Married scholarship students will now have their spouses covered under health insurance, one of several family-focused provisions in a Cabinet-approved resolution that reshapes how the UAE funds and governs the education of its citizens abroad.
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) confirmed the resolution as part of a wider effort to build a pipeline of Emirati specialists capable of leading sectors the country considers central to its economic future. Officials framed the changes as a step toward a knowledge-driven economy that leans on innovation rather than traditional industries.
Among the most concrete adjustments, the study readiness and settlement allowance has been lifted to AED 30,000, a figure intended to absorb the upfront costs students face when relocating for their studies. Selected healthcare and living benefits have also been broadened so that recipients can concentrate on academic results rather than logistics during their first months overseas.
The support package now bundles together a range of financial and academic provisions: monthly stipends, allowances tied to priority specialisations, complete tuition coverage, flight tickets, health insurance, graduation bonuses, and rewards for academic distinction. Families benefit too, with health coverage extended beyond the student.
A central pillar of the reform is a full rework of scholarship governance. The new framework tracks students across every stage, from determining who qualifies and where they study, through to their choice of university and field, admission, and the ongoing review of how they perform. It also installs clearer tools to measure results and confirm that funded study translates into national benefit.
MoHESR said scholarship offerings would be steered more deliberately toward fields that feed national development goals, with weight given to strategic disciplines linked to economic diversification and long-term growth. The ministry described this as tightening the connection between what students study and what the labour market requires.
To reinforce that link, the ministry has built partnerships with over 10 national bodies spanning energy, aviation, industry, and human resources. The list includes Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Emirates Nuclear Energy Company, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Emirates Global Aluminium, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and United Arab Emirates University. Each arrangement is meant to offer graduates structured training and a defined route into employment once they complete their degrees.
The ministry noted that the revised system was shaped through consultation with scholarship providers, current recipients, and those considering applying, and that it drew on international models to keep the UAE framework competitive.
Roughly 500 Emirati students are currently funded under the programme at undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels at universities around the world.
