Study Without Fees at Tel Aviv University

03 October 2026

Can you study in Israel for free? In general, no: Israeli universities charge annual tuition, including to Israeli citizens. Tel Aviv University (TAU) has a number of exceptions. Six English-taught engineering master's programs, two research master's programs in the life sciences and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music's international degrees all cover tuition for accepted international students, and the Medical Sciences MSc offers a number of tuition-free places. New olim have a route of their own: academic tracks that the Israel Student Authority partly funds.

Most of these opportunities are recent. TAU introduced its first two English-taught engineering MSc programs, in Biomedical and Environmental Engineering, in 2024, and four more have joined them since. The academic integration tracks for olim, which began with management, TESOL and a French-language social sciences program, now also include electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and social work.

Tuition-Covered Engineering MSc Programs

Currently, TAU's Fleischman Faculty of Engineering runs six English-taught research MSc programs, and each covers tuition for accepted eligible students, with additional stipends available for exceptional candidates. All six take two years and are built around research: you take graduate coursework, join a TAU lab and write a thesis.

Who can apply: Applicants need a BSc in engineering, usually with an average of 80 or above on the Israeli scale; Materials Science and Engineering asks for a BSc in materials engineering.

Mechanical Engineering MSc: research tracks in solids, structures and dynamics; flows, heat transfer and energy; or design, robotics, and MEMS systems.
Electrical and Computer Engineering MSc: a thesis-based research degree covering advanced areas in electrical and computer engineering.
Industrial Engineering MSc: choose between the Analytics and Optimization track and the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence track.
Materials Science and Engineering MSc: research in biomaterials, composite materials and advanced materials.
Biomedical Engineering MSc: research in biomechanics, computational biology, biomedical technologies, vision and hearing.
Environmental Engineering MSc: research in water purification, desalination, renewable energy, microplastics, nanotechnologies and air quality.

Spotlight: Biomedical and Environmental Engineering

Biomedical and Environmental Engineering were the first of the six, introduced in 2024. Both are led by faculty who run their own research labs, and students join the labs for their thesis research.

“If you really want to be an engineer, but you really want to save earth, then environmental engineering is what you should do,” — Prof. Hadas Mamane, head of the Environmental Engineering MSc

For Prof. Ben Maoz, head of the Biomedical Engineering MSc, the value of a research degree lies in the method:

“You learn how to do the research. If later you want to tackle a different question, you already know how you build the experimental design... it really helps you to learn how to think scientifically.” — Prof. Ben Maoz, head of the Biomedical Engineering MSc

Professor Ben Maoz in his lab

For every engineering degree taught in English at TAU, including bachelor's options, see Engineering Degrees at TAU.

Tuition-Covered MSc Programs in the Life Sciences and Medicine

Outside engineering, three research MSc programs fund international students, and two of them add living assistance to the tuition coverage. They suit graduates with a bachelor's degree in the life sciences or a related field who want to spend their master's in a research lab.

Who can apply: these programs are generally intended for graduates with a bachelor's degree in the life sciences or a related field who want to join a research lab and complete a thesis.

Neuroscience MSc: tuition and living assistance are covered, with research at the Sagol School of Neuroscience ranging from the molecular to the cognitive level.
MSc in Life Sciences: Individual Tracks: tuition and living assistance are covered, with research tracks including genetics, biochemistry and ecology.
Medical Sciences MSc: a number of tuition-free places are available to international research students through TAU scholarships, across nine tracks ranging from drug development to epidemiology.

"The Neuroscience MSc program allows students to choose from a very large variety of laboratories and research groups," says Dr. Sagi Jaffe-Dax, head of the Neuroscience MSc.

Tuition-Free Music Degrees

The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music charges no tuition to international students in its international music program, at both bachelor's and master's level. Admission is competitive, and top candidates may also receive housing and financial aid. See the BMus and MMus program pages for admission details.

Funded Degree Tracks for New Olim

If you have recently made aliyah, the Israel Student Authority, part of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, can cover part of your tuition and your intensive Hebrew study. At TAU, that support works in two ways.

Academic integration tracks. Each track starts in English (or French) and continues in Hebrew, so you can begin a degree before your Hebrew is at university level. The tracks do not require the psychometric exam, although some ask for SAT scores, and recent olim can apply for a housing scholarship (conditions apply).

BA in Management and Liberal Arts: taught in English, with a move to the Hebrew track in the final year.
BSc in Electrical Engineering: Academic Integration Track: a preparatory year in English with mathematics, physics and intensive Hebrew, then the Hebrew BSc.
BSc in Mechanical Engineering: Academic Integration Track: the same preparatory-year model, leading into the Hebrew BSc in mechanical engineering.
Bachelor of Social Work: Academic Integration Track: a preparatory year with psychology courses in English, then the three-year Hebrew BSW.
MA in TESOL: a move to the Hebrew track in the second year, leading to an Israeli teaching certificate.
Gesher TAU: Licence en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques: a first year in French with intensive Hebrew, for French-speaking olim.

English-taught degrees. You are not limited to the integration tracks. If you qualify for Student Authority aid and enroll in one of TAU's English-taught degrees, the funds are transferred directly to TAU to cover part of your tuition.

Eligibility generally applies within three years of aliyah and is subject to age limits. For the current rules, contacts and TAU's community program for olim students, see Olim at Tel Aviv University.