Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), also known as Northwestern Qatar, is Northwestern University’s campus in Education City, Doha, Qatar, founded in partnership with the Qatar Foundation in 2008.
Northwestern University's Qatar campus offers a liberal arts and media education with undergraduate degrees awarded in communication, journalism, and strategic communication.
History
Having been approached in 2006 by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Northwestern agreed the following year to open its campus at Education City. The inaugural NU-Q Class of 2012 began studies in August 2008. Additional classes have been added each year, and the university has established strong ties with local organizations, partnering with media groups and collaborating with a number of regional initiatives to generate additional educational and professional opportunities for its students.
A number of notable journalists, scholars, and media professionals have addressed students and faculty at Northwestern University in Qatar, including Fareed Zakaria of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS; journalist Evan Osnos of The New Yorker; television journalist Tim Sebastian; Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi; Carlos Van Meek, former head of output for Al Jazeera English; Arthur Sulzberger, publisher of the New York Times; Jeff Cole, head of the World Internet Project; Rami Khouri, editor of the Beirut Daily Star; and Sophia Al Maria, author and filmmaker.
The university graduated its first class in the spring of 2012.
Academic programs
The curriculum leading to the award of the Bachelor of Science in Communication degree is based on that of the Northwestern University School of Communication at Northwestern's Evanston campus. Communication students at NU-Q pursue a major in Media Industries and Technologies, which combines elements of the Communication Studies and Radio/TV/Film majors offered at the Northwestern University home campus in the United States.
The curriculum leading to the award of the Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree draws on that of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern's Evanston campus. This program is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Liberal arts courses are provided by Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
NU-Q courses are modeled closely on those offered at Northwestern University campus in the United States, although adjustments have been made because the Qatar campus courses are taught in a 15-week semester system rather than a 10-week quarter system. Additionally, courses with particular relevance to the region are offered at NU-Q. In 2012, NU-Q secured permission from the Board of Trustees to make its own academic appointments.
Academic minors
NU-Q offers five academic minors that supplement their undergraduate programs in Communication and Journalism:
Strategic Communication - this minor lets NU-Q students gain a holistic understanding of the concepts and practice of strategic communication through conceptual learning, and hands-on applications including discussions, case studies, opportunities for interactions with practitioners, talks, and industry-sponsored student competitions. Middle East Studies - this minor provides NU-Q students with a critical understanding of this crucial region’s cultures, histories, societies, politics, intellectual contributions, and mediated representations. Film & Design - this interdisciplinary minor, a collaboration of NU-Q and VCUarts Qatar, and in partnership with the Doha Film Institute, addresses an increasing demand in media and design industries, locally and globally, for professionals who are highly competent in the creative work of crafting impactful visual narratives using traditional and emerging technologies. Media and Politics - this interdisciplinary, joint minor program shared between NU-Q and Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), focuses on the interests and needs of students in a contemporary era when the distinction between politics and media is increasingly blurred. Africana Studies - this second joint minor program shared between NU-Q and GU-Q, provides critical understanding of African identities and struggles both within the African continent and in global contexts.