International students are nothing new at St. Edward’s University, but it might surprise people to learn that there has been a recent rise in students from Saudi Arabia. Thanks to a recent refocus on a government sponsored scholarship program, Saudi Arabia has been sending their college students for stateside education at the highest rate since 9/11.

The program, known as the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, has enabled students to come to various universities in the West, as well as Australia and other countries on the Saudi government’s dime since 2005. 

Fourteen of the terrorists on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, and the ensuing government crackdown severely reduced the number of Saudi students in America. However, when King Abdullah took the throne in 2005, he immediately started working with world leaders to get students back into foreign colleges.

“We’ve only been approved by the Saudi government for their sponsored students for about the past two years. Over that time, we’ve gone from having next to no Saudi students to having over 35 Saudi students on campus,” Immigration Advisor for the Office of International Education Erin Garcia said.

Two of those students are sophomore Mashael Al-Jumaiah, who’s attending St. Edward’s with her brother, junior Mishari Al-Jumaiah. He’s majoring in computer science, she in communication. They came to Austin from their home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital.   

“We want to experience more culture and education, and also we want to exchange cultures with other countries,” Mashael Al-Jumaiah said. 

This free education doesn’t come without a price. Since Saudi Arabia is currently in the midst of reworking their entire economy, the government has mandated that students can only go if they are majoring in certain disciplines, which rotate constantly. They can also only attend certain institutions.

“They need a specific type of student, like computer science or engineering. When you apply for the program, you need to have your major,” Mishari Al-Jumaiah said. “The last two years, they stopped [giving scholarships] for human resource majors, because there were like 2,000 to 3,000 students already studying human resources. Last year, they wanted pharmacists and doctors. Every year it’s changing. It’s about what the country needs this year.”

Masheal Al-Jumaiah also outlined other strict guidelines for potential students: “You have to have English skill and a high GPA. Another, more cultural restriction is that they want each female student to have a male relative to go with her. They provide him with the same scholarship too.”

Once they have their degree, the government encourages students to return home to work in the country and support Saudi Arabia’s new initiatives. That doesn’t mean the government can force them to come home, but the government states that they are urgently needed.

That’s not a concern for either of the siblings. Both of them plan to return home once they complete their degrees at St. Edward’s.

“They (the government)  paid for me to come here, so I need to be back for them. They chose us for the opportunity to learn, to get what most people don’t have back home. So we want to go back and try to help the country,” Mishari Al-Jumaiah said.

Masheal Al-Jumaiah is less eager to return. “I want to do a master’s degree and stay for a little longer, and also work for a short term to gain more experience,” he said.