Life at GSU

Global Studies University (GSU) was established in 2023 as a non-profit institution for higher education by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.

Its establishment is closely aligned with the National Higher Education Strategy 2030 and the National Agenda 2021 and recognizes the UAE’s unique role as a hub of cultural, economic, and social interchange. GSU sets out to build and achieve the highest standards in global studies education to serve both the UAE’s future generations as well as international graduates who will become UAE international ambassadors. The Investment in Knowledge, an initiative of the National Higher Education Strategy, is closely aligned with GSU’s mission to increase the number of PhD students by increasing support for postgraduate funding.

Historically, the UAE and the wider Gulf region have acted as a convergence point of peoples and cultures, a pattern that continues today through migrations, tourism, pilgrimage, and other modes of exchange. The establishment of GSU illustrates the continued recognition of this rich and diverse cultural tapestry and the ambitions and visions of the UAE. GSU, therefore, is envisioned as a network of semi-independent, but related interdisciplinary institutions and colleges, each concentrating on different regions of the world. This network includes The Africa Institute, College of African Studies, which was established in 2018, as well as the soon-to-be-established Asia Institute, College of Asian Studies. Similar institutions and colleges focusing on other regions, such as the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, are also planned to follow.

The aim of these multiple institutions is to focus on teaching, research and documentation of histories, cultures, and peoples who constitute different regions of the world, with a focus on the Global South, the majority of whom inhabit continents and territories in Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands, and the territories of Indigenous people in parts of the Americas, which were all formerly controlled by Western colonial powers in one way or another.

With the unabated ambition of becoming the region’s cultural and educational hub, coupled with the growing focus on building a knowledge-based economy, the natural next step is to focus on establishing and strengthening postgraduate education and specialized research universities. GSU is the product of this ambitious vision. The creation of GSU is set to play a vital role in the necessary and timely training of a new generation of critical thinkers in the UAE and globally.

The students will be educated to focus on local and regional issues, understanding and framing them within a global context. As such, GSU’s postgraduate curriculum, at both the master’s and doctoral levels, is designed to promote interdisciplinarity and interconnectedness, encouraging a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of global issues. The curriculum at GSU seeks to address the most vital and pressing questions related to global studies, spanning the full breadth and depth of the humanities and social sciences. It blurs traditional disciplinary boundaries, advancing interdisciplinary methodologies and thought processes by identifying key, intersecting thematic fields and areas.

Moreover, with its emphasis on the teaching of non-Western languages and translation, to both graduate and undergraduate students as well as the public at large, GSU provides its graduates with a vital understanding of local contexts, relevance, and deep-rooted connections. GSU anticipates enrolling students from both the UAE and various global regions. Its graduates are expected to have a lasting impact on the ways in which research and teaching in the areas of social sciences and humanities are conducted and how knowledge is produced.