Kuwait Cultural Office
2111 Wilson Boulevard Suite 500, Arlington VA 22201

Undergraduate Department

Student Registration Information

Please upload the following documents in KCO Student Portal:

  1. Copy of Kuwaiti Passport
  2. Copy of Civil ID
  3. Copy of Visa
  4. Copy of I-20
  5. Complete PDF printout of your travel history:

To Access I-94: Go to Get Most Recent I-94 à Enter Personal and Passport Information

To Access Travel History: Go to View Travel History à Enter Personal and Passport Information

  • US Passport holder: access your travel history from SAHEL. Also provide a copy of your boarding pass and passport page showing stamped date of entry in the U.S
  1. PIFSS (Public Institution for Social Security) Letter: To Whom It May Concern letter confirming employment and/or social allowance status  https://www.pifss.gov.kw/sites/En/Pages/Home.aspx(link is external).

To access your PIFSS letter: Go to the E-services tab à E-Portal for individuals à Login with your Civil ID and get the form.

  1. US bank account or direct deposit information (no handwritten name on the check)
  • Voided/cancelled check with the student’s name printed on the check OR
  • Non-Federal direct deposit enrollment request form issued by the bank with the student’s name, account number, and ABA routing number
  1. Detailed Class Schedule: Complete PDF printout of detailed schedule showing your name, courses, total number of credits enrolled, days and times for each course and campus enrolled. 
  2. Signed Forms:

Please update the following information in KCO Student Portal:

  • Phone number in the U.S.
  • Permanent mailing address in the U.S.
  • Email address

Students Reinstated to Scholarship OR Transferring from the LA office:

Please arrange for the following documents to be sent to our office directly from all previous schools attended:

  • Official Transcript(s) – official electronic transcripts are accepted
  • Verification of Non-Traditional Courses (VNT) Form 

IMPORTANT NOTES: To complete your embassy registration

  • Make sure that you have completed and updated your profile in Dayrah prior to your embassy registration
  • Inform our office once you have uploaded all documents and updated your information in KCO Student Portal

 

ESL Students

  1. Students are allowed a maximum of one year (12 months) of Intensive English studies (ESL) in order to obtain international TOEFL or IELTS score required for full academic admission to your major.
  2. After twelve (12) months of ESL studies students are expected to obtain full academic admission or conditional/bridge admission (6 credits ESL + 6 credits academic) at an approved university for their major.
  3. Scholarships will be suspended after one year if student does not obtain academic admission at an approved university for their major.
  4. Students who obtain academic admission while enrolled in ESL must complete the term. An exit report from the ESL program is required as proof of completion. Failure to complete the ESL term/session may result in repayment of tuition and salaries received for the term he withdrew/or did not complete
  5. Students in ESL must attend classes every day and fulfill all required course work. It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of the attendance policies/rules at their respective ESL program. Exceeding the allowed absences per term is a serious violation of your student (F-1) visa.
  6. Students who miss more than 20% of class for the term will need to repay the salary received exceeding the 20% of absences allowed according to MOHE scholarship rules and regulation, Article #17, item #19.
  7. Dismissal from the ESL program due to excessive absences will result in suspension from scholarship and repayment of all tuition and salaries paid during the dismissal term.
  8. Dismissal from your ESL program will result in the termination of your I-20 and per U.S. immigration rules will be required to leave the country within two (2) weeks. Any violation of U.S. immigration rules has severe consequences and could result in arrest, face possible jail time and/or deportation.
  9. Students must be enrolled during the Summer term to receive summer salaries (June, July & August)
  10. Student is eligible for an ESL Ticket if they meet all of the following conditions:
     
    1. Completed at least 3 months of ESL studies
    2. Pass at least 50% of all courses taken during their entire ESL period
    3. Obtain academic admission at an approved university for their major
  11. Only international TOEFL/IELTS tests from a Ministry approved testing center either US or Kuwait are allowed. All other English Proficiency exams are not accepted.
  12. A maximum of three (3) TOEFL/IELTS test fees taken during ESL period will be covered by the scholarship. Students must provide a copy of official test score and receipt to be reimbursed for the test fee
  13. A maximum of five (5) academic admission application fees will be covered by the scholarship.  Student must provide copy of application submission confirmation and receipt to be reimbursed for the application fee.

