Are There Really Best Engineering Universities in UAE?
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), located in the Middle East is most popularly known for its tourism capital, Dubai – a city that boasts of many firsts, “largests” and “tallests”, and is also one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.
However, the UAE also has a reputation for being technology-forward and sprouting some amazing innovations, a large proportion of which can be attributed to its world class universities. Students from all over the world go to study at universities in the UAE. Based on the above reasons, there are actually world-rated best engineering universities in the UAE.
Top 10 Best Engineering Universities in UAE
Below are list of the first ten well-known and globally-recognized best engineering universities in UAE whose records and standards speak volume for their ranking within the UAE, as their best universities in engineering programs.
In no particular order, here are 10 of the best engineering universities in the UAE:
- Khalifa University:
Khalifa University is located in Abu Dhabi, the (political) capital of the UAE.It is an internationally top-ranked university that offers specialised degrees in science, technology and medicine.
It boasts of world-class facilities, 20 state-of-the-art specialised research centres and 8:1 student to faculty ratio, meaning students are given adequate attention to enable them succeed.
With a 60% female student body, female students thinking of studying engineering in the UAE might find this to be a good option.
Khalifa University’s College of Engineering offers 4-year BSc programs in the following:
- Aerospace engineering
- Biomedical engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Computer engineering
- Computer science
- Electrical engineering
- Industrial and systems engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Petroleum engineering
The college also offers minors in Artificial Intelligence, Nuclear engineering and Mechatronics, as well as related MSc and PhD engineering degrees.
Admission requirements for international students: Khalifa University accepts students from various curriculums including British (IGCSE and A levels), American (SAT), and IB with particular attention to Physics, Chemistry and Maths.
They also require either a minimum IELTS score of 6.0 or minimum TOEFL score of 79, to show English proficiency.
Students will need to provide copies of certificates that have been attested by their country’s ministry of education and the UAE ministry.
Tuition fees:on average, about 100,000 AED/ $28,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities: they offer partial scholarships for international students, but they are highly competitive.
Campus accommodation: Available
Find out more: https://www.ku.ac.ae/academics/college-of-engineering
- Abu Dhabi University:
Abu Dhabi University (ADU) is the largest private university in the UAE, and one of the top universities in the world.
ADU has campuses in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain (a garden city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi) and Dubai, all with the same quality of education but different things to offer in terms of student life.
ADU has a prominent international student population and takes great pride in its diversity, ranked 3rdglobally for its international faculty.
ADU’s College of Engineering offers 4-year BSc programs in the following:
- Architecture
- Aviation
- Biomedical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Computer engineering, with the option of Artificial Intelligence concentration.
- Cybersecurity engineering
- Electrical engineering, with the option of robotics and automation concentration.
- Industrial engineering
- Information technology
- Mechanical engineering
- Software engineering
The College also offers Masters programs with Project or Thesis options.
Admission requirements for international students: ADU accepts students from British and American high school curriculums. You can check the website for the specific requirements of your desired course.
Attested documents and an equivalent letter from their local ministry of education must also be provided by the student. They require minimum scores of either 1,100 in EmSAT, 500 in TOEFL or 5.0 in IELTS.
Tuition fees: on average, about 60,00 AED/ $16,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities: academic and athletic scholarships are available for international students with outstanding qualifications.
Campus accommodation: Available
Find out more: https://www.adu.ac.ae/study/colleges/college-of-engineering
- University of Sharjah (UOS):
UOS was established in 1997 in Sharjah, the Emirate that is considered the religious capital of the UAE. This means UOS student policies are slightly conservative. UOS offers 114 programs across various disciplines at diploma, Bachelors, Masters and PhD levels.
Its College of Engineering offers 4-year Bsc programs in the following courses:
- Architectural engineering
- Chemical and Water Desalination engineering
- Civil engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Engineering management
- Industrial engineering
- Sustainable & Renewable Energy engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Nuclear engineering
Admission requirements for international students:UOS accepts students from any curriculum as long as it is recognized by the official education authority in the country they studied and shows that they have completed 12 years of prior education.
