Study in United Arab Emirates

Who this applies to

Students at UAE universities. Arabic at public universities (+ extensive English; research/private universities & branch campuses English). Federal public + emirate public + private + foreign branch campuses.

Governing authority

Ministry of Education + Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA); free-zone regulators (Dubai KHDA) license branch campuses.

Degree system

Bachelor 4 yrs · Master · PhD. Federal universities (UAEU, Zayed, HCT) + emirate research universities (Khalifa, Sharjah) + private + ~30+ foreign branch campuses.

Admission

How

Secondary certificate + EmSAT (Emirates Standardized Test) for public universities; private/branch campuses use own (English-proficiency) entry; international students apply directly.

Language

Arabic (English in research/private/branch institutions).

Tuition

Public

Free/subsidized for Emirati nationals; fees for expatriates/international.

Private

Fee-paying (branch campuses charge home-institution-linked fees).

Note

Oil-funded; the Gulf's largest branch-campus hub (Dubai International Academic City + Abu Dhabi: NYU, Sorbonne, INSEAD, Heriot-Watt, Wollongong, Birmingham, Middlesex). Khalifa is a genuine global research university (QS ~177).

Student visa & residence permit

Student residence visa for non-nationals.

Scholarships

Government & institutional.

Sources & references

• CAA/counts — https://caa.ae/Pages/Institutes/All.aspx (2026-06-12)
• rankings — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_and_colleges_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates (2026-06-12)