JEDDAH: The Ministry of Higher Education has published a list of 9,244 Saudi students qualified to obtain the King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship under the 8th phase of the program.
“We have selected all qualified students for the scholarship program following the instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah,” the ministry said.
Among the selected students, 610 wanted to pursue studies for doctorate, 991 for medical fellowships, 6,840 for master degrees, and 803 for bachelor degrees.
Scholarships for bachelor degrees were given for courses in medicine, health sciences, basic sciences and marine transport, while students seeking master and doctoral degrees will focus on 16 specializations required by the public and private sectors in the country.
The ministry urged students to make use of the opportunity to conduct higher studies in reputable international universities and spend their time for serious learning.
It also advised potential qualified students, who have not yet applied for a scholarship, to visit the foreign scholarship department within a week.
More than 120,000 Saudi students have already benefited from the program, which was launched in 2005 and is slated to run until 2014.
Abdullah Al-Mousa, undersecretary at the Ministry of Higher Education for scholarships, said the scheme would continue to prioritize subjects that helped Saudi build a “knowledge economy”, such as medicine, engineering, and science, signaling a further move away from humanities. Currently, 70 percent of scholarship students study subjects such as business administration, engineering, information technology and medicine.
9,244 Saudi students selected for scholarship
