A new cooperative agreement between Auburn University and Yarmouk University in Jordan will allow as many as 15 students to come from Jordan each year to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in various disciplines at Auburn.
It is the newest of a number of such agreements that Auburn has with universities across the world to bring sponsored students to Auburn. Yarmouk University will fund the students’ graduate educations at Auburn with the expectation that they will later return to Jordan as faculty members.
“This agreement lays the groundwork for a long and fruitful collaboration with Yarmouk University, Graduate School Dean George Flowers said.
The first group of Yarmouk University students is expected to enroll at Auburn during the fall 2013 semester.
Baker Ayoun, an assistant professor in the Hotel and Restaurant Management program at Auburn and a native of Jordan, said many of the initial students are expected to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees with an emphasis in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
Hospitality and tourism is a growing industry in Jordan, but the country’s universities have a lack of qualified faculty members in that area, Ayoun said. He expects the agreement between the two universities will bolster Yarmouk University’s cadre of faculty members specializing in hospitality and tourism while expanding Auburn’s alumni presence in the Middle East.
“This initiative will be a step in establishing that alumni center, which will help us to recruit even more students in the future,” Ayoun said.
Ayoun expects Auburn’s graduate programs in education, engineering, business and interior design to also garner interest from the sponsored students. Yarmouk University, located in the city of Irbid in northern Jordan, has an enrollment of about 40,000 students, including 9,000 graduate students.
The agreement also establishes an Auburn undergraduate study abroad program at Yarmouk University in addition to a faculty exchange program, joint research projects and other cooperative activities between the two universities.
Auburn has established a similar agreement with Jordan Applied University of Hospitality and Tourism Education and is pursuing agreements with other Jordanian universities, including the University of Jordan.
Last modified: December 19, 2016
