Mohammed Al Ghamdi, a Saudi Arabian student studying at the UO, feels free to practice his religion.
“To be a Muslim student (at the UO), I feel the same as in Saudi Arabia,” Al Ghamdi said. “No one asks me or bothers me about my religion.”
Al Ghamdi says he chose to study here because — like many Saudis — his career field pressured him to learn English in America. But out of anywhere in the U.S., he chose Eugene because the environment is comfortable and accepting of his lifestyle and religion.
Like Al Ghamdi, many international students have chosen the UO for their studies. In the 2012-2013 school year, 1,319 Saudis were enrolled in UO’s Intensive English Program as part of the American English Institute. That’s exactly half of all IEP students. In coming years, the type of Saudi students who come to UO could soon be changing to a more graduate student concentrated demographic due to a shift in financial aid.
UO Director of International Student and Scholar Services Abe Schafermeyer offered several reasons why Eugene appeals to international students.
“The Pacific Northwest, a small college town …” Schafermeyer said. “It feels safe and comfortable. It’s not Los Angeles, it’s not San Francisco — the cost of living is a little bit cheaper, so all of those combine to make this an attractive location.”
Beyond location, other factors contribute to the rapid influx of Saudi Arabian students. Schafermeyer says for most Saudis to enter to a typical four year university in the U.S. they must fulfill English requirements through a language institution first. The vast majority of colleges in the U.S. don’t have an in-house English institute, but UO does with the AEI program. This makes the UO a convenient way for international students to study in the U.S.
Schafermeyer said Saudis have been coming to the U.S. in larger numbers after 9/11, when the Saudi government formed a scholarship for its students to study in the U.S.
“(The scholarship) was a way that young people could exchange so we could break down some stereotypes,” Schafermeyer said.
“It’s a great thing for this campus to have this number of students from the Middle East,” Schafermeyer said. “When Christian-Islam tensions are high in other places in the world, this is an important thing for a college to participate in.”
But Schafermeyer has heard that this scholarship is beginning to phase out the undergrad program and is switching to sponsoring graduate students. Following this shift, he expects to see modest growth in the number of Saudi graduate students at UO and a dip in the number of undergrads. Having older students on campus tends to impact the campus community differently than undergrads.
When Al Ghamdi moved to Eugene a few months ago he brought his wife with him, confident that the city would be a suitable place for a Muslim woman.
“You see this play out in a very distinct way on the University of Oregon campus,” Schafermeyer said. “Graduate students means older students; older students in Saudi Arabia means married students … That’s why we start seeing more females come to study, more families with children.”
In the coming years, Schafermeyer says the influx of married grad students like Al Ghamdi may impact several aspects of UO life — including housing near and on campus.
Rita Radostitz, director of strategic communications and marketing, says that the housing department works closely with the admissions office to make sure that they’re meeting housing needs.
“If the number of graduate students increases,” Radostitz said, “whether from Saudi Arabia or any other country, we will work to ensure that their housing needs are met.”
In fact, the university invites international students to campus. The goal is to foster a multicultural environment.
“We want young people who are forming opinions in their life to be living and learning next to people who are different from them,” Schafermeyer said. “We want to have intentional moments of dialogue. We’re bringing these students on purpose. This is part of an effort to become a globally relevant institution.”