Ministry launches Psychological Counseling & Behavioral Health scholarship programs

Qatar scholarships 2026

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) on Friday announced the Psychological Counseling and Behavioral Health Program within the Government Scholarship Plan for the academic year 2026-2027.

The program aims to qualify Qatari professionals working in Clinical Psychology and Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and to support the national system of services for mental and behavioral health. This initiative authenticates societal needs and contributes to Qatar National Vision 2030 through the development of skilled human capital.

During a post-press conference, 29 March 2026 addressed Assistant Under Secretary for Higher Education Affairs at MoEHE, Dr. Hareb Mohamed Aljabri explained that this launch signals the Ministry's shift from wide-ranging, general-based scholarship programs to more focused and demand-orientated based initiatives.

He explained that the shift further underscores the ministry's redoubled efforts to attract and prepare qualified national talent around priorities of national development, specifically within high-demand priority fields, such as behavioral health where workforce needs are surging.

Over the last period, he noted, the Ministry has been successful with special disciplines and achieving strategic needs, like nuclear engineering.

He noted that the new program is a response to an urgent need to strengthen local talent in the fields of psychology and its branches, as well as qualifying a generation capable of supporting the psychosocial system in the country.

He pointed out that the conditions for admission to those who want to study at such a center are ELITE grade no less than 80% in secondary certificate, an IELTS score of 6, and unconditional admission from one of the accredited universities in our tracks (400 universities ranked first in this track).

The financial benefits and allowances differ according to a category of university and field of study. Students covered under the Amiri Scholarship Program are given a monthly stipend of QR 20,000, in addition to two tickets for business class airfares from home every year and their years of study would also be dedicated for government service, Aljabri noted.

The students in the Psychiatry meanwhile receive a monthly QR 18,000 over four years and then QR 30,000 after the fourth year along with annual travel tickets, Aljabri said.

In addition, students registering for specializations as Clinical Psychology Specialist or Psychological Counseling (Clinical Mental Health Counseling) are paid QR 14,000 per month and one annual economy-class ticket along with scholarship students allowances, he said.

The minister highlighted that the MoEHE worked with the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau, as well as medical and social institutions in the country to secure job opportunities for graduates after their studies.

Dr. Sharifa Noman Al Emadi – Executive Director of Doha International Family Institute– pointed to the strategic importance of this program, clarifying that clinical psychology has become a mainstay to support mental health while noting in particular the ever-increasing need for Qatari manpower capable of understanding the privacy of local society, its culture and values.

The studies conducted by the Institute resulted in a combination of challenges for graduates in terms of applied aspects, Al Emadi emphasized, noting that one of the most important what is focused on scholarships programs which have a large way to generate practical training in various areas such as tips for addicted people, and also behaviors children and adolescents.

She urged most notably Qatari students, and particularly males among them, to turn towards such specializations so as to counter the evident shortage in the field of a national qualified workforce to fulfill the need for this vital domain.

In short, the program is mainly targeted at students in good degree-issuing and universities both domestically and abroad with required financial support and on-job training that promise a cadre of professionals offering a spectrum of psychosocial problems.