United Arab Emirates University Graduate Programs Admissions

Candidates must apply online. Applicants who have not graduated from an accredited institutions are required to have their degrees certified by the Ministry of Education in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Please visit the following link for details of procedures.

Meeting the minimum requirement for admission to Master and Doctorate programs does not guarantee admission. UAEU has a competitive criteria for admitting students which takes into account the credentials of the applicants and where they have graduates from.

UAEU admits students in Master and Doctorate programs on full-time and part-time basis.

Admission Requirements

For Admission Cycles and Deadlines (Click here)

Masters Programs

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The CGS has established minimum requirements for admission to Master’s Programs. Individual Master’s Programs may set additional and/or higher standards for admission. The minimum requirements are:

1. A cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent, in all undergraduate work;
2. A Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited university recognized by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and
3. A score of at least 6.0 on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) Academic exam or equivalent, for all disciplines delivered predominantly in English.To see the approved centers for IELTS and TOFEL Exams click here. This test score must be less than two years old at the time of application, with the following exceptions:
   • A native speaker of English who has completed his/her undergraduate education in an English-medium institution and in a country where English is the official language (see list of eligible native English speaking countries); or
   • An applicant with undergraduate degree from an English-medium institution who can provide evidence of acquiring a minimum TOEFL score of 500 on the paper-based test, or its equivalent, at the time of admission to his/her undergraduate program.

An applicant with a Bachelor degree recognized by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research may be granted conditional admission into a Master’s program in one and only one of the following cases:

1. An applicant with an IELTS score of 5.5, or its equivalent. Such a student must meet the following requirements during the period of conditional admission or be subject to dismissal (Preparation Course to Improve IELTS Course)
   • Must achieve a minimum IELTS score of 6.0, or its equivalent, by the end of the student’s first semester of study;
   • May take a maximum of six (6) credits hours in the first semester, not including intensive English courses;
   • Must achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the first 9 credit hours of credit-bearing courses studied in the Master’s program.
2. An applicant with an undergraduate cumulative GPA less than 3.0 but equal or higher than 2.5, or its equivalent. Such a student must meet the following requirements during the period of conditional admission or be subject to dismissal:
   • May take a maximum of nine (9) credits hours in the first semester of study;
   • Must achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the first 9 credit hours of credit-bearing courses studied in the Master’s program.
3. An applicant with an undergraduate cumulative GPA less than 3.0 but with relevant work experience factored into the calculation of the GPA to become equal or higher than 2.5. Such a student must meet the following requirements during the period of conditional admission or be subject to dismissal:
   • May take a maximum of nine (9) credits hours in the first semester of study;
   • Must achieve an overall GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the first 9 credit hours of credit-bearing courses studied in the Master’s program.

A minimum IELTS score of 4.0 or equivalent is required for admission into a Master’s Program whose language of instruction is Arabic

Individual Master’s Programs with professional orientation may include specific provisions for factoring relevant work experience into the calculation of the GPA for conditional acceptance. These provisions must be approved by the Academic Council.

Application package must include the following:

1. Completed application form;
2. The deposit slip of the required non-refundable application fee, as relevant to the program, deposited in the university’s bank account;
3. Identity documents as required for Emirati students (copy of passport and Khulasat Al-Qaid) and international students (copy of passport);
4. Two certified copies of official transcripts from all Colleges or universities attended (the applicant must arrange for these to be sent directly to the Office of Enrollment); and
5. An official copy of the applicant’s IELTS certificate or equivalent (the applicant must arrange for this to be sent directly to the Office of Enrollment);
6. Recommendation letters as required by the individual programs.

PhD Program

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• The minimum requirements for admission to the PhD program are:
  • A Master’s Degree from an accredited university recognized by the UAE Ministry of Education, in an area appropriate to the academic program to which application is being made.
  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent, in the Master’s degree earned at an accredited university recognized by the UAE Ministry of Education.
  • A Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university recognized by the UAE Ministry of Education, in an area appropriate to the academic program to which application is being made with a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent.
  • A score of 6.5 or higher on the IELTS Academic exam or equivalent, for all disciplines in which the main language of instruction is English or the dissertation must be written in English. To see the approved centers for IELTS and TOFEL Exams click here. This test score must be less than two years old at the time of application, with the following exceptions:
    •  – A native speaker of English who has completed his/her Master’s degree in an English-medium institution and in a country where English is the official language; or
    •  – An applicant with a Master’s degree from an English-medium institution who can provide evidence of acquiring a minimum IELTS score of 6.0 or its equivalent, at the time of admission to his/her Master’s program.
• A minimum IELTS score of 5.0 or equivalent is required for admission into an offering of the PhD Program whose language of instruction is Arabic.
• Individual Colleges may set additional and/or higher standards for admission to the PhD Program in their respective Department/College.
• Application package must include the following:
  • Completed application form;
  • Identity documents as required for Emirati students (copies of passport and Khulasat Al-Qaid) and international students (copy of passport);
  • One certified copy of official diploma and transcript from each university attended;
  • Official copy of the applicant’s score on the IELTS exam or equivalent;
  • Two letters of recommendation from professionals familiar with the student’s academic work;
  • Copy of the applicant’s CV; and
  • Statement of the applicant’s research experience and interest written in the same language as the program’s official language of instruction.

Contacts

For further PhD information or enquiries, please contact us by email.

• Emai: PostGradAdmissions@uaeu.ac.ae

Applicants are advised to contact the college and/or department in which they wish to study to discuss their application.

Professional Doctorate Programs

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1. The minimum requirements for admission to a Professional Doctorate Program are:
   • A Master’s Degree from an accredited university recognized by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in an area appropriate to the academic area to which application is being made.
   • A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent, in the Master’s degree earned at an accredited university recognized by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
   • A score of 6.0 or higher on the IELTS Academic exam or equivalent, for all disciplines in which the main language of instruction is English or the dissertation must be written in English. To see the approved centers for IELTS and TOFEL Exams click here. This test score must be less than two years old at the time of application. 
2. A minimum IELTS score of 5.0 or equivalent is required for admission into a PDP Program whose language of instruction is Arabic.
3. Individual Colleges may set additional and/or higher standards for admission to a PDP. Such requirements must be approved by the Graduate Studies Council and, if necessary, the Academic Council.
4. All PDP applications must be reviewed and recommended for admission or rejection by the respective College (or the Executive Committee for an interdisciplinary program).
5. All PDP applications recommended by a College must be reviewed and endorsed by the Doctoral Studies Committee before admission procedures are initiated.

Complete application package must include the following:

1. Completed application form;
2. Identity documents as required for Emirati students (copies of passport and Khulasat Al-Qaid) and international students (copy of passport).
3. One certified copy of official transcripts from all Colleges or universities attended;
4. Two passport size photos;
5. An official copy of the applicant’s score on the IELTS exam or equivalent;
6. A detailed CV;
7. Three confidential letters of recommendation from professionals familiar with the student’s academic work; and
8. A motivation letter (up to 1000 words), written in the same language as the PDP’s language of instruction.

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