SALAM Study Abroad FAQ

Students who have studied abroad elsewhere in the Arab world may find this program more restrictive. SALAM is a government-sponsored program, and as such, participants are required to adhere to the rules set by the College. Requests to travel freely (unaccompanied) throughout the country are typically denied. The College provides organized excursions every weekend as part of the program and students will have the opportunity to see much of the Sultanate. There is also an opportunity to make trips out at night (in groups only) to do shopping.

Nizwa is the nearest town and it is conservative and somewhat sleepy. Students are expected to be respectful of the culture. This means not being loud or raucous, dressing provocatively, or behaving in a way that would not be considered socially acceptable, including showing affection in public, yelling, or drawing attention unnecessarily. There are few places to go in the evening in Nizwa, and most establishments close early. There is a hypermarket (Lulu) which has food, cosmetics, toiletries, and electronics, and ATMs are present in the town.

Students interested in SALAM must have completed at least 4 semesters of college-level Arabic in order to be considered for the scholarship.

All materials (resume, essays, transcripts, and letters of recommendation) should be submitted as PDFs. The entire application will be completed online using the SALAM application page.

Letters of recommendation for the SALAM scholarship are due no later than 15 January 2021. Note, your references will not receive the email prompting them to submit a letter of reference until you submit your completed application. Please complete your application early and allow your recommender time to write and submit the letter of recommendation. It is your job to remind your recommenders to submit their letters on time. All letters of recommendations must be on letterhead and signed to be considered valid. No late letters will be accepted or considered.

No, all letters of recommendation must be submitted directly by professors via the recommendation webpage. Be sure that your recommenders have your application ID information when they submit their recommendation.

No late applications or letters of reference will be accepted. All applicants must submit their materials and have all three letters of reference submitted by the deadline to be eligible for the scholarship.