Transnational education continues to grow. This month, Texas A&M University announced to open up a branch campus in Nazareth. Governor Rick Perry and Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp signed an agreement with President of Israel Shimon Peres and Israeli Minister of Education Shay Piron to set up the first American branch campus in Israel.

The choice to set up the Texas A&M campus in the city of Nazareth was deliberate, as Nazareth is mostly populated by Arab citizens of Israel and is therefore often called the Arab capital of Israel. Texas A&M University hopes to attract a high number of Arab, Jewish and international students in order to foster peaceful relations and a high degree of mutual understanding. The first American university in Israel, the Texas A&M University at Nazareth Peace Campus will offer undergraduate, graduate and PhD programmes. Recently, the New York University has set up a branch campus in Shanghai (see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, August 2013). A report by the British Council published last month (see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, September 2013) draws attention to the growing number of branch campuses and their effects on internationalisation of higher education.

The Texas A&M University Nazareth Peace Campus is expected to open in October 2015 and will be the fifth overseas centre alongside Mexico City, San Isidro in Costa Rica, Santa Chiara in Italy and the University Campus in Doha, Qatar. 

Texas A&M University press release