Record Year for Enrollment at VCUQatar

The incoming class brings the total student population at VCUQatar to 363, a rise of 12 percent on the previous year, and it includes 86 undergraduate (Foundation, Fashion, Graphic and Interior Design, Painting & Printmaking and Art History) and five graduate students. In addition, VCUQatar is hosting three exchange students from our home campus in Richmond, Virginia and 32 Education City cross-registered students. The university boasts a truly diverse student body, with 61 percent of VCUQatar students being Qatar citizens and the remaining 39 percent representing 41 nationalities.

“VCUQatar’s Bachelor in Art History program, which started with a handful of students five years ago, is confidently moving towards full capacity, with applications to the program up approximately 19 percent as compared to last year,” said Greet Provoost, assistant dean for enrollment and registration services.

“Furthermore, approximately 4​0 percent of applicants to VCUQatar’s Bachelor of Fine Arts programs completed an Art Portfolio Course offered through VCUQatar’s Community Education Program, which helped them to better understand the significance and value of creating an outstanding art portfolio and thus submit a stronger application for admission.” 

As VCUQatar enters its 19th year, the university strives to contribute to the vitality of human, social, economic and environmental development in Qatar and the region through creative innovation, expression and collaboration. The university’s alumni are leaders in Qatar’s cultural and creative professions, as well as participants in addressing the global challenges identified as key to the region’s future

“In my role as Dean, my primary duties are to build a community of scholars, to set direction and to achieve a common purpose as defined in our mission and vision,” said Kahera. “In so doing, I remain committed to the proposition that VCUQatar is creative, critical, dynamic, curious and original.”

VCUQatar, originally called the Shaqab College of Design Arts, was the first university branch campus to be established at Qatar Foundation in 1998. The first students graduated in 2002.