UAE University opens undergraduate programs to international students

For the first time, international students can now apply to any of United Arab Emirates (UAE) University’s undergraduate programs, which were previously only available to local students.

The university said in a statement that international students can apply for courses under its College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science, College of Education, and College of Business and Economics, among other programs.

While the university expects several applications, it said that the admissions process would be “very stringent”, reported Gulf News.

“In the case of equal qualifications (for the undergraduate program), preference shall be made based on student grade averages in the subjects qualifying for admission to the specific college,” it said. 

The university’s provost, Professor Mohamed Albaili, told local English-language daily The National that there were many advantages to the change.

“The academic experience of UAEU national students can be greatly enhanced by interaction with international students,” he said.

“They bring with them an international perspective, diversity of ideas and experience, which fuel innovation. In addition, there are very clear pedagogical benefits to having international students in the classroom.

“Their presence enriches class discussions, since the students share their experiences and stories from a different culture. It can also help remove stereotypes,” he added.

Established in 1976, UAE University is the oldest university in the UAE, and is also currently ranked as the sixth best university in the Arab region by QS University Rankings.

The university’s student body exceeds 9,000 and out of that, its international student population stands at around 26 percent, according to Times Higher Education’s profile.

Foreign students who are interested in applying should take note of the following qualification requirements:

• Must hold a national grade 12 certificate or its equivalent obtained from a school in the UAE, or its equivalent dated as recently as 2015/2016
• Should have achieved scores of TOEFL 500/iBT 61, or IELTS 5.0
• Should pass the Arabic and Math foundation level exams
• Must meet the minimum average grade for each college, which is 85 percent and above

For more details, check out the university’s official website.

Image via United Arab Emirates University

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