United Arab Emirates

• NYU Abu Dhabi awards need-based financial aid to non-Emirati students, assessed on the CSS Profile and renewed at the same level each year. Its 2026-27 cost of attendance is USD 90,434, so the aid decides whether it is affordable.
• Dubai's branch campuses award the home institution's degree — a Heriot-Watt, Birmingham, Wollongong or Middlesex degree, recognised in Europe, obtained in the Gulf.
• Everything is taught in English and the IB is a standard entry qualification throughout.
• The American calendar suits IB students: applications in the autumn and early winter, decisions in the spring, start in August.
• No income tax, a large and young international population, and flight connections to everywhere — Copenhagen is around seven hours.

• The UAE is four admissions environments wearing one flag, and the difference between them is months. NYU Abu Dhabi closes on 1 November 2026 for a 2027 start. RIT Dubai will still take an application on 22 August 2027. Heriot-Watt Dubai will take one three weeks before term. Get this wrong in either direction and you either miss the option or spend a year assuming you have more time than you do.
• A branch campus is not the parent university with better weather. It is licensed separately by MoHESR through the Commission for Academic Accreditation and, in Dubai, permitted by KHDA, and it teaches a subset of the parent’s programmes with its own staff. What it does share is the degree and, at Birmingham Dubai explicitly, the entry requirements. Check both before assuming either.
• A Dubai campus application does not go through UCAS and does not use one of your five UCAS choices. Birmingham Dubai says so in terms. That is an advantage worth knowing about, and it is also why a UK branch campus will not appear anywhere in your UCAS planning.
• Nine of the fourteen institutions here have not published a 2027 date at all. Four say so explicitly and five simply do not publish one. Either way, re-check each university's page in autumn 2026, as the calendar entries below say.
• Every foreign school certificate needs attestation by the local education authority and an equivalency certificate from the UAE Ministry of Education. Khalifa University states that applications with missing documents will not be accepted. This is slow and it is not optional.
• Tuition figures are given here only for NYU Abu Dhabi and Khalifa. Check every other fee on the university’s own page.
• Whether NYU Abu Dhabi is formally need-blind for international applicants is not stated on its own pages. What is confirmed is that all financial aid grants for non-Emirati citizens are need-based; the only named merit scholarship is reserved for Emirati nationals. Ask admissions directly whether your financial need affects the admission decision.
• NYU Abu Dhabi is very selective: NYU's own figures for autumn 2022 entry show it admitted 5% of more than 18,700 applicants, with an IB median of 40 (38 to 41 between the 25th and 75th percentiles). Its Early Decision rounds are binding. You are released from that agreement only if the aid package will not let you attend.
• The federal universities are not really open to you. UAEU and Zayed direct places and subsidies at UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers, who apply through a national placement route, and run international admission as a separate and much smaller stream. Establish eligibility before investing effort.
• The UAE is socially conservative by European standards. Laws on alcohol, relationships outside marriage and public behaviour differ from what you are used to, and enforcement varies by emirate. Read your own foreign ministry’s travel advice properly, not the marketing brochures.
• Summer heat in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is extreme — 45°C is routine in July and August — and outdoor life effectively stops for three months.
• If you can claim Danish SU, it works differently for a full degree outside the EU/EEA: check su.dk before budgeting. If you cannot claim it, check whether your own country's student finance funds a full degree outside Europe.

Accepted

Yes

Minimum

There is no national minimum. Two institutions publish one: Khalifa University requires the full Diploma with a minimum of 4 in each of six HL/SL subjects and a total of 24 points, and RIT Dubai requires 28 points for engineering and 24 for computing, business, psychology and new media design. Minimums for the other institutions here are not known, and neither figure applies to any other institution.

Subjects and levels

Set by each institution, not nationally. Khalifa University requires English, Mathematics and one science among the six subjects, depending on the programme, and excludes Islamic Studies from them. RIT Dubai requires Mathematics, Physics and one of Chemistry or Biology at grade 4 or above for engineering. Branch campuses apply the parent university’s subject rules — Birmingham Dubai states that it upholds the same entry requirements as its UK campus.

