“American University of/in X”

This is a post I make periodically to explain the nature of my institution, since no one ever seems to believe the answer, but it’s true.

As most of you know, there are various institutions outside the United States with names along the lines of “American University of/in X.” Along with the one where I work in Cairo, there are American Universities in Beirut, Sharjah (UAE), Dubai (UAE), Paris, Iraq (in Kurdistan), Afghanistan (in Kabul), and probably a few more I’m forgetting. Jordan has toyed with the idea of opening one as well, but I’m not sure where those plans are these days.

It is often assumed that these universities are all either connected with one another, branches of American University in Washington D.C., or subsidiaries of the U.S. government.

The answer is “no” to all of those conceptions. The term “American University” refers to an American style of university. Classes last for a semester rather than a year. There is a required liberal arts core. The grades are A, B, C, D, and F. Teaching is conducted in English. The universities are accredited in the U.S. Also, tuition tends to be expensive, just like in the U.S.

That’s what “American University” means. But the institutions are not connected with one another, and to a mild extent are even rivals. They will sometimes steal faculty from one another, for example. Or compete for prestige in one area or another.

The American higher education system is the only American thing that consistently scores extremely high in Arab public opinion polls. This is why the name continues to be used, despite the correct assumption that there is much hostility towards U.S. foreign policy in many of the countries served by these universities.