Dubai: The American University of Dubai (AUD) on Wednesday announced the opening of the Mohammad Bin Rashid School of Communication to offer degree programmes from September this year.
The journalism courses, which have been designed in collaboration with the US-based University of Southern California, will be taught in both Arabic and English.
"The mission of this school is to serve the local community and the Arab region," Jihad Nader, Provost and Chief Academic Officer said in a press conference held at the university campus on Wednesday.
"There is a shortage of professional Arab journalists in the UAE and the region, so it is important to establish appropriate curricula that teach the necessary skills needed to practice this profession, taking into consideration the language and culture of the region," he added.
The undergraduate majors offered include new media, print and broadcast journalism, media and communication, and TV, radio and cinema studies. A master's degree with a concentration on Integrated Marketing Communication is awaiting accreditation and is expected to be offered next year, said Elias Bou Saab, Executive Vice-President of AUD.
Scholarships
Outstanding students from across the Arab world who enrol for the Arabic programme will have the opportunity to apply for a Mohammad Bin Rashid Scholarship, should they meet the admissions requirements of the school. Seventy-five per cent of Arab applicants will be given full scholarships, which will also cover their housing and living expenses.
Scholarships will be given to exceptional students with a high school average, a good TOEFL score and who pass the university's Arabic Placement Test.
Additionally, they will be required to submit samples of their literary and artistic work and to be interviewed by the university's Admissions Committee.
"The tuition fees at the school are roughly speaking Dh60,000," Nader said. The school plans to admit approximately 100 students every year.
"After studying various media schools in the US, we finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the USC, which has one of the top and most prestigious communication schools in the world," Nader told Gulf News.
The partnership with USC stipulates that faculty members teaching at the Dubai-based communication school undergo training at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC, in addition to a yearly peer revision of the curriculum, student exchange programmes and future research partnerships.
Over Dh125 million has been earmarked for the new facilities on campus.
By Maysam Ali, Staff Reporter