Score conversion

No national conversion table. UAE institutions read IB points directly. What they do require, and what no European system asks for, is an equivalency certificate for the Diploma issued by the UAE Ministry of Education, on top of attestation of the transcript by the local education authority — KHDA in Dubai, ADEK in Abu Dhabi, SPEA in Sharjah.

• The IB is standard currency here — the UAE has many IB World Schools, so admissions offices read the transcript fluently.
• Khalifa University also grants advanced standing credit for a score of 6 or higher on certain HL subjects, which can shorten the degree. It does not grant credit for lower scores, and if an exam is taken twice the higher score counts.
• RIT Dubai places students into English courses by IB English grade rather than by test: 7 and 4–6 both reach its highest writing course, 3 reaches the one below. That is a useful case of an institution publishing how it actually reads an IB subject grade.
• Branch campuses generally apply the same IB requirements as the home institution, which makes their entry standards easy to look up on the parent university’s site — and means the parent’s site, not the Dubai one, is the page to trust.
• The Commission for Academic Accreditation licenses institutions and accredits programmes nationally; KHDA licenses and certifies degrees in Dubai and ADEK in Abu Dhabi. Check that your programme appears on the accredited list if you intend to use the degree in the Gulf.
• Minimum IB scores for the other twelve institutions are not given here. Ask them directly; an unpublished minimum is not proof that there is none.

1. Work out which of the four admissions environments your institution is in before anything else. It decides the portal, the calendar, the entry rules and the degree you end up with.

2. For NYU Abu Dhabi, apply through the Common Application on the American timetable: Early Decision I on 1 November, Early Decision II on 1 January, Regular Decision on 5 January, all at 23:59 EST. Early Decision is binding. File the CSS Profile for financial aid alongside it — 10 November, 10 January or 1 February depending on the round.

3. For a branch campus, read the parent university’s entry requirements first. Birmingham Dubai states that it upholds the same entry requirements as its UK campus, and Heriot-Watt Dubai awards the same Scottish degree. Then apply through the UAE campus’s own portal, not through UCAS — a Dubai application does not use one of your five UCAS choices.

4. For a UAE private university — Khalifa, AUS, AUD, CUD — apply direct on its own calendar. These are the institutions whose 2027 dates are least likely to be published yet, so diarise a check for autumn 2026.

5. For a federal institution — UAEU, Zayed — check first whether the international stream is open to you at all. Places and subsidies are directed at UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers, who apply through a national placement route you cannot use.

6. Have every foreign certificate attested and equivalenced by the UAE Ministry of Education. Khalifa and RIT Dubai both make this an explicit condition, and the process is slow. Start it long before you have an offer.

7. Apply for financial aid at the same time as admission wherever the two are linked, not afterwards.

8. Once admitted, the university sponsors your student residence visa — you cannot arrange it yourself. Allow for a medical fitness test and an Emirates ID on arrival, and note that some institutions set a visa deadline weeks before term that is harder than the application deadline.

9. Sort accommodation through the university; most of the Abu Dhabi institutions house undergraduates on campus.

Selection does not mean the same thing in the four environments. NYU Abu Dhabi assesses holistically on the American model with essays, references and a candidate weekend, and admitted 5% of applicants for autumn 2022 entry. Khalifa screens against published minimums, shortlists, then requires its own admission test in person and a video recording in place of an interview. The Dubai branch campuses apply the parent university’s published entry requirements and are generally accessible to a solid IB student. The federal institutions select within each college’s capacity and prioritise Emirati nationals ahead of everyone else.

• 19 October 2026

  American University of Sharjah opens Fall 2027 applications

  Via Applying direct to a UAE private university

  Details

  AUS states that all its dates are tentative and subject to change.

  AUS opens Fall 2027 and Spring 2027 applications on the same day. The page states that dates are tentative and subject to change.

  Source

• 1 November 2026, 23:59 EST

  NYU Abu Dhabi — Early Decision I closes

  Hard deadline Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Roughly a year before the eventual first day of term, and eight months before IB results. NYUAD decides on predicted grades.

  NYUAD publishes 1 November without a year, so 2026 is expected rather than confirmed. Early Decision is binding: if you are admitted with a financial aid package you can afford, you must withdraw your other applications and accept within two to three weeks. You are released from the agreement only if the aid package does not enable you to attend. Decisions are released 15 December.

