Visualising identities and values in the educationscape of a U.S. international branch campus

The linguistic and semiotic educationscapes of English-medium instruction and transnational universities offer a key lens for understanding how institutional and cultural identities are shaped through language, symbols, and spatial design. Drawing on a decade of ethnographic observation and photographic documentation, this study examines the multimodal communicative repertoire of a U.S. international branch campus in Qatar. Focusing on monolingual and bilingual top-down signage alongside enduring Arabic calligraphic inscriptions, the analysis shows how civic and military values from the home campus are articulated in relation to Islamic and local values embedded in the campus environment. By tracing this convergence of language choice, religious discourse, and visual symbolism, the study advances research on multimodality and educationscapes and demonstrates how international branch campuses negotiate hybrid identities at the intersection of imported traditions and host country values.