Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) is the Qatari Education City campus of the School of the Arts of Virginia Commonwealth University, a public university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCUarts Qatar is accredited by the United States National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

History
VCUarts Qatar was the first campus established in Education City in 1998. It has since been joined by Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Weill Cornell Medical College, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University, HEC Paris, and University College London. VCUarts Qatar renewed its contract in July 2012 and it is in effect through June 2022.

Funding
VCUarts Qatar is funded by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development, a semi-private non-profit organization founded by then-emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife and mother of current emir, Moza bint Nasser.

Aside from funding of the campus in Qatar and the management fee that the university receives as profit, universities who agree to open branches in Qatar are often the recipients of endowed chairs at the U.S. campuses.

In 2014, the estimated budget of VCUarts Qatar provided to VCU by Qatar Foundation was nearly $42 million. On top of that, undergraduate tuition was almost $25,000.

Degrees offered
VCUarts Qatar offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fashion design, graphic design, interior design, and painting & printmaking, a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in design.

Transcripts from VCUarts Qatar indicate that the courses were completed in Qatar, but the diploma is issued by VCU in Richmond, Virginia.

Student life
VCU arts Qatar has 294 undergraduate students representing 33 nationalities and 1017 graduate students representing 60 different nationalities.

The university was originally opened for women, but in 2008 began also accepting men.

Per VCU's agreement with Qatar Foundation, at least 70% of admitted students must be Qatari citizens.

Facilities
In 2010, a major expansion project allowed VCUarts Qatar to more than double its facilities, integrating its undergraduate and graduate programs under one roof. The expansion also extended the technical spaces to include a media lab, digital fabrication lab, printmaking studios, a photography studio, an expanded library and the region's first materials library.

Leadership
The school is advised by a Joint Advisory Board, which per the agreement with Qatar Foundation must be composed of three members appointed by each VCU and Qatar Foundation and three independent members which are jointly appointed by VCU and Qatar Foundation.