Undergraduate Admissions Requirements & Program Leaflet

Undergraduate Admissions

Your Gateway to An Enriching Education

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

AUD students come from many different countries and backgrounds and bring a wide range of viewpoints, special interests and talents to enrich the learning community.

Selection of students is based on an individual assessment of each applicant. During preliminary evaluation, scans or photocopies of educational documents can be submitted to make informed decisions. Final acceptance is granted once the University has received all necessary documents including official English translations of all supporting documents. Translations must be literal (i.e., word-for-word).

The University reserves the right to evaluate the authenticity of all credentials submitted for admission. Furthermore, students are reminded that omission or falsification of information constitutes sufficient reason for rejection or dismissal. This dismissal, requiring the President’s approval, may occur at any time during a student’s residence at AUD if an upon omission or falsification is discovered.

Students should be aware that all original records, letters and other documents provided to AUD as part of the admissions process will remain University property, and will not be returned even if the student drops/withdraws from the University. Physical records not collected within two years for students who do not attend will be destroyed.

Here is what we are looking for - Admissions Checklist

Your High School Documents
- An official attested high school/secondary school transcript covering the last three years and reflecting a good academic standard. (Required averages vary by school systems. Students should consult AUD’s Admissions Office for pertinent requirements.)
- High School Diploma, original to be verified.
High School Certificate Attestation and Equivalency
True copy of certificates should be attested by the appropriate authority as stated below:
- Grade 12 transcripts obtained in the U.A.E. must be attested by the U.A.E. Ministry of Education.
- High school diplomas and grade 12 transcripts obtained abroad must be attested by:
  1. Ministry of Education of home country
  2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of home country
  3. U.A.E. Embassy in home country
  OR
  1. Ministry of Education of home country
  2. Embassy of the country of study in the U.A.E.
  3. U.A.E. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Obtain the Certificate of Equivalency of your high school qualification from the Ministry of Education in the UAE. You should apply online through the Ministry's website: www.moe.gov.ae (under the EServices section, go to Service Catalog)
- Equivalency letter is required from the U.A.E. Ministry of Education for all students except students who graduated from a school following UAE Ministry System
Additional Admissions Requirements for the Engineering Programs
In addition to satisfying the above requirements, Engineering applicants must fulfill the below requirements:

Demonstrate good academic standing of secondary school coursework in Math, Physics, and one Science subject (e.g., Chemistry or Biology).

Students graduating with the UAE Ministry of Education high school diploma should fulfill the below high school subject average requirements:

MOE track Minimum subject average requirement

Elite 75%

Advanced 80%

General 90%
(to be admitted on a case-by-case basis)

Students graduating from other high school systems should consult with the Admissions office for the specific grade requirements for the required subjects.

Computer Placement: Computer proficiency will be determined by the university’s Computer Proficiency Exam prior to their first term of admission into the Engineering programs. A student who fails the Exam will be required to enroll in and pass COMP 101 within his or her first term of admission. In such cases, COMP 101 credit will not count towards any of the School of Engineering program requirements.

Conditional Admission – School of Engineering
Applicants who do not meet the above requirements in math, physics, and one science may be admitted conditionally to an Engineering program for a maximum of two terms (Excluding semesters with Foundation Math courses). During that period, the student must satisfy the following requirement(s) in order to gain full admission to their Engineering program:
- Applicants who do not satisfy the math requirement must pass Developmental Math, or pass MATH210 with a min. grade of C
- Applicants who do not satisfy the physics requirement must pass PHYS201 with a grade of C or higher
- Applicants who do not satisfy the second science coursework in high school must pass BIOL201 or CHEM201 with a min. grade of C
Additional Admissions Requirements for the Biology Program

