New Social Science degrees appeal to 'global' students in Middlesex University Dubai

Dr Lois Smith, programme coordinator in Dubai, said, "We have students from the UAE, Nigeria, Iran, Egypt and the UK, and they all have their own perceptions and ideas. They are a lively and enthusiastic group of young people with a genuine desire to understand the world they live in so that they can make an important contribution to its future improvement."

The first batch of students are full of enthusiasm about the opportunity to study these unique London based programmes which are now offered at the Dubai Campus of Middlesex University.

Afra Lootah, a UAE national student, said she chose to study the BA (Honours) Development and International Studies because "it is the first time such an in-depth programme has been offered. It allows us to cover many important aspects right from the first year."

She, along with her fellow students, is particularly keen to explore the challenges which the developing world faces such as poverty, conflict, disasters and global warming. Another student, Lilias Mills, only arrived in the UAE a couple of months ago from the UK, but she was keen to study the BA (Honours) Development and International Studies in Dubai because she felt it would give her more of a world view than studying in the UK.

The BA (Honours) Development and International Studies provides students with a multi-disciplinary understanding of the changing trends in international political and developmental thinking with an in-depth knowledge of evolving theoretical, conceptual and policy debates.

"The programme develops students' ability to apply knowledge gained from diverse situations in various parts of the world and to understand the pulse of multi-cultural settings. So it is ideal for Dubai," said Dr. Lois Smith.

The other social science programme newly offered by Middlesex University Dubai is the BSc (Honours) Global Social Science, which focuses on developing students' multi-disciplinary understanding of the changing trends and issues in social science with a global perspective. The new course integrates international aspects of sociology. Donya Saberi, a student on the BSc (Honours) Global Social Science, is delighted with the diverse viewpoints she has already encountered in the classroom.

"It is amazing how much we are encouraged to discuss our opinions about world issues. This makes for lively debate!" she said.

Both programmes prepare students for a wide variety of careers in social policy and research, media, academia, tourism and government and non-government organisations.

The Dubai campus of Middlesex University London, which opened in January 2005, has more than 1,300 students from over 60 nationalities and offers 25 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a wide variety of subject areas. The origins of Middlesex University in London date back to 1878 and it is one of only a handful UK universities to have been awarded three Queen's anniversary prizes. In 2007, Middlesex was ranked third in London for Teaching and Learning (HEFCE) and the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) rated research at Middlesex as 'Top 10 among new UK universities'. In 2009, the university received again the highest possible rating for its quality as assessed by the UK's Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). Furthermore, all programmes are approved by the Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority.