How Many American Branch Universities Are in the Middle East? Full List of U.S. Campuses
There are 10 U.S. international branch campuses operating in the Middle East, according to the updated C-BERT International Campuses Listing, which defines an international campus as a degree-granting entity operated in the name of a foreign higher education provider and leading to a degree awarded by that foreign provider.
In the Middle East, those campuses are concentrated in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
That total refers specifically to U.S.-owned or U.S.-degree-awarding branch campuses, not to locally founded “American-style” universities. In other words, this article counts institutions such as NYU Abu Dhabi or Georgetown University in Qatar, but not independent regional universities that use the word “American” in their names.
Read more: Full List of American Universities in the Middle East (Branch Campuses, And American-Style Universities)
Real American Universities vs American-Style Universities in the Middle EastIf the question is, “How many real American universities are in the Middle East today?”, the most accurate answer is this: 10 active U.S. international branch campuses as of March 2026, based on the best available current cross-border higher education listing and checked against the universities’ own official websites. If the question is instead about all American-style universities in the Middle East, including locally founded institutions that are not branches of U.S. universities, the number would be higher. But for a strict count of U.S. branch campuses that award the American home institution’s degree, the answer is 10. |
Where are these campuses located?
The geography is highly concentrated. Qatar hosts seven U.S. branch campuses, mostly inside Education City in Doha, while the United Arab Emirates hosts three, located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. C-BERT’s March 2026 list identifies the Qatar campuses as Arkansas State, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, Virginia Commonwealth, and Weill Cornell, and the UAE campuses as Hult, New York University, and Rochester Institute of Technology.
Full list of American Branch Universities in the Middle East
1) Arkansas State University Qatar
Home university founded: 1909
Middle East campus launched: approved and established as an off-campus site in Qatar in 2024
Location: 54 Otba Bin Mohammad St, Mehairja, Doha, Qatar
Website: astateqatar.com
Scale: currently markets undergraduate and graduate study in Qatar, including B.S. in Engineering Management Systems, B.S. in Digital Design and Technology, and M.S. in Educational Leadership through its partnership model with Global Studies Institute. Arkansas State says the Qatar initiative is an official partnership site in Doha, while the local campus site presents it as a licensed American university in Qatar.
Why it matters: Arkansas State Qatar is the newest U.S. campus on the Middle East map. It expands the region’s American higher education footprint beyond the long-established Education City institutions.
2) Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
Home university founded: 1900
Qatar campus launched: 2004
Location: Education City, Doha, Qatar; mailing address P.O. Box 24866, Doha, Qatar
Website: qatar.cmu.edu
Scale: CMU-Q offers undergraduate degrees in artificial intelligence, biological sciences, business administration, computer science, and information systems. Carnegie Mellon says it has been operating in Qatar for more than 20 years. Official figures available on the site also show an enrolled student body of 413 in an earlier published campus update, which remains one of the few public campus-specific enrollment figures easily accessible from official sources.
Why it matters: CMU-Q is one of the most academically selective U.S. campuses in the Gulf, with a strong reputation in business and computing fields.
3) Georgetown University in Qatar
Home university founded: 1789
Qatar campus launched: 2005
Location: Education City, Doha, Qatar
Website: qatar.georgetown.edu
Scale: GU-Q offers a four-year undergraduate program in international affairs leading to the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, plus executive and professional education. Georgetown’s 2024 commencement coverage reported 119 undergraduate graduates from 38 countries, offering a useful recent indicator of campus scale and diversity.
Why it matters: Georgetown’s Qatar branch is one of the region’s leading hubs for diplomacy, politics, international economics, and public policy education.
4) Northwestern University in Qatar
Home university founded: 1851
Qatar campus launched: 2008
Location: Education City, Doha, Qatar; mailing address P.O. Box 34102, Doha, Qatar
Website: qatar.northwestern.edu
Scale: Northwestern Qatar offers bachelor’s degrees in journalism and communication, plus minors and executive education. The university says its students, faculty, and staff represent nearly 60 nationalities, highlighting a relatively compact but highly international campus community.
Why it matters: NU-Q has become a notable U.S. media and communications campus in the Arab world, especially for journalism, media industries, and strategic communication.
5) Texas A&M University at Qatar
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| Texas A&M-Qatar Campus To Close By 2028 |
Home university founded: 1876
Qatar campus launched: 2003
Location: Education City, Doha, Qatar
Website: qatar.tamu.edu
Scale: Texas A&M at Qatar has offered B.S. degrees in chemical, electrical, mechanical, and petroleum engineering, plus graduate degrees in chemical engineering. The campus states that it has awarded more than 1,160 degrees since opening. Importantly, Texas A&M officially announced in 2024 that the campus is being wound down and will close by August 31, 2028, but it remains part of the region’s current U.S. branch-campus landscape in 2026.