  Source

• 10 November 2026, 23:59 EST

  CSS Profile due for Early Decision I

  Hard deadline Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Financial aid at NYUAD is need-based for non-Emirati citizens and this is the form that establishes need. It is due nine days after the application itself and from both custodial and noncustodial parents, which for a separated family is a logistical problem worth starting early.

• 1 January 2027, 23:59 EST

  NYU Abu Dhabi — Early Decision II closes

  Hard deadline Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Also binding. The date is published without a year, so 2027 is expected rather than confirmed. Decisions are released 15 February.

  Source

• 5 January 2027, 23:59 EST

  NYU Abu Dhabi — Regular Decision closes

  Hard deadline Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  The non-binding round, and the one to use unless you are certain. The date is published without a year, so 2027 is expected rather than confirmed. Decisions are released 1 April. The CSS Profile for financial aid is due 1 February — a separate date, and missing that one costs the money rather than the place.

  Source

• 10 January 2027, 23:59 EST

  CSS Profile due for Early Decision II

  Hard deadline Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  After this the door closes.

• 15 January 2027

  RIT Dubai — Fall 2027 Early Admission Phase closes

  Priority Via Applying direct to a foreign university's UAE campus

  Details

  Later applications are considered after these.

  The phase to be in if you want a scholarship. RIT Dubai says its scholarship seats are limited. The date is published without a year, so 2027 is expected.

  RIT Dubai's page says it is already accepting applications for Spring and Fall 2027. The phase dates are published without a year, so 2027 is expected rather than confirmed. Apply in this phase if you want a scholarship: RIT Dubai says its scholarship seats are limited and urges applicants to apply as soon as they can.

  Source

• 1 February 2027, 23:59 EST

  CSS Profile due for Regular Decision

  Hard deadline Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Four weeks after the application. Missing this costs the aid, not the place — which at a cost of attendance above USD 90,000 amounts to the same thing for most families.

• 1 April 2027

  Regular Decision results released

  Via NYU Abu Dhabi

• 31 May 2027

  RIT Dubai — Fall 2027 Regular Admission Phase closes

  Priority Via Applying direct to a foreign university's UAE campus

  Details

  Later applications are considered after these.

  The date is published without a year, so 2027 is expected rather than confirmed. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis within the phases.

  Source

• 5 July 2027

  American University of Sharjah — Early File Completion for Fall 2027

  Priority Via Applying direct to a UAE private university

  Details

  Later applications are considered after these.

  One day before IB results. A file completed on time cannot contain the diploma, so agree in writing with AUS what stands in for it.

  The only Fall 2027 date AUS publishes between opening and the first day of classes. Note what it collides with: IB results are released on 6 July 2027, the day after. A file expected to be complete by 5 July cannot contain your final diploma, so ask AUS in writing what it will accept instead and when it wants the final transcript.

  Source

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Via Applying direct to a foreign university's UAE campus

  Details

  This is the date on which the branch campuses stop resembling each other. Two of them will still take an application after it.

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Via UAE federal university as an international student

  Details

  Where the federal universities sit relative to this date is not known, because neither publishes a date to compare it against.

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Via NYU Abu Dhabi

  Details

  Six months after the last NYUAD deadline and three months after its last decision. Nothing about this route waits for the diploma; how a conditional place is handled once results arrive is set by NYUAD and is not established here.

• 6 July 2027

  IB results released

  Via Applying direct to a UAE private university

  Details

  The UAE private universities sit either side of this date and not together. AUS wants a complete file the day before; the American University in Dubai says it takes late applications through July and August. Khalifa has not said.

  Where each UAE institution sits relative to this date matters. NYU Abu Dhabi closes eight months before it and decides on predicted grades. AUS wants a complete file the day before it. RIT Dubai's deadline falls seven weeks after it. Heriot-Watt Dubai will still take an application three weeks before term starts. The UAE is not one calendar, and treating it as one is how a student loses a year. On the date itself: 6 July is when results reach the candidate. 5 July, the day AUS wants a complete file, is also the IB's own transcript-request cut-off: before it your coordinator requests transcripts for you and the first six are free, after it you request them yourself at $19 each. The date is the IB's usual results day and is not yet confirmed by the IB for 2027.

