🇦🇪 93 institutions · 42 branch campuses
Every institution on the UAE register, and how many applicants each accepts.
Nearly half the UAE's registered institutions are branch campuses of universities from abroad. The higher-education ministry publishes, as open data, each institution's acceptance rate and the share of its students who aren't Emirati — both here, with graduate numbers from the Ministry of Education.
On the 2026 register
93
4 federal, 34 emirate or semi-government, 13 private.
Branch campuses of foreign universities
42
34 of them in Dubai.
With a published acceptance rate
63
The share of applicants offered a place, 2018 onward.
The list is the higher-education ministry's 2026 register. It is not exhaustive: the Ministry of Education's earlier open lists name institutions it lacks, some since renamed, merged or closed. No total enrolment per institution is published as open data.
All 93 institutions
“Non-Emirati” is the share of students who are not UAE citizens. Most UAE residents are expatriates, so this includes students who grew up in the country — it is not a share of international students.
Federal government (4)
| Institution | Acceptance rate | Non-Emirati, autumn 2024-2025 | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anwar Gargash Diplomatic AcademyAbu Dhabi | 10% (2024) | 2%2020-2021 | 512021-2022 |
| Higher Colleges of TechnologyRas Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah | 55% (2024) | 5% | 2,6712021-2022 |
| United Arab Emirates UniversityAbu Dhabi | 95% (2024) | 16% | 2,5792021-2022 |
| Zayed UniversityDubai, Abu Dhabi | 17% (2024) | 1% | 2,0562021-2022 |
Local government (emirate) (28)
| Institution | Acceptance rate | Non-Emirati, autumn 2024-2025 | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy – Les RochesAbu Dhabi | 88% (2024) | — | — |
| Abu Dhabi PolytechnicAbu Dhabi | 69% (2024) | 5% | 2652021-2022 |
| Al Qasimiya UniversitySharjah | 3% (2024) | 98% | 3182021-2022 |
| American University of Ras Al KhaimahRas Al Khaimah | 98% (2024) | 77% | 1532021-2022 |
| American University of SharjahSharjah | 49% (2024) | 77% | 9772021-2022 |
| British University in DubaiDubai | 61% (2024) | 65% | 2042021-2022 |
| Dubai Institute of Design and InnovationDubai | 77% (2024) | 75% | 372021-2022 |
| Dubai Medical UniversityDubai | 42% (2024) | — | — |
| Emirates Academy for Identity & CitizenshipAbu Dhabi | 18% (2024) | — | 562021-2022 |
| Emirates Aviation UniversityDubai | 24% (2024) | 49% | 3282021-2022 |
| Emirates College for Advanced EducationAbu Dhabi | 54% (2024) | 13% | 522021-2022 |
| Fatima College of Health SciencesFujairah, Ajman, Abu Dhabi | 56% (2024) | 8% | 3072021-2022 |
| Global Studies UniversitySharjah | — | — | — |
| Hamdan Bin Zayed CollegeAbu Dhabi | — | — | — |
| Imam Malik College for Islamic Sharia and LawDubai | 90% (2024) | 24% | 902021-2022 |
| Khalifa UniversityAbu Dhabi | 14% (2024) | 42% | 6992021-2022 |
| Mohamed Bin Zayed University for HumanitiesAjman, Abu Dhabi | 33% (2024) | 13% | 1692021-2022 |
| Mohammed Bin Rashid School of GovernmentDubai | 53% (2024) | 17%2022-2023 | 932021-2022 |
| Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health SciencesDubai | 23% (2024) | 78% | 912021-2022 |
| Rabdan AcademyAbu Dhabi | 37% (2024) | 2% | 1342021-2022 |
| Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences UniversityRas Al Khaimah | 57% (2024) | 72% | 2102021-2022 |
| Sharjah Education AcademySharjah | 99% (2024) | 52% | — |
| Sharjah Maritime AcademySharjah | 74% (2024) | 24% | — |
| Sharjah Performing Arts AcademySharjah | 19% (2024) | 100% | — |
| Umm Al Quwain UniversityUmm Al-Quwain | 76% (2024) | 24% | 1462021-2022 |
| University of DubaiDubai | 54% (2024) | 29% | 2372021-2022 |
| University of KalbaSharjah | 100% (2024) | — | — |
| University of KhorfakkanSharjah | 75% (2024) | 2% | — |
Semi-government (6)
| Institution | Acceptance rate | Non-Emirati, autumn 2024-2025 | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi School of ManagementAbu Dhabi | 91% (2024) | 16% | 2452021-2022 |
| Fujairah UniversityFujairah | 22% (2024) | 36% | 882021-2022 |
| Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart UniversityDubai | 86% (2024) | 11% | 2612021-2022 |
| Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial IntelligenceAbu Dhabi | 13% (2024) | 81% | — |
| University of Al DhaidSharjah | 81% (2024) | 2% | — |
| University of SharjahSharjah | 68% (2024) | 46% | 3,0092021-2022 |
Private (13)
| Institution | Acceptance rate | Non-Emirati, autumn 2024-2025 | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi UniversityAbu Dhabi | 80% (2024) | 51% | 2,3942021-2022 |
| Ajman UniversityAjman | 76% (2024) | 78% | 1,3482021-2022 |
| Al Ain UniversityAbu Dhabi | 86% (2024) | 71% | 3,2532021-2022 |
| Al Wasl UniversityDubai | 77% (2024) | 90% | 3252021-2022 |
| American University in DubaiDubai | 80% (2024) | 66% | 3822021-2022 |
| American University in the EmiratesDubai | 99% (2024) | 31% | 4442021-2022 |
| Canadian University DubaiDubai | 70% (2024) | 84% | 3132021-2022 |
| City University AjmanAjman | 98% (2024) | 67% | 4052021-2022 |
| Gulf Medical UniversityAjman | 26% (2024) | 87% | 3862021-2022 |
| Horizon University CollegeAjman | — | — | — |
| Institute of Management Technology – DubaiDubai | 79% (2023) | 12%2023-2024 | 2722021-2022 |
| Jumeira UniversityDubai | 75% (2024) | 60% | 632021-2022 |
| Liwa UniversityAbu Dhabi | 82% (2024) | 31% | 3972021-2022 |
Branch campus of a foreign university (42)
29 institutions have no figures in either ministry's open data and link straight to their own websites. Most are branch campuses in Dubai, where the emirate's Knowledge and Human Development Authority publishes statistics on terms that rule out commercial reuse.
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Data source: Bayanat Portal – UAE Open Data Platform (https://bayanat.ae/en). Register, nationality shares and acceptance rates: Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, CC BY-SA 4.0. Graduates, new entrants and faculty: Ministry of Education, CC BY 4.0. Changes: names matched across files, figures summed per institution and year, and percentages rounded by CollegeMatcher; this compilation of the CC BY-SA data is itself available under CC BY-SA 4.0. CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY 4.0