"Am I Al-Rowad or Emdad?" is one of the most common questions we get from Saudi families researching the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (Safeer) scholarship, and most people answer it by guessing, or by reading four different explainer pages and still not being sure. There is a faster way. We built a free, 2-minute tool that asks the five questions that actually decide your track, and gives you a specific, sourced answer. Here is why that choice matters so much, and the tool itself.
Why guessing your track is expensive
The Safeer program is organised into four distinct tracks, Al-Rowad, Emdad, Research & Development, and Wa'ed, and each one carries a different ranking bar, a different admission requirement, and a different route into France. Apply under the wrong one and the consequences are not cosmetic: a strong candidate who does not yet speak French but applies under Al-Rowad (which requires a final, unconditional admission) will struggle where Emdad's conditional-admission route would have worked cleanly. A PhD-track profile filed as a general academic application misses the fee advantage that Research & Development carries. Getting this one decision right, before you build the rest of the file, is the highest-leverage thing you can do in the entire process.
Our full breakdown of the four Safeer tracks covers the official rules in depth. This article, and the tool below, exist to answer the narrower, more urgent question: not "what are the four tracks", but "which one is mine".
The 5 questions that actually decide your track
Strip away the jargon and track selection comes down to five factors. This is exactly the logic our Track Finder tool runs on:
- Degree level. Bachelor's and Master's applicants split between Al-Rowad and Emdad; a Doctorate points straight at Research & Development; a vocational diploma or professional certificate points at Wa'ed.
- Field or goal. An elite generalist ambition (business, politics, law, sciences at a top-30 school) leans Al-Rowad. A high-demand professional field (engineering, health, IT) leans Emdad. An academic research career leans R&D. Culinary, hospitality, creative arts, sport or media point at Wa'ed.
- Your French level, right now. This is often the deciding factor. Fluent French, or an English-taught program, keeps Al-Rowad open. Basic or no French at all is exactly what Emdad's conditional-admission route was built for.
- Target institution type. A world top-30 elite school (HEC, Sciences Po, PSL, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the Sorbonne) is an Al-Rowad-calibre target. A strong, well-ranked university in the top 200 fits Emdad or R&D. A named partner program, like a culinary institute, is Wa'ed territory.
- Academic standing. Top-of-cohort profiles aiming for the most selective schools fit Al-Rowad; strong and solid profiles fit Emdad; graduate and research-focused profiles fit R&D; skills-and-portfolio-focused profiles fit Wa'ed.
Weigh these five factors together, rather than picking the track whose name sounds most prestigious, and the right answer is usually clear. That is what the tool below does automatically.
The four tracks, in one line each
| Track | Ranking bar | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Rowad (الرواد) | Top 30 (program list) | The elite route, all fields, but it requires a final, unconditional admission. |
| Emdad (إمداد) | Top 200 (program list) | The main academic route, and the one built for arriving without French. |
| R&D (البحث والتطوير) | Top 200 (program list) | Doctorate only, with a fee advantage most students overlook. |
| Wa'ed (واعد) | None (partner-based) | No ranking bar; selection is by named partner programs, like Le Cordon Bleu. |
Rankings are defined by the program's own approved list, not a single public ranking like QS or THE, so always confirm the current list on the official portal. Our guide to approved French universities for Safeer explains exactly how that works.
After you get your result
Whichever track the tool points you toward, treat it as a strong starting hypothesis to verify, not a final decision. The next steps depend on the track:
- Al-Rowad or Emdad? Read the full tracks breakdown and, if French is the open question, our guide to reaching France without French.
- Research & Development? See how the doctoral fee exemption works in our student budget guide.
- Wa'ed? Browse named partner routes, starting with culinary arts studies in France.
- Ready to apply? Our step-by-step Qabul guide walks through the platform itself.
A quiz result is a starting point, not a guarantee. Matching your exact profile, field and French level to the right track, and to a verified shortlist of French institutions, is precisely the work of our Diagnostic and Orientation services. If you want a second opinion before you commit to a track, our team in Riyadh and Paris runs discovery calls.
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