ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Salahaddin University in Erbil is offering 425 scholarships for international students as part of a broader effort to promote Kurdish culture globally and improve the school’s standing in international rankings. “For the new academic year, under the directive of Prof. Dr. Kamaran Younis, president of the university, the University Council has allocated 425 scholarships for international students at Salahaddin University for bachelors degree programs in the academic year 2025-2026,” the university’s director of communications Saman Abdullah told Rudaw. The goal of the initiative is to promote the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish culture internationally, while simultaneously elevating the university’s standing in global rankings, Abdullah said. The scholarship program has not yet been finalized and it remains unclear whether it will be fully funded, but tuition fees and dormitory accommodations will be covered for students who receive the scholarship. “We have had international students at our university before, but now we have significantly increased their number,” Abdullah said. Two international students have already applied for the scholarship. Founded in 1968, Salahaddin is the oldest university in the Kurdistan Region. It has 16 colleges and 95 academic departments, with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 undergraduate students and 2,000 graduate students. Times Higher Education puts the school among the top 1,200 to 1,500 in its ranking of world universities.
