Jordan Education and Training Services Industry Snapshot
Last published date:

Capital:  Amman
Population:  11 million (2022 est.)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity):  $100.16 billion (2020 est., in 2017 dollars)
Currency:  Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Language:  Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)

 

UNESCO Student Mobility Number
Jordan has 29,486 students studying abroad according to UNESCO.

CIA World Factbook
52.82% of the population in Jordan is under 25 years old.

 

OVERVIEW

The Jordanian Ministry of Education is divided into the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR).  There are no official government scholarship programs for Jordanian students; however, some scholarships are available at U.S. institutions that are only offered to Jordanian applicants.

According to the IIE Open Doors Report for the academic year 2021-2022, the number of Jordanian students studying in the United States was 2,426, showing a modest uptick over the previous year’s 2,338 students studying in the United States.  Most Jordanian students in the U.S. are studying at the graduate level (47%), while 34% are studying at the undergraduate level, and 19% in non-degree and OPT programs.

SUB-SECTORS

Secondary Education

English is a mandatory course for 10 years in public schools (basic education) and 12 years in private schools (10 years of basic education and 2 years of secondary education).  The language of instruction in public schools is Arabic, and the language of instruction in most of the private schools is English.

 Jordanian students complete one of the following high school programs:

  • Tawjihi (General Secondary Examination) offered in the majority of schools
  • International Baccalaureate (IB) offered in a very limited number of private schools
  • International General Certification of Secondary Education (IGCSE) offered in some private schools
  • Advanced Placement (AP)

Standardized undergraduate admissions testing available in-country are the TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, and ACT exams.

Higher Education

A Bachelor’s degree is earned in four years, except for fields that require additional study, such as medicine, pharmacy, engineering, or law.  The language(s) of instruction in universities is Arabic and English.  The top fields studied by Jordanian students are medicine, engineering, and law.

Lack of academic-level English skills prevents many potential Jordanian students from gaining admittance to U.S. graduate programs.  There is a need to help Jordanian students interested in studying in the United States to better prepare for the necessary entrance examinations.  The presence of private high schools and universities is primarily concentrated in the capital, Amman, and Irbid governorate.

In cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, Yarmouk University (public) created a first-of-its-kind free online platform (https://BeEnglishReady.net/) to help native Arabic speakers be prepared to complete their postgraduate studies at prestigious U.S. universities. 

OPPORTUNITIES

The U.S. Embassy created and supported the Jordanian-U.S. University Cooperation Network (UCN) to establish and sustain institutional research partnerships between U.S. higher education institutions and Jordanian universities, and to support faculty and student mobility programs. 

The U.S. Embassy in Amman has launched the GRE English Prep Program, an online tool created in partnership with Yarmouk University (a UCN member) to support native Arabic-speaking students considering graduate study in the U.S. Visit: (https://beenglishready.net/)

Although there is substantial interest in attending U.S. higher education institutions, knowledge is limited regarding the higher education system in the United States.

Recently the Higher Educational Council supported creating new specializations to meet with the demands of the regional and global labor market.

Dental has been a specialty in two leading universities, in 2022 two more universities has added the dental to its programs and another five universities are in the process of granting the approval to add Dental to its programs.

BARRIERS

Accreditation: Online programs are not preferred, for accreditation purposes.  However graduate students may apply for an online certificate only if the university is ranked within the top 500 in the world. 

American universities must be listed on CHEA and BIS to be accredited in Jordan.

RESOURCES

U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE CONTACT

Suzan Barbour, Commercial Specialist
U.S. Commercial Service – Amman, Jordan
Email:  Suzan.Barbour@trade.gov
Phone: +962 6 590 6966