GUST TO BEGIN COLLABORATION WITH UMASS-LOWELL ON DUAL-DEGREE MASTERS AND ENGINEERING PROGRAMS
The partnership allows students to pursue up to 16 new degrees starting September 2015
· GUST is Kuwait’s first university to offer USA accredited dual degrees
· The partnership will expand the quality of higher education opportunities in Kuwait
Kuwait – 1st March, 2015: Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), Kuwait’s premier private university, today announced an agreement with the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass-Lowell) to offer five new dual-degree masters programs and a new undergraduate engineering program. The new courses are expected to commence in September 2015 (pending final approval from the Private Universities Council on the exact starting date). More undergraduate and graduate programs in engineering are to be announced in the near future.
DrAbdelal
The newly forged partnership comes to fruition after two years of labor between the two parties, and signifies that GUST will be the first university in Kuwait to allow its graduates to simultaneously attain a degree from both UMass-Lowell and GUST without moving abroad. The masters and engineering programs are accredited under the same standards as those offered on the UMass-Lowell campus in the USA. What’s more, both UMass-Lowell and GUST faculty will be involved in teaching the curricula; 16 UMass-Lowell faculty and administrators are expected to move to Kuwait by September.
DrBates
Starting at the beginning of the 2015-2016 academic year, students will have an opportunity to choose from five new masters programs: Accounting, Finance, Innovation & Technological Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, and Education, and an Engineering undergraduate program. The new master’s programs will take up to two years to complete, and will offer a thesis option for students who wish to pursue a Ph.D. With this development, GUST will be the only university in Kuwait whose students graduate with an accredited American degree.
DrKathryn
Chairman of the Board of Trustees at GUST, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan, said, “I would like to emphasize the importance of the GUST-UMass Lowell cooperation. We are proud to work with such a prestigious institution. In doing so, we bring to Kuwait one of the world’s best universities. As a result of our partnership with UMASS-Lowell, our students will graduate with strong credentials. Moreover, we expect to attract more foreign faculty and resources – an essential step in strengthening the quality of education and research in Kuwait.”
DrMuhailan
Provost of Academic Affairs, Prof. Ahmed Abdelal, said, “It is important to emphasize that the academic programs to be offered here are fully accredited by the key accrediting authorities in the United States. What’s more, academic programs offered by UMass-Lowell are distinctive in three important ways: first, there is significant emphasis on learning from experience. The second distinction for UMass-Lowell programs is our emphasis on inter-disciplinary education. The third distinction is our understanding of the importance of international experiences; we have cooperation agreements with 140 universities that are highly ranked around the globe.”
Dr. Kathryn Carter, Vice Provost for Graduate and International Affairs and Strategy said, “I have watched this partnership grow and evolve over the last two years, and I have worked closely with GUST’s upper management to figure out which programs would benefit the students here and make the best use of our faculty at UMass-Lowell. I look forward to working with everyone at GUST in making this partnership a success. I would also like to congratulate GUST on their recent AACSB and ABET accreditations – both of which are major achievements.
GUST President, Dr. Donald Bates, said, “Establishing this new relationship is a major milestone in the evolution and growth of GUST as the premier private university in Kuwait. I would like to welcome UMass-Lowell into our family and I am certain this partnership will be a success. The new agreement showcases GUST’s impressive drive, development, and progress as we secure our position as leaders in higher education in the region”
In anticipation of the new undergraduate and postgraduate programs offered at GUST, a new state-of-the-art engineering college is to be built on GUST’s Mishref Campus. The new building will house classrooms equipped with innovative technologies to aid both students and faculty reach and surpass academic goals. Furthermore, students will have full access to all UMass-Lowell computing and library resources – an invaluable learning tool. Overall, the GUST-Umass-Lowell alliance will enable approximately 1,200 students to pursue 6 undergraduate programs in engineering, 5 masters in engineering, and 5 masters in other fields.
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About GUST
Gulf University for Science and Technology began operation in 2002, in a strategic partnership with the University of Missouri – St. Louis, as the first private university in Kuwait. It is based on an American-style model of higher education and aims to serve the increasing educational demands of Kuwait and the Gulf region. The university houses two colleges, the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business Administration, and hosts approximately 3,000 full-time students. GUST is Kuwait’s premier private university and aims to be the ‘University of Choice’ for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. GUST encourages academic and research excellence, and aspires to become a leader in the pursuit of knowledge in Kuwait and abroad.
Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) received its Institutional Accreditation from the Private Universities Council (PUC) Ministry of Higher Education in the State of Kuwait in 2002 and has been re-accredited every four years.
In 2013, GUST attained international recognition for its English Foundation Program by the Commission on Intensive English Program Accreditation (CEA) based in the U.S.A. The CEA’s purpose is to provide a means for improving the quality of English language teaching and administration through accepted standards.
In 2014, the University powered through to achieve two more prestigious accreditations. The first is by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the worldwide leader in assuring quality and stimulating innovation in applied science, computing, and engineering since 1932. GUST joined the elite institutions of the world in August 2014 as the only university in Kuwait to attain the accreditation for its computer science degree, and one of only 25 accredited programs outside the United States.
The second accreditation achieved in 2014 was from AACSB-International, where GUST’s College of Business Administration joined less than five percent of the world’s business programs to achieve this accreditation. GUST is the only premier private university in Kuwait to receive this esteemed recognition by AACSB, an institution that has been devoted to the advancement of management education for over 95 years. AACSB represents the highest achievement for all business schools.