Certificates presented for the application should be authenticated by the relevant education authorities, be it the Ministry of Education or British Council (for IGCSE and A levels). UOS accepts TOEFL, IELTS, PTE or EmSAT certificates to prove English Proficiency.
Tuition fees: On average, about 55,000 AED/ $15,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities:highly competitive partial scholarships are available for outstanding students. They also offer a 10% siblings discount to one of the siblings attending the university.
Campus accommodation: Available
Find out more:https://www.sharjah.ac.ae/en/academics/Colleges/eng/Pages/default.aspx
- United Arab Emirates University (UAEU):
United Arab Emirates University is located in Al Ain. Established in 1976, it is the oldest university in the UAE.It boasts of 9 world class research centres, and an international student population with over 75 countries represented on campus. It was ranked 7th best university in the Arab World.
UAEU’s College of Engineering offers 4-year Bsc programs in the following:
- Aerospace engineering
- Architectural engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Communication engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Mechatronics engineering
- Petroleum engineering
They also offer related Masters and PhD programs.
Admission requirements for international students:UAEU accepts students from American high school systems, SABIS system, IB, British System (GCE/IGCSE and A levels), Chinese, Indian and Pakistani systems. They require proven English proficiency with minimums of 1250 in EmSAT, 5.5 in IELTS and 525 in TOEFL.
Tuition fees: 92,000 AED/ $25,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities:Full scholarships are available for the full duration of study for extremely outstanding international students. Partial (50%) scholarships are also available.
Campus accommodation:Available
Find out more:https://www.uaeu.ac.ae/en/catalog/undergraduate/programs/
- American University of Sharjah (AUS):
AUS is located in Sharjah and was established in 1997. As the name implies, the university uses the American teaching system. AUS offers 28 majors and 45 minors at the undergraduate level, 16 master degree programs and 3 PhD programs.
Its college of engineering offers the following 4-year BSc programs:
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Computer engineering
- Computer science
- Electrical engineering
- Industrial engineering
- Mechanical engineering
Admission requirements for international students:AUS accepts students from any curriculum as far as it is recognised by the student’s host country. This includes British, American, even Nigerian (WAEC) systems and so on.
AUS requires minimums of 6.5 in IELTS, 550 in TOEFL, or 1550 in EmSAT. Applicants must submit authenticated certificates and equivalency letters for their certificates.
Tuition fees: About 100,000 AED/ $28,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities:Merit-based partial scholarships and family tuition grants are available.
Campus accommodation: Available
Find out more:https://www.aus.edu/cen
- American University in Dubai (AUD):
American University in Dubai is a private university in Dubai which offers an American system of education, and was established in 1995.AUD has ranked top university in Dubai for 5 consecutive years.
AUD’s School of Engineering offers 4-year BSc programs in the following:
- Civil engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Computer engineering
- Minors in environmental engineering, and computer science.
They offer one Masters program in Construction Management.
Admission requirements for international students:AUD accepts attested high school transcripts, IB, IGCSE and A levels, SATs and especially SAT subject tests for Math and Physics. For English proficiency, they accept IELTS, TOEFL, and EmSAT.
Tuition fees: About 95,000 AED/ $26,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities:Only family tuition waivers (25% for one) are available for undergraduates.
Campus accommodation: Available.
Find out more:https://www.aud.edu/aud-school/school-of-engineering/
- University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD):
UOWD is the Dubai campus of the Australian University of Wollongong. It was established in 1993 and currently offers over 40 internationally accredited degrees.
Its College of Engineering offers 4-yearBachelor of Engineering (BEng) programs in the following:
- Civil engineering
- Computer engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Telecommunications engineering
Admission requirements for international students: UOWD accepts students from British (IGCSE/A Levels), American (high school diploma), Kenyan, Pakistani, Indian, IB, Iranian and Chinese curriculum.
Students from other curriculum may find out about their eligibility from the admissions office. For English proficiency, they require minimums of 6.0 in IELTS, 550 in TOEFL and 1,400 in EmSAT.
Tuition fees: 62,503 AED/ $17,031 per year
Scholarship opportunities:Financial aid only available for students who, together with their guardians, are UAE residents.
