United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the richest countries in the world in natural resources, namely crude oil and natural gas. It consists of seven emirates, the most famous of which are Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The latter city is the country’s capital, while the former has the biggest population.
If you are planning to go there for your studies, the country has many things to offer to a foreign student – world-class universities, luxurious accommodation options, and the opportunity to see the world’s richest people shopping gold in bulk. For these reasons, we are going to have a look at the universities in UAE with the highest acceptance rates.
Universities in UAE with High Acceptance Rates
1. American University of Sharjah
- Average acceptance rate: 85%
Shortly after its establishment in 1997, the American University of Sharjah was named the most international university in the Persian Gulf region and held that title for two consecutive years. This is a private not-for-profit institution that currently has more than five thousand full-time students coming from 94 different countries.
Popular Bachelor’s programs offered by the American University of Sharjah include Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature. However, this university in UAE with high acceptance rates is most famous for its programs in Engineering, with the flagship program being that in Chemical Engineering. This university’s average acceptance rate has been confirmed at 85%.
2. University of Sharjah
- Average acceptance rate: 70%
The University of Sharjah is a private higher school, whose beginnings can be traced back to 1997. The main campus is located in the heart of the city of Sharjah, which is one of the medium-sized cities in UAE. The university’s total enrollment for 2018 was 15,000 students and 13,000 of them were undergraduates.
The most popular Bachelor’s programs offered by the University of Sharjah in the English language are the following: Bachelor of Science in Finance, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration & Management, and Bachelor of Arts in International Relations.
This university in UAE with high acceptance rates also offers a wide variety of Master’s programs in English. The most popular of these are Executive Master in Business Administration, Master of Arts in Communication, and Master of Science in Computer Science.
Medicine and Engineering are the most difficult programs to enter with an average GPA of 3.5 out of 4 required for acceptance. However, there are programs where students are admitted with much lower grades. Therefore, this university is somehow more welcoming to new students with an average acceptance rate of 70% confirmed.
3. American University of Ras Al Khaimah
- Average acceptance rate: 68%
Founded back in 2009, American University of Ras Al Khaimah is a private higher school located in the city of Ras al-Khaimah. This is a fairly small, private university with just over 1,000 full-time students. The average tuition fee at this university is $ 6,575 per year, but there are many additional charges and fees that you should check out on their official website.
The most popular Bachelor’s programs offered by the American University of Ras Al Khaimah are in Biotechnology, Business, Architecture, and Computer Science. Surprisingly, this school offers just four Master’s programs, of which Master of Business Administration and Master of Education & Educational Leadership are worth mentioning.
4. United Arab Emirates University
- Average acceptance rate: 65%
Next on our list of universities in UAE with high acceptance rates is United Arab Emirates University. Founded in 1976, this university has established itself as the largest and the most popular higher education provider in the country. It consists of nine colleges, with the most popular of them being the College of Law, the College of Business and Economics, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
UAEU, as this university is known for short, is currently the fifth-best higher school on the Arab Peninsular and the 350th best university in the world. It currently has a total enrollment of just over 15,000 students and 17% of them are from abroad. 95% of all freshmen continue their education at the United Arab Emirates University after the first year, and over 70% of them complete the full course of training.
The admission requirements are rather high – all international applicants should have SAT scores of 1250 or TOEFL ITP 525 or IBT 70. The admission score for IELTS is 5.5. They should also present a 12th Grade certificate from the UAE, or an international certificate of completed secondary education, with a minimum final score of 80%.
On the basis of the information above, we estimate the average acceptance rate of this university at about 65%.
5. University of Dubai
- Average acceptance rate: 55%
The University of Dubai was established back in 1997, which makes it one of the “young” higher education providers in the Gulf region. Now, it has just under 1,400 full-time students coming from many different countries around the world.
Therefore, most of its Bachelor’s and Master’s programs are offered in English, as well as in Arabic. The most popular undergraduate programs include Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in Communication, and Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Security.
This university offers a few Master’s programs as well – MBA in Finance & Accounting, Master of Laws, and MBA in International Business & Marketing.
6. New York University Abu Dhabi
- Average acceptance rate: 4%
We end our list of universities in UAE with high acceptance rates with New York University Abu Dahbi. This is a fairly young but at the same time highly selective university, whose main campus moved from the capital Abu Dhabi to the luxurious Saadiyat Island in 2014. The higher school itself was established in 2010. This small, private university has just over 1,300 full-time students pursuing a degree in 22 undergraduate programs.
The most popular of them are African Studies, Arts & Art History, and Computer Science. Interestingly, this university does not seem to offer Master’s programs, but just Ph.D. ones.
The students come from 120 different countries around the world. In the academic year 2018/2019, more than 12,000 applicants from all over the world sent their documents to the New York University Abu Dhabi, but only 466 of them were offered admissions. This sets the university’s admission rate at just 4%.
I hope that this article on universities in UAE with high acceptance rates was helpful. If you are interested in studying abroad, check out the Available Programs for International Students!
