CMU-Q woos students from Kuwait

By Sheikha Suhaila Fahad Al-Sabah
Managing Editor

Kuwait is a priority market for universities, revealed Jonathan Dudley, assistant director of admissions at the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU-Q) campus in Qatar during his recent visit to Kuwait.

Speaking to The Times Kuwait during his visit, Mr. Dudley pointed out that he had visited six schools in Kuwait to support students who would like to apply to one of CMU-Q undergraduate programs and guide them through the admission process.

Appreciating the response from students in Kuwait, he noted that as one of the top universities in the United States, students have the opportunity to learn from a top-class US university while enjoying the convenience of studying at the Qatar campus which is just one and half hour away from home.

CMU-Q is offering students four programs to choose from — computer science, informatic systems, biological sciences and business administration. These options were found to be very appealing for students in the region. Moreover, an added advantage to the programs at CMU-Q is that students can transfer to the US campus after the second year, if they wish to continue their course in the US for the total four-year course.

Noting that admission to CMU-Q is open to any student in the country, he pointed out that the campus has around 500 students from more than 60 different nations, making the campus a very diverse and enriching environment for learning and growing. He added that the student to faculty ratio was 7 to 1 making each course very personalized, with only about 15 students to a class. He further revealed that financial aid is available for non-Kuwaiti students based on their need for financial support.

While Carnegie Mellon has several courses and is rated among the top universities, Mr. Dudley stressed that the four programs at CMU-Q were selected based on the national vision of the countries in the region.

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has challenged the curious and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters. A private, top-ranked and global university, Carnegie Mellon sets its own course with programs that inspire creativity and collaboration.

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon and Qatar Foundation began a partnership to deliver select programs that will contribute to the long-term development of Qatar.

Today, Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computer science, and information systems. More than 470 students from 61 countries call Carnegie Mellon Qatar home.
Graduates from CMU-Q are pursuing their careers in top organizations within Qatar and around the world, and many have started their own entrepreneurial ventures. With 16 graduating classes, the total number of alumni is more than 1200.