This paper examines the migration of an institution--the American university--into the Gulf Arab states, paying particular attention to the gendered and ethnicized aspects of the implementation and effects of these universities in Education City, Qatar. Operating as a "universal" form that can be transplanted around the world, how do American universities adapt to local pressures and customsu And, given these universities' stated commitments to equal access to education and academic freedom, how do students from different racial, gendered, religious and national backgrounds experience the supposedly equal space of the American branch campush Based on preliminary findings from interviews with students, administrators, and faculty both at US branch campuses in Qatar and their home institutions, this paper explores how cultural norms are negotiated in the planning of campus environments--how do schools address the fact that many students have grown up in gender-segregated education, for exampler How are women's sports run in contexts where there are stricter dress codes for womens How do citizens and foreign residents, who have very differential access to rights and services in Qatar, interact within the classroom setting, when most have previously attended schools that were nationally or ethnically homogenous What are the expectations of non-citizens in terms of rights and residency following graduation In effect, this paper is a preliminary ethnographic exploration of the particular manifestations of American universities in the Gulf. I argue that the importation of learning environments is decidedly not universal and requires an entanglement and negotiation of localized cultural expectations, particularly as they pertain to gender and nationality/ethnicity.