The effects of globalization have been studied, mainly, from a corporatization perspective (Kleypas and & McDougal 2012) and have used classic economic and academic capitalism theories (Walker 2009), and administrative theoretical frameworks (Barrow, Didou-Aupetit, and Mallea 2003). Such views have contributed to the widespread adoption of a business model of the university that emphasizes knowledge production and the view of education as a commodity (Murphy 2006; de Wit 2011). A common response is the adoption, and in some cases the local adaptation, of the American model of the research university (AMRU) [a model that has its roots in the United Kingdom and is employed in Australia, so it is also referred to as the Anglo-Saxon model of the research university (Teichler 1998; Wanger, Azizova and Wang 2009; Wang and Wanger 2011)]. Within the Arab Gulf region, efforts to emulate the research university model are well documented (Obst and Kirk 2010). This study accordingly assesses the perceptions of Arab Gulf students of the AMRU and compares them to the perceptions of American students.