• 22 August 2027

  RIT Dubai — Fall 2027 application deadline

  Equal consideration Via Applying direct to a foreign university's UAE campus

  Details

  Applications in by this date are guaranteed to be considered. Later ones may still be read, at the institution’s discretion, against whatever places remain.

  Seven weeks after IB results. RIT Dubai says applications received after this date are reviewed based on space availability, so a late application is not automatically shut out. The date is published without a year, so 2027 is expected.

  RIT Dubai states that an application received after the deadline will be reviewed based on space availability, which is consideration at the university's discretion rather than a closed door. The date is published without a year, so 2027 is expected rather than confirmed. It falls after IB results on 6 July 2027, so you can still apply to RIT Dubai with a finished diploma in hand.

  Source

• 23 August 2027

  American University of Sharjah — first day of classes

  Hard deadline Via Applying direct to a UAE private university

  Details

  After this the door closes.

• Date not published

  Heriot-Watt Dubai — last practical date for a September 2027 start

  Rolling Via Applying direct to a foreign university's UAE campus

  Details

  Considered as they arrive, until places run out.

  No fixed date. Heriot-Watt Dubai says it can accept applications up until three weeks before the start of each intake, and warns that a late application will delay the student visa and matriculation card. Work backwards from the September 2027 start date once it is published.

• Date not published

  Birmingham Dubai — visa sponsorship deadline, September 2027 intake

  Hard deadline Via Applying direct to a foreign university's UAE campus

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Not yet announced. This is the hard date for anyone applying from outside the UAE, and it is published on the visa FAQ rather than the admissions page. The 2026 equivalents are 24 August 2026 for the September 2026 intake and 14 December 2026 for January 2027, and the 2027 ones may differ.

• Date not published

  Zayed University confirms its undergraduate application dates

  Via UAE federal university as an international student

  Details

  No date. The page carries the line "Application Dates to be confirmed" where the dates belong. Check the page for the dates.

• Date not published

  UAEU announces an application period

  Via UAE federal university as an international student

  Details

  No date. UAEU says applicants apply through the ministry's portal during announced application periods and publishes no undergraduate period for 2027. Its graduate deadlines are published; its undergraduate ones are not.

• Date not published

  Khalifa University publishes its Fall 2027 application timeline

  Via Applying direct to a UAE private university

  Details

  No date. Khalifa's undergraduate admissions page carries the line "Stay tuned for the Fall 2027 application timeline" where the dates belong. Watch the page from autumn 2026.

• Not yet announced for this intake
  Fall 2027

  Khalifa University — Fall 2027 application deadline

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Khalifa's undergraduate admissions page says Fall 2026 admissions are closed and, under the heading "Know the application timeline and deadlines", carries the single line "Stay tuned for the Fall 2027 application timeline". The university has not set a date yet. Check the page from autumn 2026. Admission is competitive and seat-limited, shortlisted applicants sit the Khalifa University Admission Test in person, and every applicant submits a video recording in place of an interview — so the working deadline is well before the stated one.

  Source

• Date not published
  Fall 2027

  American University of Sharjah — Fall 2027 application closing date

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  AUS publishes a row reading "Deadline for Spring 2027 applications" (24 December 2026) and one reading "Deadline for Summer 2027 applications" (13 May 2027). The Fall 2027 block has no equivalent row. The date is missing from what AUS publishes; that does not mean Fall applications never close, so ask AUS.

  Source

• Considered as they arrive
  September 2027

  Heriot-Watt University Dubai — September 2027 entry

  Rolling

  Details

  Considered as they arrive, until places run out.

  There is no deadline because there is no round. The Dubai campus states that it runs a rolling year-round admissions process and starts accepting applications for the next intake as soon as one closes, that most students apply six to ten months ahead, and that it can accept applications up until three weeks before the start of each intake — with the warning that a late application will delay the student visa and matriculation card. Three weeks before a September start is late August 2027. All programmes have a September intake, some also a January one, and the campus says elsewhere that some courses have up to three entries a year: January, April and September.

  Source

• Date not published
  September 2027

  University of Birmingham Dubai — September 2027 entry

  Rolling

  Details

  Considered as they arrive, until places run out.

