CARNEGIE MELLON-QATAR

ASEE Prism, Nov 2004 by Grose, Thomas K

EDUCATION

THIS FALL, Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University's (CMU) new campus in Qatar, in the Arabian Peninsula, opened its doors. Around 25 students began working toward an undergraduate degree in computer science; another 25 or so are enrolled in a business program. Carnegie Mellon's Middle Eastern satellite campus is being funded by the local government, part of a $1 billion effort to bolster higher education in the oil-rich sheikdom. Texas A&M and Virginia Commonwealth universities have also opened adjunct branches in Education City, a 2,400-acre campus still under development in Doha, the capital city. CMU says the curriculum in Qatar and its admission policies are the same as those in Pittsburgh. Although it hopes to "slowly" increase enrollment, it has no plans to offer any degrees beyond computer science and business. School President Jared L. Cohon says the arrangement offers an "extraordinary opportunity" for CMU to contribute to an important region of the world. No doubt. But with tightening visa requirements in the United States choking the flow of students from the Middle East, opening campuses in the students' backyard may enable American schools to recoup those losses. -TG