Campus accommodation:Not available
Find out more: https://www.uowdubai.ac.ae/degrees/bachelors/engineering
- Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Dubai:
RIT Dubai is the Dubai campus of the American Rochester Institute of Technology. The Dubai Campus is fairly new, having been established in 2008, so it offers only a few degrees: 10 undergraduate programs and 8 graduate programs.
As the name implies, the university specialises in engineering degrees, but there are also some other courses provided.
RIT Dubai follows the following engineering degrees:
- Electrical engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Microelectrics engineering
- Industrial engineering
- Computing and information technologies
There is also the option to minor in some other engineering (or otherwise) disciplines.
Admission requirements for international students: RIT Dubai accepts students from American, British, IB, Nigerian, French, Pakistani, Iranian, South African, Indian and Russian curriculums.
Engineering students are also required to take math and physics exams to help determine what course within the program they should take. They accept TOEFL, IELTS, PTE or EmSAT for English proficiency.
Tuition fees: 61,950 AED/ $16,973 per year
Scholarship opportunities: Partial undergraduate scholarships are provided for high performing students. Athletic scholarships and financial aid for students who can show they need financial assistance are also available.
Campus accommodation: Available
Find out more: https://www.rit.edu/dubai/undergraduate-degree-programs
- Heriot Watt University Dubai
This is the Dubai campus of the UK’s Heriot Watt University. They were the first overseas university to set up in Dubai Academic city in 2005, although, they are now in Knowledge Village.
Heriot Watt Dubai offers over 100 undergraduate, postgraduate and graduate degrees. They also offer a foundation year program before undergraduate studies.
They offer the following BEng programs:
- Architectural engineering
- Automotive engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Computer science (Software engineering)
- Electrical and electronics engineering
- Mechanical engineering
- Mechanical engineering and energy engineering
- Robotics, Autonomous and Interactive systems
Admission requirements for international students:they accept A Levels, IB, EmSAT, Russian and American (Diploma and SAT) curriculums as well as their Foundation program.
Students with certain scores in these assessments may get directly admitted into the second year of the program. For English proficiency, they only accept IELTS, witha minimum score of 6.
Tuition fees: 67,704 AED/ $18,500 per year
Scholarship opportunities:partial merit scholarships are available for undergraduate students. Ramadan community awards of 6,000 AED are available till May 2of this year.
Campus accommodation: Not available
Find out more:https://search.hw.ac.uk/s/search.html?collection=meta-dubai-courses&f.Level%7Ccourselevel=Undergraduate
- BITS Pilani Dubai
BITS Pilani Dubai is the Dubai campus of a private Indian technical research university. It was established in 2000. The university specialises in engineering degrees.
It offers the following 4-year Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) programs:
- Biotechnology
- Chemical engineering
- Civil engineering
- Computer science
- Electronics & Communications engineering
- Electrical & electronics engineering
- Mechanical engineering
Admission requirements for international students:BITS Pilani accepts students from all school systems as long as they are recognised by the State, National or International Board.
Particular attention is paid to Physics, Chemistry and Maths subjects. As for English proficiency, they accept TOEFL scores of at least 500 and IELTS scores of at least 5.
Tuition fees: About 54,000 AED/ $15,000 per year
Scholarship opportunities:there are partial merit based scholarships, financial aid for students with disabilities, and for (one of the) siblings attending the university at the same time.
Campus accommodation: Available
Find out more:https://www.bits-dubai.ac.ae/admissions/be/
Important Information About Studying in the UAE
- Student visas are renewed every year of study. The student’s university acts as the sponsor.
- Universities in Dubai are mostly located in either of 2 university hubs: Academic City or Knowledge Village. In them, there are two clusters (complexes) where several universities are located called Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Park, and also individual university campuses.
- Universities in Sharjah are mostly located in a neighbourhood called University City.
- Many universities in Dubai do not have campuses of their own, and so turn to independent student accommodation to live in. The most popular ones are the Myriad, KSK student homes and Uninest. This provides an interesting experience as one is able to interact with students from several different universities. The student accommodations have their own bus shuttles that takes students to their universities.
- There are many foreign universities in the UAE. A university you want to attend in the UK, US, Australia, or India just might have a UAE campus.