  No application deadline appears on the Dubai campus's how-to-apply page or its application FAQs. What is published instead: you apply directly through the University's own admissions portal rather than UCAS, there is no application fee, and a decision follows within ten working days of a complete application. You may apply on predicted grades or first-term Year 13 results. The date that actually binds is the visa sponsorship deadline, recorded separately below.

  Source

• Not yet announced for this intake
  September 2027

  University of Birmingham Dubai — visa sponsorship deadline, September 2027 intake

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  This, not the application, is the hard date for anyone applying from outside the UAE. Birmingham Dubai publishes a deadline for new international students to apply for a University-sponsored visa from outside the UAE: Monday 24 August 2026 for the September 2026 intake (express, Monday 31 August 2026), and Monday 14 December 2026 for the January 2027 intake (express, Monday 21 December 2026). The September 2027 equivalent is not yet published.

  Source

• Date not published
  September 2027

  Middlesex University Dubai — September 2027 entry

  Details

  Middlesex Dubai's how-to-apply page lists the stages of an application — offer of admission, student visa, credit transfer, accommodation, scholarship, tuition fees — and no date of any kind. Ask admissions directly for a closing date before planning around one.

  Source

• Date not published

  University of Wollongong in Dubai — Autumn 2027 entry

  Details

  UOWD's academic calendar covers Autumn 2026 only and carries no admission application deadline at all — every date on it is subject enrolment, tuition instalments, examinations or results. No Autumn 2027 calendar is published. UOWD teaches on the Australian trimester pattern and its Autumn 2026 session began on 21 September 2026.

  Source

• Date not published
  Fall 2027

  American University in Dubai — Fall 2027 applications

  Priority

  Details

  Later applications are considered after these.

  AUD publishes month ranges rather than dates: for the Fall semester, early applications "up until March/April" and late applications "through July/August". No calendar date is given for any year. Write to admissions for the actual closing date.

  Source

• Not yet announced for this intake
  Fall 2027

  Canadian University Dubai — Fall 2027 application deadline

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  CUD publishes deadlines one academic year at a time and currently shows 2026-27 only: Fall, 21 August 2026 for international applicants and 27 August 2026 for domestic; Spring, 3 January 2027 and 8 January 2027; Summer, 12 May 2027 and 19 May 2027. CUD sets the international deadline about a week earlier than the domestic one, which is a pattern to check for when the 2027-28 dates appear rather than a figure to carry over.

  Source

• Not yet announced for this intake
  September 2027

  Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi — September 2027 application deadline

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Sorbonne Abu Dhabi published 21 August 2026 as the deadline for all undergraduate programmes for the September 2026/2027 intake. The 2027 date is not yet published. Two other dates on the same page matter: the AED 200 application fee is non-refundable, and an admission offer must be accepted no later than two weeks before the academic year starts.

  Source

• Not yet announced for this intake
  Fall 2027

  Zayed University — Fall 2027 application deadline

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  Zayed University's undergraduate application page carries the line "Application Dates to be confirmed" in place of a deadline. International applicants apply through the university's e-services form rather than the national placement route Emirati school-leavers use, and are told to contact the Abu Dhabi or Dubai undergraduate admissions office directly.

  Source

• Date not published
  Fall 2027

  United Arab Emirates University — Fall 2027 application deadline

  Hard deadline

  Details

  After this the door closes.

  UAEU publishes an application portal and the rule that students are admitted competitively within the available capacity of each college, and publishes no undergraduate deadline — graduate deadlines are published, undergraduate ones are not. UAEU also routes international students and children of UAEU staff separately from UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers, so establish which stream you are in before asking for a date.

  Source

• Date not published
  2027 entry

  SP Jain School of Global Management, Dubai — 2027 entry

  Details

  No date published. SP Jain's undergraduate pages describe the multi-city structure and the Australian degree it leads to, and publish no application deadline for a 2027 intake. The degree is Australian, at AQF Level 7, and CRICOS-registered, so the Australian regulator's rules follow the student across all four campuses.

