Abstract
The article reviews the sociocultural and historical development of the higher education system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with focus on its impacts on the current makeup of bachelor's degrees offered by universities in the Kingdom. Literature and analysis of data from forty-six tertiary education websites indicate that while there is an abundance of programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and business, there is a significant paucity of degrees in the Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities (SSAH). The authors argue that the Kingdom's official development plan, Vision 2030, requires a more precise appendage when it comes to higher education. An analysis of data on bachelor's degrees reveals that both the degree landscape and students' choices of college majors favor certain STEM and business programs. STEM and business programs have been historically promoted by the traditional government policy emanating from the need to prepare Saudi students to obtain jobs in the petrochemical industry. This article posits that the excessive promotion of some STEM and business programs has engendered the neglect of the social sciences, arts, and humanities programs that play an equally vital role in students' holistic educational development. It further predicates that the paucity of degrees in these STEM fields would undermine the government's desire, to diversify an economy that has been heavily dependent on oil for more than half a century as expressed in Vision 2030.
Highlights
Saudi Arabia is in many ways unique due to its size and its political and economic power in the Gulf region
Data revealed that the Saudi tertiary education map displays a highly disproportionate representation of degrees in three clusters programs—(1) STEM, (2) Business, and (3) Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities (SSAH)
While 61.27% of programs were STEM and 24.78% business, only 13.95% of the programs were in the social sciences, arts, and humanities fields
Summary
Saudi Arabia is in many ways unique due to its size and its political and economic power in the Gulf region. It possesses some of the largest oil reserves in the world and hosts the seat of the holy sites of one of the world’s most popular religions, Islam. The country is a leading petroleum producer and founding member of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but it has the world’s largest oil company, Saudi ARAMCO. Economic diversification has gained a renewed sense of urgency as the country has experienced economic slowdowns caused largely by unstable crude oil prices Like many oil-based and oil-rich economies, the country has recently begun to reevaluate its educational and economic policies and overall strategic planning.
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