There are 34 higher education institutions in the Gulf nation, including 10 public, 6 military and police institutions, and 18 private.

Four new international universities from four different countries will soon be approved by Qatar’s education ministry, authorities announced.

The universities are from Malaysia, the US, Australia, and one other country, and are set to offer programmes in scientific disciplines required in Qatar’s labour market, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Higher Education Affairs in the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Dr. Khalid Al Ali, revealed.

The move aims to expand Qatar’s programmes and enhance the education system in the country.

Currently, there are 34 higher education institutions in Qatar, including 10 public institutions, 6 military and police institutions, as well as 18 other private facilities, according to the official.

The country’s higher education hub, Education City, is home to over eight prestigious universities.

These include Carnegie Mellon University, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Georgetown University, Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medicine, HEC Paris, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), and Northwestern University.

Education statistics: wrap up

Around 40,199 students were enrolled at the previously mentioned institutions during the 2021-2022 academic year, with 70 percent of them being female and 63 percent Qataris.

Meanwhile in 2022–2023, 2,503 people applied for scholarships, and 977 of them were accepted, he revealed.

According to Dr. Al Ali, Qatar had 77% of the requests for scholarships this year, followed by Britain with 18%, the United States with 2%, and the rest of the world with the remaining 3%.

Some 983 universities in 68 countries are accredited universities for external scholarships for bachelor’s degrees, with some 82% of the universities in the accredited list concentrated in just 20 countries.

Notably, the US and the UK lead the way with 274 and 70 universities respectively as the two most popular study abroad options.

The list of 423 universities in 41 countries that offer scholarships for postgraduate studies is headed by the United States of America with 104 universities, followed shortly by the UK with 39 universities.

Al Ali said that 3,134 Qatari students are receiving scholarships to pursue higher education, with 75% of them being women and 25% being men.

In addition, 35 students participated in the Amir Scholarship Program, including 21 in the United States, 5 in the United Kingdom, 5 in Qatar’s Education City, 2 in Canada, and 1 each from Japan and Australia.

The most popular and sought-after majors are medicine and auxiliary medicine (general medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing), as well as engineering majors such as civil and mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, and biomedical engineering.

Computer majors such as cybersecurity, information systems, computer science, and information technology are also among the most popular.