This year has seen more Saudi Arabians, both women and men, heading to the United States to acquire university degrees as the Kingdom continues its efforts to support students in their journey towards attaining higher education abroad.
According to Gulf News, almost 60,000 students are currently in the US taking courses in a wide range of subjects. The news site reports that 35,736 of this year’s total are bachelor’s degree students, 7,122 are doing their master’s degree, and 4,392 are PhD students. In addition, only 8,272 are self-sponsored while the rest are scholarship students, receiving financial support from the state for fees and living expenses.
The largest segment of students is studying engineering and information technology (22,240), followed by management and finance (15,181), human and social studies (8,528), medicine and medical sciences (7,685), biology (2,154), and physics (1,065).
“I feel proud about the academic levels of the Saudi students and the efforts they are exerting,” the Saudi ambassador to the US Prince Khalid Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz posted on his Twitter account recently. “They are motivated and guided by aspirations for a brighter future and achievements. You are the best ambassadors for the country.”
Today, more than half of the Kingdom’s 27 million nationals are below age 30, a demographic situation that poses a serious economic challenge as Arab News points out in a recent article. Due to this and other factors, Saudi Arabia has embarked on Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to reform its oil-dependent economy and create more opportunities for its young population.
As part of its Vision, which looks to invest and reform the education sector in the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in scholarship programs that allows students to further their studies abroad, particularly in the US.
