With views to prepare students on meeting labor market needs and standards, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture is sending 211 students on scholarships to international higher education institutions. This Cultural Scholarship Program, which is overseen by the ministry, is in place to prepare Saudis to meet the labor market’s need for qualified and talented nationals that are experts in the arts and culture sectors, among others.
This particular scholarship program is the first of its kind in the kingdom and one that covers the costs of the tuition fees, among other costs of each student in the program.
In this batch of 211 students, there are 133 female students and 78 male – it is the seventh group since the program was first launched in 2019.
Of the students, 123 are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs, 83 in master’s degree programs and five in Ph.D. programs.
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The subjects they are studying are across a variety of specializations including, music, heritage, theater, science technology, archeology, fashion design, libraries and museums, filmmaking, visual arts, literature and linguistics, architecture, culinary arts and design.
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The Saudi students will be embarking on scholarships at well-known international establishments including, Culinary Arts Academy, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Culinary Institute of America, University of the Arts London, Pratt Institute, Manchester School of Architecture, Virginia Commonwealth University, Australian National University, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Edinburgh and Durham University.
115 of the 211 students will be headed to America to embark on their studies, 56 will go to the UK, 20 will go to Switzerland, 10 to Australia while 2 will head to France and 2 to Egypt. 3 remaining students will each go to South Korea, Singapore and Italy.
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Since it first launched in December 2019, the scholarship program has propelled 683 students into their preferred professions, with 443 of those students being women.
The Cultural Scholarship Program is noted for its focus on diversity in cultural and artistic fields. The participating students will benefit from financial assistance when it comes to tuition fees, living expenses, health care, travel tickets, as well as follow-up and evaluation guidance programs.