Why it matters: Even in transition, Texas A&M at Qatar remains one of the most important American engineering campuses in the Middle East.
6) Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar
Home university founded: 1838, as the medical department that evolved into VCU; Qatar arts campus established in 1998
Qatar campus launched: 1998
Location: Education City, Doha, Qatar
Website: qatar.vcu.edu
Scale: VCUarts Qatar offers BFA degrees in graphic design, interior design, kinetic imaging, and painting and printmaking, a BA in art history, and an MFA in design. The school says its student body represents 41 nationalities.
Why it matters: VCUarts Qatar is the oldest continuously operating U.S. branch campus in Qatar and a cornerstone of design education in the Gulf.
7) Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar
Home university founded: Cornell University 1865; Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar established in 2001
Qatar campus launched: 2001
Location: Education City, Doha, Qatar; communications address P.O. Box 24144, Doha, Qatar
Website: qatar-weill.cornell.edu
Scale: WCM-Q offers a Six-Year Medical Education Program and a Four-Year Medical Curriculum leading to the M.D. degree conferred by Cornell University. The campus says its main building covers nearly 390,000 square feet. Cornell describes it as the first American institution to offer its M.D. degree overseas.
Why it matters: WCM-Q is one of the most significant American medical education projects outside the United States.
8) Hult International Business School Dubai
Home institution origins: Hult traces its modern institutional history to 1964 through predecessor institutions; Dubai campus opened in 2008
UAE campus launched: 2008
Location: Injaz Building, Dubai Internet City, U.A.E.; also listed as Dubai Internet City, P.O. Box 502988
Website: hult.edu
Scale: Hult describes Dubai as one of its global campuses. Its official history states that Hult opened campuses in London and Dubai in 2008, and its undergraduate site says that, from 2025, Dubai became a home campus for undergraduates majoring in marketing or entrepreneurship.
Why it matters: Hult is different from the Qatar campuses because it is a private global business school rather than a broad-based research university, but C-BERT still lists it as a U.S. international campus in the UAE.
9) New York University Abu Dhabi
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| New York University Abu Dhabi |
Home university founded: 1831
UAE campus launched: 2010
Location: Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Website: nyuad.nyu.edu
Scale: NYU Abu Dhabi reports 2,000+ undergraduates, 200+ graduate students, 115+ countries represented, 375 faculty, and 26 undergraduate majors in academic year 2025-2026. The university says its first class enrolled in 2010.
Why it matters: NYU Abu Dhabi is arguably the Middle East’s highest-profile U.S. liberal arts and research university campus, with the broadest academic portfolio among the American campuses in the region.
10) Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai
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| Rochester Institute of Technology Dubai |
Home university founded: 1829
UAE campus launched: 2008
Location: P.O. Box 341055, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai, U.A.E.
Website: rit.edu/dubai
Scale: RIT Dubai says it offers 11 undergraduate and 8 graduate programs, serves students from more than 75 countries, and operates from a campus development planned across 129,000 square meters. The institution is a not-for-profit global campus sponsored by the Government of Dubai.
Why it matters: RIT Dubai is one of the Gulf’s largest U.S. technology-focused campuses, with a strong emphasis on engineering, computing, business, and applied learning.
Country Breakdown: Qatar vs. the UAE
Qatar is the clear regional leader with seven American branch campuses. Its strength comes from the long-term strategy behind Education City, where multiple U.S. universities operate side by side under Qatar Foundation’s umbrella.
The United Arab Emirates has three current U.S. campuses in C-BERT’s March 2026 list: Hult Dubai, NYU Abu Dhabi, and RIT Dubai. Among them, NYU Abu Dhabi is the most research-intensive, while RIT Dubai is more applied and technology-focused, and Hult specializes in business education.
FAQs
Are American universities in the Middle East legitimate?
Yes. The campuses listed above are operated in the name of their U.S. parent institutions and are included in the March 2026 C-BERT international campus listing. Their official websites also state that they award degrees from the parent university or operate under the parent institution’s academic framework.
Which Middle Eastern country has the most American universities?
Qatar has the most, with seven U.S. branch campuses in the current C-BERT listing.
Is Texas A&M University at Qatar still open in 2026?
Yes. Texas A&M announced that the Qatar campus is being wound down and is scheduled to close by August 31, 2028, but it is still part of the active U.S. campus landscape in 2026.
What is the biggest American campus in the Middle East by student scale?
Based on publicly available official figures, NYU Abu Dhabi appears to be the largest by current published student numbers, with 2,000+ undergraduates and 200+ graduate students in 2025-2026.
