A comparative study was conducted between the minimum required number of humanities and social science credits for graduation at top-tier undergraduate universities in the US and similar, English-medium universities in the Arabian Gulf. It was found that on average the US universities required students to complete a higher proportion of humanities and social science courses than comparable institutions in the Gulf region. This finding is attributable to a range of social, cultural and pedagogical factors including, but not limited to, the traditional, conservative nature of societies in the Gulf. (Contains 2 figures.)