 

Merit Scholarships

  1. Student must be a Kuwaiti Citizen
  2. Applicants must have a high school diploma or its equivalent (Art or Science).  High School validity date must not exceed two (2) academic years from the student’s graduation date.  Students who graduated high school outside of Kuwait or from a private high school in Kuwait must provide a high school equivalency certificate issued by the Ministry of Education’s General Administration for Private Education
  3. Merit applicants must meet the minimum high school percentage required to apply for a major that is listed in the annual scholarship plan
  4. IELTS/TOEFL score must meet the scholarship’s required English proficiency score
  5. Applicant must not have an internal scholarship or be enrolled in one of the Governmental Higher Education institutions and has not withdrawn from it.
  6. Prospective, Private Unsupervised, Conventional scholarship, or students who are rejoining the scholarship after dismissal must obtain admission to an approved merit university/merit major
  7. Students must submit an approved/signed study plan for his/her major .  Scholarship period is based on the prescribed period of study for the assigned scholarship major. For students who were previously awarded an internal scholarship, their merit scholarship period is calculated as follows: (prescribed period of study for the major – previous enrollment period under internal scholarship) Conventional scholarship students are not eligible to apply for merit scholarship during their scholarship extension period.
  8. Merit students will be transferred to Conventional scholarship in the following cases:
     
    1. Did not complete his/her degree and graduation requirements by the end of their original scholarship period
    2. Enrolled in more than 2 courses (including labs) at a non-merit university after being granted a merit scholarship
    3. Overall cumulative GPA drops below the minimum 2.0 required. Credits transferred from previous school(s) attended are counted towards calculation of overall cumulative GPA
    4. Earned less than fulltime course load (12 semester credits/18 quarter credits) per term
    5. Exceeds the 4 non-traditional courses allowed
    6. Transfers to a non-merit university/non-merit major
  9. Merit scholarship students who were transferred to Conventional scholarship may be eligible for reinstatement to Merit scholarship in the following cases:
  10. Raises his/her overall cumulative GPA to at least 2.0 and above
  11. Students who were transferred to Conventional scholarship for failure to earn at least 12 semester credits/18 quarter credits per term must earn at least 12 semester credits/18 quarter credit for two (2) consecutive regular semesters from the time of their removal from the merit scholarship.

Merit scholarship students will receive the same allowances as Conventional students, in addition to a monthly award equal to (50%) of the MOHE Conventional monthly allowance

Academic Studies

Duties of the Scholarship Student (see article 3)

  • Promise to review and abide by the rules and regulations of the Ministry.
  • Abide by the immigration laws and rules of the scholarship country.
  • Respect the rules and laws in the country of scholarship and abide by the policies and regulations of the university or college where the student is admitted.
  • Abide by all decrees and regulations issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Cultural Office.
  • The Student must commit to the scholarship major and abide by the designated period. Students must provide the Cultural Office with the study plan(link is external) at the beginning of the academic year as well as proof of attendance and the transcript at the end of each academic term. Students must not change majors without notifying the Cultural Office and obtaining the Ministry’s approval.  Students are responsible for any delay in providing the required documents. Students, who do not comply for any reason, will be given one month warning before the monthly salary is suspended.
  • Students are not allowed to enroll in any courses through correspondence, independent study program, credit by exam, or through continuing education.
  • A graduated student must not leave their scholarship location unless all graduation requirements(link is external) are completed and all personal, financial and legal matters are taken care of prior to leaving the scholarship location.

Obligations of the Scholarship Student (see article 4)

  • Freshman students are allowed to register for an additional (6) credit hours of intensive English courses when necessary, to enable the student to complete a total of (12) academic credits during the first semester.
  • The student is not allowed to register in less than (12) credits provided it is not required by the university to study additional language courses.
  • Scholarship students must successfully complete between (27-30) semester credits hour or (42-45) quarter credits during the academic year. Students who do not complete the required number of credits must enroll in summer classes.
  • Students are expected to achieve a 2.00/C grade or above per semester (or its equivalent in other study systems).  If the student’s Grade Point Average (GPA) drops below 2.00 the Cultural Office will implement the following:
     
    • First academic warning, so that the student will work to raise his GPA to the required average the following semester.
    • A second warning if the student continues his low GPA.
    • If the student receives 3 consecutive or 4 non-consecutive warnings the Cultural Office will send a dismissal recommendation to the Ministry.  Dismissal decisions will be made by the Ministry of Higher Education.
  • Students are allowed to enroll in a community college for two courses, provided it does not exceed 8 credits, it is required and not offered by his home school. If the courses are chosen by the student, the student will be responsible for the tuition
  • Students are allowed to enroll in 4 courses (12 credits) of Independent Study or online provided:
     
    • Students must obtain prior approval from the Cultural Office to enroll in either independent study or online courses.
    • Students must provide the Cultural Office with a detailed letter issued by the university to describe the course material and the study system.
    • All on-line courses must be completed under the supervision of one of the approved universities by the National Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance.
  • Students are not allowed to take any courses by correspondence, independent program, credit by exam or through continuing education.
  • During the summer term, students are allowed to register at Kuwait University, any approved private university in Kuwait or Arab and foreign university outside his place of study with the approval from his home school. 
  • Students will be reimbursed for tuition fees if he earns a grade of C or above in each course.
  • The number of summer courses allowed outside the scholarship location should not exceed 2 courses during the student’s period of study, with the exception of Kuwait University courses.

