Cultural Division Mission

The Cultural Division of the United Arab Emirates to the United States is one of the Cultural Offices established by the Ministry of Higher Education to manage UAE students’ scholarships in the US and apply MOHESR’s policies and regulations according with the UAE national higher education.

The Cultural Division is headquartered at 2406 Massachusets Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20008. It is part of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to the US. However, in concerns of administration, finance and scholar services, the Cultural Division is responsible to the MOHESR in Abu Dhabi and to other UAE sponsors that have offices under the Cultural Counselor’s supervision. These include the UAE University, Abu Dhabi Police, Dubai Police, Ministry of Presidential Affairs (MOPA), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC).

The Cultural Division’s goal is to provide the UAE with competent individuals capable of accomplishing the country's goals of progress and development. The work of the Cultural Division is variously advisory, administrative, payment of financial allowances, tuition, medical, dental and vision bills.

Under the direction of the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, the Cultural Division in Washington, DC’s mandate is to prompt and sustain a high-spirited educational exchange between the UAE sponsors, scholars, and the US higher education institutions, and accreditors, and to continually enhance the number and caliber of opportunities available to them.

The Cultural Division in Washington, DC does its best to provide each scholar with the best possible educational opportunities at the best educational US institutions. It supports each scholar academically and financially according to his/her sponsor’s decree and benefits.

The US is among the most common destinations for UAE students. Their numbers in the US had exceeded 1,400 students in various programs and studying in 48 states plus the District of Columbia (DC).

The Cultural Division in Washington, DC provides MOHESR the following:

  • A list of accredited US institutions of higher education, which have distinguished accredited programs/majors, in order to benefit from these institutions and enroll the scholarship students into them.
  • Copies of academic reports for review of students’ academic statuses and progress.
  • Replies to MOHESR’s inquiries related to students graduation degrees, transcripts, and letters of completion.

The Cultural Division in Washington, DC offers to each sponsor that has an office under its supervision the following services:

  • Coordination with universities and colleges with regard to place UAE scholars.
  • Receives new students and provides them with the proper guidance as to their studies and university registration procedures as well as to help them find appropriate accommodations.
  • Preparation of an academic file that contains all the academic and financial information and to provide the student’s sponsor regularly with reports on the students’ academic progress.
  • Payment of financial allowances to each scholarship student on time (i.e. salary, tuition, health insurance, books and clothes allowances, and reimbursements).
  • Assistance in finding solutions to problems encountered by each student during his/her stay in the US in coordination with his/her sponsor.
  • Maintenance of direct contact with the universities and colleges through the academic advisors to inquire about the progress of students and receive their academic reports.
  • Providing each student’s sponsor with all information needed to evaluate or track each student progress during his/her academic scholarship.
  • Notification by official correspondence of the graduation date of the student and the date of the last salary paid to him/her in view of closing his/her file.
  • Authentication of degrees, transcripts, and letters of completion by the Cultural Division in Washington, DC before they return to the UAE.
Message from the AmbassadorMessage from the Education & Technology Sciences AttachéCultural Division Offices