AlUla Scholarship Program

AlUla Scholarship Program is an international scholarship initiative launched by the Royal Commission for AlUla in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Province, west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in 2018. With the slogan "Continuing the Journey of Civilizations and Building AlUla’s Promising Future." The program aims to foster comprehensive development for AlUla, enhance the knowledge and skills of its male and female residents, and refine their expertise in various fields and disciplines to align with labor market demands.

The first phase of AlUla Scholarship Program was launched in 2018 with the enrollment of 168 male and female students. It was followed by the second phase in 2019, which enrolled about 292 male and female students, while the third phase enrolled around three hundred male and female students in 2022. The total number of beneficiaries from the program up to the third phase reached 762 students, of whom sixty-nine male and female scholarship recipients graduated in various specializations. In 2024, the Royal Commission for AlUla launched the fourth phase of the program.

AlUla Scholarship Program aims to enable the males and females of AlUla to achieve the governorate’s sustainable development strategy by developing and elevating their skills and capabilities, providing them with educational resources, equipping them with the skills and specializations required by the labor market in AlUla, and awarding them academic degrees through international partnerships with universities, academies, and institutes in several countries.

To be eligible for AlUla Scholarship Program, applicants must meet several criteria: They must not be registered in the Social Insurance System; they must have their previous qualifications equivalenced by the Saudi Ministry of Education; they must be able to dedicate themselves fully to their studies; and all submitted information, data, and documents must be accurate and correct. Meanwhile, the commission added two requirements for acceptance and enrollment in the program’s third phase: The applicant must be a Saudi national and must have completed high school in AlUla Governorate.

AlUla Scholarship Program offers the opportunity to pursue diploma, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees at selected universities, in several approved specializations, including tourism and hospitality, history, archaeology, arts, agriculture, urban design and planning, facilities and services management, museums, environmental sciences, and communication management.

To equip participants in AlUla Scholarship Program with the skills, expertise, and specializations required by the labor market in AlUla, male and female students are sent to 117 educational institutions across various countries, such as France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Before traveling to their scholarship destinations, qualified male and female scholarship recipients join training courses lasting from six to eight months. They attend AlUla Language Institute, which opened in 2021, to prepare them for their academic journey abroad by equipping them with English or French language skills through an intensive training curriculum that helps them overcome challenges during their studies.

On July 27, 2022, the Royal Commission for AlUla launched AlUla Scholarship Program Center, aiming to hold workshops for male and female nominees, support male and female graduates with training opportunities that qualify them for the labor market and its requirements, and address inquiries about the scholarship strategy.