MSU Dubai challenges Middle East students to ‘Dream Big’ by committing to new student scholarships
Michigan State University (MSU) the first major not-for-profit American research university to establish a presence in Dubai has announced a specially targeted scholarship program that will support 100 new transfer students at its Dubai campus for admission in January 2010. The scholarship awards will cover 50 per cent of the tuition costs for the duration of the program of study until the end of the senior (4th) year. The announcement was made as the university’s second academic year at the Dubai campus got underway.
“We doubled our student population this year and have been very pleased with the quality of students enrolled,” said Dr. Brendan Mullan, Executive Director of MSU Dubai. “We also denied a significant proportion of this year’s applicants who did not meet the university’s high academic standards for admission. We strive to be the most academically rigorous, internationally recognized and accredited major university in Dubai. MSU Dubai is a serious university for serious students.”
The new scholarship initiative is designed to reach out to those students who, initially unaware of MSU’s presence in Dubai, may now wish to consider transferring to MSU Dubai to continue their education.
“We know that a significant number of interested prospective students, once they realize that transferring to a major American research university is an option, in terms of both our physical presence here and scholarship availability, will definitely be interested in applying,” added Dr. Mullan.
“This is about dreaming big – both for MSU Dubai and our ambitions for our campus here, and for students who may now realise that they can achieve the academic standards - or are determined to do so – of a top US university.”
The first 100 transfer applicants to complete the application process to the university and who meet the academic criteria for entry will be eligible for a scholarship award.
MSU Dubai’s new Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Ali Bhayani, commented: “MSU is taking a different approach from other international universities in the region by basing faculty from our home campus (East Lansing, Michigan) here in Dubai to ensure that our academic programs and activities in Dubai replicate those of the Michigan campus.”
The new scholarships were announced following the finalisation of the latest enrolment at the two MSU campuses – East Lansing, Michigan (which admitted around 7,000 new students) and Dubai (which doubled its student population in its second enrolment).
The deadline for scholarship applications is November 30, 2009, and classes start on January 10, 2010.
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About Michigan State University Dubai
MSU Dubai was the first American university with a presence in DIAC, with classes beginning in August 2008. The University offers six undergraduate programs - Business Administration; Child and Youth Development; Computer Engineering; Construction Project Management; Early Childhood Education; Media Management and Research; and a Master's Degree in Human Resources & Labor Relations. The University attracts students from all over the Middle East and beyond and currently has almost 100 students enrolled across its programs.
Michigan State University is a top American teaching and research university. Faculty members at MSU Dubai hold doctoral and other appropriate degrees in their areas of expertise as teachers, scholars and researchers from MSU, and include a substantial number of regular faculty from the MSU main campus in the United States.
MSU is fully accredited by the American North Central Association Higher Learning Commission and has full academic authority and quality control over courses and programs. MSU’s regular courses, program, degree, admissions and accreditation requirements are maintained in Dubai and diplomas awarded are standard MSU diplomas.
Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.
MSU has been ranked one of the top 100 universities in the world, for six consecutive years, by Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Institute of Higher Education in its annual Academic Ranking of World Universities.