Syria’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has opened applications for Moroccan cultural exchange scholarships covering undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies in various disciplines available at Moroccan universities. Applications are being accepted from August 4 until the close of business on August 13, 2026.
Students, or their legal representatives acting under a specific official power of attorney, must submit applications to the ministry’s Scholarships and Student Exchange Directorate on the fifth floor.
Applications must include all required documents. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applicants must state the discipline and university they wish to attend on the application form.
General Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must hold Syrian Arab nationality or have equivalent legal status. They must not have been convicted of a felony or dishonorable misdemeanor and must not be employed unless they obtain approval from their employer to apply. All required documents must be submitted within the specified deadlines, and conditional applications will not be accepted.
Applicants must not have previously benefited from a cultural exchange scholarship. They may not apply for another cultural exchange announcement until the results of their current application have been issued.
Students who withdrew from previous cultural exchange announcements may not apply unless they submitted their withdrawal request within the deadline specified in the relevant announcement.
Successful primary and reserve candidates may submit a withdrawal request within two days of the official announcement of the results. Those who fail to do so will be barred from applying for other cultural exchange opportunities during the current academic year and in future years.
Any application containing erasures or alterations, or lacking the student’s signature, will be canceled. Applicants who submit more than one application will be excluded from the selection process. Final admission is subject to the approval of the relevant Moroccan authorities.
Students admitted under cultural exchange agreements are not considered officially sponsored students under Syria’s Scientific Missions Law and are therefore not entitled to the rights granted to students covered by that law.
Study under cultural exchange programs is considered a private scholarship at the student’s expense and creates no obligations toward the Syrian state. After graduating, students must meet the requirements for degree equivalency, which are available through the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research’s Directorate of Degree Equivalency.
Undergraduate Requirements
- Applicants must be at least 19 and no older than 22 on the announcement date.
- Applicants must hold a Syrian secondary school certificate, or its equivalent, with an average of at least 80%.
- The applicant’s secondary school certificate must qualify them for the relevant undergraduate degree under the rules applied at Syrian public universities.
- No more than one year may have passed since the applicant obtained the secondary school certificate, meaning applicants must be graduates of the 2025 examination cycle.
Postgraduate Requirements
- Applicants must not be officially sponsored under the Scientific Missions Law. Formerly sponsored students must have completed their obligations toward the sponsoring institution.
- Master’s applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with an average of at least 70% for graduates of applied faculties and 65% for graduates of non-applied faculties.
- Doctoral applicants must have an average of at least 75% in their master’s degree and a grade of at least “good” in their undergraduate studies.
- The applicant’s undergraduate degree must be compatible with the master’s program.
- The applicant’s master’s degree must be compatible with the doctoral program.
- Undergraduate degrees must be among those accepted for postgraduate enrollment under the rules applied at Syrian public universities.
- Master’s degrees must be among those accepted for doctoral enrollment under the rules applied at Syrian public universities.
- Accepted educational institutions and study systems include Syrian public universities governed by the Universities Regulation Law, the Syrian Virtual University, foreign universities, Syrian private universities, open education programs, the Higher Institute of Business Administration, the Higher Institute for Applied Sciences and Technology, and higher institutes affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, under Higher Education Council Decision No. 222, dated June 3, 2021.
Required Documents
All applicants must provide documents officially authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. These include a medical report confirming that the candidate is free from communicable and infectious diseases, particularly pulmonary tuberculosis, a birth certificate, and a criminal record certificate.
Applicants must also provide documents that do not require authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. These include a color copy of a passport valid for at least six months from the announcement date, two recent personal photographs, and proof that the applicant is unemployed or has received approval from their employer to apply.
Applicants must also complete the announcement’s application form, which is obtained from the ministry’s Scholarships and Student Exchange Directorate and submitted to the directorate after all documents have been prepared.
Undergraduate applicants must submit one copy of their secondary school certificate or transcript, officially authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
They must also provide proof of French-language proficiency at no lower than B1, if available, or sign a written pledge to attend a one-year French-language course in Syria before traveling to Morocco.
Postgraduate applicants must submit one authenticated copy of their undergraduate graduation certificate and academic transcript. Doctoral applicants must also submit one authenticated copy of their master’s graduation certificate and transcript.
Applicants must provide proof that they are not officially sponsored students. Formerly sponsored students must provide proof that they have completed their obligations toward the sponsoring institution. They must also provide proof of French-language proficiency at no lower than B2, if available, or sign a written pledge to attend a one-year French-language course in Syria before traveling to Morocco.
Doctoral applicants must additionally submit a research proposal in French.
Scholarship Distribution
A total of 100 scholarships are available.
- Limited-enrollment scholarships require applicants to submit proof of French-language proficiency and are distributed as follows:
- Six scholarships in medical disciplines.
- Five scholarships at national schools of applied sciences.
- Five scholarships at national schools of commerce and economics.
- Two scholarships at national schools of arts and crafts.
- One scholarship at national schools of architecture.
- One scholarship at the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine.
- The remaining 80 open-enrollment scholarships do not currently require a language test certificate. Applicants must instead pledge to complete a full year of French-language study before enrolling at a university.
The 80 scholarships will be distributed among undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral applicants in proportion to the total number of applicants at each academic level.
Selection Procedures
The ministry will publish the names of all applicants on its website, ranked according to their percentage averages.
Applications that do not meet the requirements will be excluded. The ministry will also publish the names of successful primary and reserve candidates on its website.
The Moroccan scholarship provider will issue admission decisions and select the accepted students from among the nominated candidates. The Syrian ministry will notify students after receiving the final admissions from the Moroccan side.
- For undergraduate applicants, the selection process for limited-enrollment and open-enrollment scholarships will be conducted separately.
- The share allocated to undergraduate applicants will be determined proportionally according to the total number of applicants across all academic levels.
- The shares allocated to applicants from the scientific and literary secondary school branches will be determined proportionally according to the number of applicants from each branch.
- Applicants holding Syrian secondary school certificates will be ranked separately from those holding foreign certificates. Scientific and literary branch applicants will also be ranked separately according to their secondary school percentage after excluding the religious education grade
When applicants have equal averages, priority will be given to the more recent certificate and then to subject grades in the following order:
Scientific branch: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and French.
Literary branch: Arabic and French.
If applicants remain tied after these criteria are applied, priority will be given to the younger applicant.
For postgraduate studies, graduates of Syrian public universities will be ranked separately from graduates of other educational systems, including private universities, open education, and the Syrian Virtual University, as specified in Higher Education Council Decision No. 222, dated June 3, 2021.
Graduates of applied and non-applied faculties will be ranked separately within each educational system. Scholarships allocated to each category will be distributed among applicants’ disciplines in proportion to the total number of applicants in each discipline and according to their academic averages.
When averages are equal, priority will be given to the more recent degree and then to the younger applicant.
Scholarship Coverage
- Free tuition.
- University housing, subject to availability.
- deaily meal.
- A monthly stipend of 750 Moroccan dirhams, paid every two months as a total payment of 1,500 dirhams.
- Accepted students must cover travel costs and any other expenses not included in the scholarship benefits listed above.
Student Obligations
- Students must pursue their studies diligently until obtaining the required degree.
- Students must uphold their country’s reputation, comply with its laws and regulations, and respect the laws and regulations of the host country.
- Students must provide all information requested by the cultural attaché, or the person acting in that capacity, at the Syrian Arab Republic’s official mission in the host country.
Applicants whose names do not appear among the successful primary or reserve candidates may request the return of their original documents after the results are issued. The request must be submitted no later than six months after the announcement of the results.