Today, as Northwestern students in Evanston enjoy their last day of summer, 39 students halfway across the world are already in their sixth week of classes at NU’s journalism and communications school in Doha, Qatar.
The class rosters are international, with students from Qatar, India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Belize, Canada and the United States, among others.
NU joins a vast campus of American satellite universities in Qatar’s Education City, including Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and Georgetown University.
The government-run Qatar Foundation funds the school and pays all employee salaries.
“We did not take a single penny of Medill’s or Northwestern’s money out of Evanston for this venture,” said Richard Roth, senior associate dean for journalism.
The Qatar Foundation will pay to hire new faculty to replace those, including Roth, who left to teach in Qatar.
Students have to complete the same degree program required in Evanston, which includes Medill’s journalism residency program, a quarter-long internship at a publication or TV station. The process is trickier in Qatar since cultural taboos prohibit many students, especially women, from traveling alone or living away from home. Of Medill’s 17 freshmen, 15 are females. But parents seem willing to work with Medill, said Roth, and he’s looking to add new residency sites in the Middle East and Europe.
Most students speak English as a second language: Their native languages include Arabic, Urdu, Portuguese, Bengali and Tagalog. Though professors say their students speak English extremely well, writing can be more difficult. So far, most journalism students have earned C’s and D’s, Roth said.
“The writing might be good enough for others, but it’s not good enough for Medill,” he said.
Still, students are well-versed in American pop culture and current events.
“You’d be surprised how much they know about what’s going on – scandals, Sarah Palin, Homer Simpson,” said journalism professor Ibrahim Abusharif.
They’re closely following the election, and overwhelmingly favor the Obama-Biden ticket, like much of the world outside the U.S.
“I get into a cab and a Bangladeshi cab driver wants to talk about what Barack Obama can do for the world,” said communications professor Brian Cagle.
Cagle said he’s intrigued by the way his students mesh Western influence with traditional values, seeing more than a few iPods peek out from under abayas, the robe and veil worn by some Muslim women.
“You have a student ask to be a few minutes late to class so they can get their prayer in,” Cagle said. “And then some bemoan the fact that ‘Pineapple Express’ (the movie) isn’t coming out here.”
Professors are adjusting to life in Qatar as well. Gas costs about 70 cents a gallon, but driving can be a terrifying experience, since the only rule seems to be “drive as fast as you can,” Roth said.
Much of Doha is under construction and lacks street addresses, said Cagle. Finding basic American staples is an adventure.
“It was a huge thing when we finally found Triscuits,” he said.
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan runs through the end of September. The holiday is taxing for students, who rise before the sun comes up to eat a big meal, go all day without food or water, and then eat a big meal after sunset and celebrate late into the night. Out of respect for the students, professors discreetly eat and drink behind closed office doors.
Considering the exhausting schedule, professors are impressed with students’ enthusiasm.
“My students are of the same caliber as those in Evanston, but with a level of eagerness not usually found with freshmen,” Cagle said.
And after six weeks of classes, their writing is improving.
“A Medill degree isn’t cheap,” said Abusharif. “These students have to earn it as if they were in Evanston.”
Read more about the NU-Qatar experience The Daily’s Letters from Qatar.
