Faculty, administrators and current master’s students at Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq) welcomed a new class of incoming master’s students in chemical engineering for the 2016-2017 academic year. 
The Graduate Orientation Day event was held at the Texas A&M Engineering Building in Education City.
The Graduate Orientation Day provided a comprehensive session for the new master’s students about the branch campus’s two master’s programmes in chemical engineering in addition to an overview of the degree plan and academic requirements, as well as interaction with the different departments at Tamuq. 
The incoming graduate students also met with the current master’s students and PhD students during the orientation and were able to get the support and information necessary for their success in first year. 
The new students then toured Texas A&M at Qatar’s facilities and laboratories to learn about the many research opportunities that exist for Aggie graduate students. 
Kholoud Abdulaziz, a newly admitted Qatari graduate student in the Qatar Research Leadership Programme, said: “I hold high expectations of the graduate programme at Texas A&M. It will be an opportunity to be engaged in a unique learning environment, which will help intensify my passion for research and interpersonal skills in a field I am passionate about.” 
Muaz Selam, a current Texas A&M at Qatar Master of Science student, agreed, saying: “Research at Texas A&M at Qatar is a rewarding experience. As a graduate student you are involved in interesting, state-of-the-art problems with real applications. This gives much more meaning to my work, which no longer remains just an academic exercise.” 
The Graduate Orientation Day ended with closing remarks from Dr Ahmed Abdel Wahab, chair of the Chemical Engineering graduate committee, and Dr Patrick Linke, executive director of Graduate Studies and chair of the Chemical Engineering Programme at Tamuq. 
“It was very pleasing to see the enthusiasm and motivation of the incoming class,” Dr Linke said. “We have a very healthy mix of students from Qatar — a good number of whom work full-time next to their graduate studies — and the rest of the world.”
Applications for the Master of Science (MS) and Master of Engineering (MEng) programmes are being accepted for the spring 2017 semester and will remain open until November 15. 
For information, one can visit http://.gradstudies.qatar.tamu.edu or call 44230135.