degree level and GPA only, others want a course-by-course evaluation matching each course to a US credit and grade. A course-by-course report costs more and takes longer, so order the type your school actually asks for.
Steps to order your evaluation
Request your final, sealed transcripts and certificates from your school or university in Saudi Arabia, with official Arabic-to-English translations if the institution does not issue English copies.
Pick a NACES member agency and confirm which report type your target school requires.
Submit your documents to the agency, either by mail or through their online portal, along with the evaluation fee.
Ask your agency to send the completed report directly to your university's admissions office, and keep a copy for yourself.
Track the order. Evaluations commonly take a few weeks, so order early enough that a delay does not push your application past its deadline.
Keep your original documents. Some universities and later immigration steps ask to see them again, and evaluation agencies do not return your originals in every case.
Common mistakes that slow you down
Ordering a document-by-document evaluation when your program needs course-by-course, or the reverse. Confirm the requirement first.
Sending photocopies instead of documents your school or the agency accepts as official. Most agencies want documents sent directly from your institution or in a sealed, stamped envelope.
Waiting until your application deadline to start. Evaluation agencies process requests in the order they arrive, and volume rises near common deadlines like January and August.
Assuming every US school needs an outside evaluation. Some review foreign transcripts internally, especially for undergraduate admission. Check before you pay an agency fee.
What if the evaluation and your target university disagree
Occasionally your evaluation report and a university's own reading of your transcript differ slightly, especially on GPA conversion. Universities often use the evaluation as one input alongside their own judgment, not as an automatic override. If you believe an evaluation understates your record, ask your university's international admissions office how they weigh the report, and ask the evaluation agency whether they offer a review on their conversion.
Evaluations for technical and vocational credentials
If you hold a diploma from a Saudi technical or vocational institute rather than a standard university, ask your target school and your evaluation agency how they handle it specifically. Vocational credentials do not always map cleanly to a US associate or bachelor's level, and some US programs want additional coursework or a placement test alongside the evaluation report.