Oman's government scholarships can fund your bachelor's, master's, or PhD abroad, but only if you study at an institution approved by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MOHERI). This guide explains how MOHERI's External Scholarship program works and lists the ApplyBoard partner universities currently recognized for Omani students.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Scholarship eligibility, program requirements, and the list of approved institutions are set and updated by Oman's Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MOHERI), not by ApplyBoard. Always confirm the most current requirements, guidelines, and approved institutions directly on MOHERI's official website before making any decisions.
Overview of Omani Scholarships
The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MOHERI) is Oman's central authority for higher education funding. MOHERI runs two main scholarship tracks for Omani citizens: Internal Scholarships, which fund study at institutions inside Oman, and External Scholarships, which fund Omani students studying abroad at approved foreign universities.
General Eligibility Criteria
Requirements vary by program and destination, but MOHERI's External Scholarship track typically expects applicants to meet the following:
Important MOHERI Rules to Keep in Mind:
- HEAC Registration: Undergraduate scholarship applications must be submitted and ranked through Oman's Higher Education Admission Center (HEAC) portal during official intake windows.
- Age & Diploma Recency: External undergraduate awards are typically capped at applicants 23 years old or younger who completed high school within the last 1–3 years.
- Study Mode: Only full-time, on-campus programs qualify for funding. Online and distance-learning degrees are ineligible.
- Degree Recognition: Upon graduation, degrees from approved foreign institutions must be submitted to MOHERI for official equivalency attestation (Mu'adalah) to be recognized in Oman.
- Academic standing & GED: High school graduates need a strong score on the General Education Diploma (GED) or international equivalent (A-Levels, IB, SATs). Minimum score thresholds depend on the competitive tier of the major.
- English language benchmarks: Most English-taught programs require a valid Academic IELTS or TOEFL iBT score. Many MOHERI external tracks require direct entry scores to bypass English foundation years.
- National Priority Majors: MOHERI aligns scholarship allocations with Oman Vision 2040 priority sectors, placing strong preference on STEM, healthcare, renewable energy, and artificial intelligence degrees.
- Government-Approved Campus & Institution: Funding is tied strictly to the main, accredited campus listed on MOHERI's database. Satellite or pathway-college campuses that lack explicit MOHERI approval will result in a loss of funding.
Why Government-Approved Accreditation Matters
MOHERI maintains an official lookup tool for checking whether a specific foreign university is approved for external scholarship placement. Students and recruitment partners can search it directly at MOHERI's Find External University portal. Studying at an unapproved institution, or at an unapproved campus or pathway college affiliated with an approved university, can mean losing eligibility for funding entirely, even mid-program. Always confirm current approval status before accepting an offer.
Note: ApplyBoard supports program search and school applications. MOHERI, not ApplyBoard, determines scholarship eligibility and approved institution status. Always verify your specific situation with MOHERI and your ApplyBoard counsellor before finalizing a decision.
Who ApplyBoard Is & How We Help
ApplyBoard is a global study-abroad platform founded in 2015 by three brothers who were international students themselves. Today, ApplyBoard has helped more than 1.5 million students from over 180 countries apply to more than 1,500 partner institutions across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Germany, and more.
For Omani students, ApplyBoard helps in four specific ways:
Finding Eligible Programs
Search across ApplyBoard's partner network to identify programs at institutions that also appear on MOHERI's approved list, narrowing your options to scholarship-eligible choices.
Streamlining Applications
Submit a single profile and apply to multiple eligible programs and institutions, with document checks along the way to reduce errors that could delay a scholarship-linked application.
Navigating Eligibility Questions
An ApplyBoard counsellor can help you understand which of our partner institutions correspond to MOHERI-approved universities.
Visa Application Guidance
Your ApplyBoard counsellor will provide you with information on how you can submit the strongest possible study visa application to government authorities.
Ready to find a MOHERI-eligible program?
Search ApplyBoard's partner programs and talk to a counsellor about your scholarship options.
Accredited ApplyBoard Partner Schools
The lists below reflect ApplyBoard's current partner institutions relevant to Oman's external scholarship framework, organized by destination country.
Warning! Approved school lists and scholarship eligibility are set and updated by MOHERI and other Omani government authorities, not by ApplyBoard. These lists change over time. Before applying, always confirm current eligibility directly with MOHERI's Find External University portal and with your ApplyBoard support counsellor. Do not rely on this list alone for a funding decision.
United States
Oman's Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation also publishes an official list of US institutions recommended for study, titled "مؤسسات التعليم العالي الموصى بالدراسة بها في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية" ("Higher Education Institutions Recommended for Study in the United States"), currently listing 644 institutions. We cross-checked every ApplyBoard US partner school against this official list.
Note: Every university in the table below is confirmed on MOHERI's official US list under its own name. Approved lists can still change over time (MOHERI's US document itself notes institutions added as recently as October 9, 2025), so always verify current status directly with MOHERI before finalizing an application. MOHERI's document also lists two program-level exceptions: as of April 7, 2021, Omani students may not enroll in the MLS (Master of Legal Studies) or LLM (Master of Laws) programs at US institutions under this framework.
Not sure which US school is right for you?
Talk to an ApplyBoard counsellor about your program options and MOHERI eligibility before you apply.
United Kingdom
Oman's Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation publishes an official list of UK institutions recommended for study, titled "مؤسسات التعليم العالي الموصى بالدراسة بها في المملكة المتحدة" ("Higher Education Institutions Recommended for Study in the United Kingdom"). We cross-checked ApplyBoard's UK partner list directly against this official 128-institution list. The table below shows each school's confirmation status, plus a link to view current programs on ApplyBoard.
Note: Every university in the table below is confirmed on MOHERI's official list under its own name. Approved lists can still change over time, so always verify current status directly with MOHERI before finalizing an application.
Next Steps & Call to Action
If you are an Omani student considering the MOHERI External Scholarship here is how to move forward:
- Check current MOHERI approval status for your target university at MOHERI's official portal before applying.
- Register with ApplyBoard to search eligible programs and submit a single profile across multiple partner institutions.
- Confirm English proficiency and academic requirements for your specific program before you apply, since these vary by destination and level of study.
Start your scholarship-eligible application
Search ApplyBoard's partner programs and talk to a counsellor about your MOHERI scholarship options.