  Source

English-taught bachelors

Essentially all of them. English is the medium of instruction across the private and branch-campus sector and at NYU Abu Dhabi, Khalifa and the American University of Sharjah. Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi teaches mostly in French, with three bachelor's degrees in English.

Proving your English

IB English is normally accepted. Some institutions require IELTS or TOEFL regardless of the IB, so check each one.

Local language needed?

Not for English-taught programmes

• Arabic is the official language but English is the working language of the country, and in Dubai you can live for years without needing Arabic.
• Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is the exception: it delivers French university programmes and most of its teaching is in French, with a French-language preparatory year available.
• Federal institutions such as UAE University and Zayed University teach some programmes in Arabic — check the medium of instruction.

Tuition, EU/EEA

The UAE does not differentiate by nationality in the way Europe does. Most private institutions charge the same fee to everyone; federal institutions prioritise or subsidise Emirati nationals.

Tuition, non-EU

NYU Abu Dhabi 2026-27: tuition USD 68,574, housing USD 6,000, food USD 5,800, total direct costs USD 84,520 including books and mandatory health insurance, total cost of attendance USD 90,434 including personal expenses and transportation. Khalifa University charges AED 2,500 per credit hour (roughly AED 81,250 a year); other fees are not given here, so check each institution's own page. (2026-27)

• NYUAD's sticker price is high and its aid is need-based, so read the aid policy before the fee. It does not state on its current pages that it meets full need, so ask what your CSS Profile would produce.
• NYUAD states that annual adjustments to costs and fees should be expected, so budget above the 2026-27 figures for a 2027 start.
• Branch campus fees in Dubai are typically a fraction of the home campus fee in the UK or Australia — but so is the subsidy, so compare the total net cost, not the headline.
• The UAE has no income tax, which matters if you plan to work after graduating, but living costs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are high: rent, car or taxi dependence, and air conditioning.

Funding you could actually get

• NYU Abu Dhabi need-based aid. All financial aid grants offered by NYUAD to non-Emirati citizens are need-based, and the university also offers personal support awards. The only named merit scholarship is the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed NYUAD Scholarship, which is restricted to admitted UAE nationals and children of an Emirati parent. Apply for aid at the same time as admission.
• Khalifa University offers merit-based scholarships that can cover tuition, textbooks and accommodation, considered from the admission application with no separate form. Whether international students receive them on the same terms is not stated.
• American University of Sharjah runs merit scholarships including the Sheikh Khalifa Scholarships, which recognise academic excellence and leadership. Ask AUS for the amounts.
• Branch campuses generally offer modest merit discounts rather than full funding. Do not expect a European-style free place.
• Danish SU can follow you here if you can claim it (Danish citizens, or EU/EEA citizens with equal status under EU rules) and meet the ties-to-Denmark requirement. A full degree outside the EU/EEA follows separate rules, with its own ties-to-Denmark form: check su.dk before budgeting. If you cannot claim SU, look first at your own country's student finance: several EU/EEA systems fund a full degree in another country.
• Part-time work is restricted on a student residence visa — see 'Living there' below. It is not a funding strategy.

Residency

EU citizenship gives no advantage. EU/EEA citizens receive a visa on arrival as visitors, but you cannot study on that. Your university sponsors a student residence visa, which involves a medical fitness test (including a chest X-ray and blood test) and an Emirates ID. The visa is tied to the institution: if you leave the university, the visa is cancelled. Some students qualify for the UAE's five-year student 'golden visa' for outstanding academic performance.

Working

Students on a university-sponsored residence visa may work part-time with a permit, with rules that differ between the mainland and the free zones and have been liberalised in recent years. Confirm the current rules with the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship and with your university before relying on it.

Housing

NYU Abu Dhabi, Khalifa and the American University of Sharjah all house undergraduates on campus, which is the simplest and safest arrangement. Dubai branch campuses vary: some have student accommodation in Dubai International Academic City or Knowledge Village, others expect you to rent privately. Private renting in Dubai usually means paying rent in a small number of large cheques up front, which is hard to manage as a first-year student.

Healthcare

Health insurance is legally mandatory for residents in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and universities normally include a compulsory scheme in the fees — NYUAD lists mandatory health insurance inside its direct costs. Healthcare is private, modern and expensive without cover. Your EHIC does not apply.