Changing College or University (see article 5)

  • Obtain prior approval from the Cultural Office.
  • The student is not allowed to transfer schools if he will lose credits and result in a delay in graduation.
  • Universities can be changed only one time throughout the scholarship period and academic studies. Any other requests will be the decision of the Ministry and upon the recommendation from the Cultural Office.
  • Students are not allowed to change universities during the final year.

Required Documents for Changing College or University

  • Admission letter confirming full/unconditional academic admission to your assigned scholarship major
  • Approved/Signed Study Plan(link is external) for the new university – must be received directly from your university advisor
  • If study plan is not available, complete transfer evaluation report or an official letter from the university confirming the following:
     
    1. Number of credits accepted at transfer from all previous schools attended
    2. Number of credits remaining to complete the degree requirements
    3. Expected graduation date
  • Official transcript showing grades as of last term of enrollment
  • Request letter addressed to the Academic Committee requesting a university transfer stating the reason for the request
  • Copy of new I-20 (if available)
  • Detailed schedule showing the courses, total credits registered with day and times each course is taken (if available)

 

Scholarship Extension (see article 6)

  • The Ministry holds the right to extend scholarship periods for a maximum of one academic year if the period of study is four years; and two academic years if the period of study is more than four years, if the student is not facing academic difficulties.
  • At the recommendation of the Cultural Office the scholarship committee may consider to extend the scholarship after exhausting the allowed extension period in exceptional cases beyond the student’s control.

Required Documents for Scholarship Extension

  • Personal letter addressed to the Academic Committee requesting scholarship extension.
  • Updated approved/signed Study Plan(link is external). Must be received directly from your university advisor  
  • Official transcript with most recent grades posted  

 

Change of Major (see article 7)

  • The student is allowed a onetime change of major during the student’s academic studies.
  • The student is allowed to change major upon completion of a minimum of (12) credits with a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or successfully completed the preliminary year according to the Cultural Office recommendation and the Ministry approval.
  • The student is not allowed to change majors if it will affect his graduation time.

Required Documents for Change of Major

  • Personal letter addressed to the Academic Committee requesting a change of (intended major) effective (term/year). The letter must state the reason why you are requesting change of major. 
  • Official letter from the (major department) confirming that your are eligible for direct admission to the (intended major) effective (term/year). Letter must state the number of earned credits that will transfer to the new major. 
  • Approved/Signed Study Plan(link is external) for new major. Must be received directly from your university advisor 
  • If study plan is not available, copy of degree audit or an official letter from the university confirming the following: 
     
    1. Number of credits remaining to complete the degree requirement 
    2. Expected graduation date 
  • Official transcript with most recent grades posted  

Scholarship Suspension (see article 8)

  • Scholarship students are not allowed to suspend their scholarship before reporting to his scholarship location.
  • The scholarship will be suspended for a maximum of one academic year.

Required Documents for Suspension of Scholarship

  Current/Continuing Academic Student

  • Official letter from your home school confirming the following:
     
    • You have been approved a leave of absence for (term/year)
    • Reason for approving your leave of absence request
    • The Cultural Office will not be charged for any tuition fees for the suspension term(s)
    • You are eligible to resume your academic studies in (term/year)
  • Personal letter addressed to the Academic Committee requesting scholarship suspension effective (term/year) with the reason for your suspension request
  • Official electronic transcript with grades as of your last term of study
  • Most Recent Travel History Form(link is external)

  Pre-Academic Suspension

    For Students with Remaining ESL Time

  • Official letter from your home school confirming the following:
     
    • You have been approved a leave of absence for (term/year)
    • Reason for approving your leave of absence request
    • The Cultural Office will not be charged for any tuition fees for the suspension term(s)
    • You are eligible to resume your ESL studies in (term/year)
  • Personal letter addressed to the Academic Committee requesting scholarship suspension effective (term/year) with the reason for your suspension request
  • Official electronic transcript with grades as of your last term of study
  • Most Recent Travel History Form(link is external)

    For Students without Remaining ESL Time

  • Personal letter addressed to the Academic Committee requesting scholarship suspension effective (term/year) with the reason for your suspension request
  • Official electronic transcript with grades as of your last term of study
  • Most Recent Travel History Form(link is external)

Cancelation and Dismissal from Scholarship (see article 9)

  • Students who fail to contact the Ministry within (60 days) of scholarship admission announcements.
  • If the student does not comply with the rules and regulations mentioned in Article 2 & 3 - Obligations and Responsibilities of the Scholarship Student
  • Receipt of three consecutive or four non-consecutive academic warnings.