In addition to satisfying the above requirements, students applying to the Bachelor of Science in Biology program must demonstrate good academic standing in at least one Science subject (Physics, Chemistry, or Biology) by submitting minimum grade of 70% on high school science subject.
Additional Admissions Requirements for the Architecture Program
In addition to satisfying AUD’s general admissions requirements, students who are admitted to the B.Arch. the program must submit a portfolio online (http://applyonline.aud.edu/arch/), consisting of:
- Three artworks of the student’s production, which may include but are not limited to paintings, drawings, photographs, models, calligraphy, or animation – please note that relevance to architecture is encouraged;
- A short paragraph commenting on each work of art;
- Photos of three buildings selected worldwide;
- A short paragraph justifying the choice of each of the three buildings (100 words);
An email confirmation will be sent to applicants upon submission of their application. If all required documents are submitted with the application, the Admissions Committee will inform the applicant of their decision within one week. Applicants with incomplete applications will be notified by email at the time of application about the documents required for the admission decision to be issued.
Your Test Scores
English Requirements:
Students should demonstrate the minimal standards of proficiency in English language through submission of the required TOEFL/Academic IELTS. To be admitted to any of AUD undergraduate programs, applicants must submit the below scores prior to the start of the semester:
- IELTS Academic 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 79 or TOEFL ITP 550
  Students who achieve a minimum score of 6 on Academic IELTS or 68 on TOEFL iBT or 520 on TOEFL ITP will still be accepted as degree candidates and will be enrolled in ENGL100: Developmental English (refer to section developmental on Developmental Studies)
- Students who do not achieve the minimum scores may be placed at the appropriate level of the English Bridge program and cannot register for degree program courses.
American University in Dubai is an ETS TOEFL ITP® authorized testing center. To check further regarding the test details and booking, please click here

Math Requirements
Students must demonstrate the minimal standards of proficiency in mathematics by submitting any of the below scores (per chosen program of study) or by passing the Math placement test at AUD*

Test/Program Engineering, Biology BBA, B.Arch BFA (Interior Design Visual Comm), BA (International Studies, Psychology) BCIS

SAT** 590 560 560

*Students who do not pass the placement test will be placed in the appropriate developmental MATH course. (Please refer to the Developmental studies section below)
**AUD’s international code for SAT is 2688

Exemptions from English and Math Requirements
Students who have the equivalent of English or Math transferred from another recognized university or from advanced high school curricula (IB, A-Level, AP, etc.) will be exempted from submitting test scores or taking placement tests.

Placement exam dates and sample questions are available here
Your Personal Information
- Passport photocopy with validity page (and Ethbara page for UAE nationals)
- Photocopy UAE Residency Visa
- Photocopy Emirates ID (both sides)
- Army Exemption Letter (for UAE nationals)
- Completed Health History Form. This form must be signed and stamped by a Physician.
Financial Requirements

Non-refundable application fee of AED 420. A reservation deposit (non-refundable) of AED 5,000, which is fully applied toward tuition, is required upon acceptance for admission.
To pay seat reservation deposit, click here.
For tuition fee payment, click here.

Full balance of tuition is required at least one month prior to the beginning of the term.
University Transfer Students
In addition to satisfying AUD’s general admissions requirements, students transferring into AUD should submit:
- Official/attested transcripts reflecting courses for which transfer credit is sought (Transfer Students must be in good academic standing [i.e., with a minimum 2.0 CGPA on a 4.0 scale or equivalent] at the institution from which they are transferring. AUD may require higher than this 2.0 minimum CGPA. As this depends on the university from which the student is transferring, all transfer applicants should consult the AUD Admissions Office for the requirement pertinent to his or her institution).
- Students transferring from US accredited universities are required to submit an official sealed transcript or and E-transcript directly to the Admissions Office.
- Students transferring from non-US accredited universities should submit an official transcript bearing the original stamp from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE Embassy in the country of study.
- Confirmation of university records. Form should be e-mailed directly from the student’s university to the Admissions Office at AUD.
- Syllabi for all courses for which transfer credit is sought (Students should be aware that they will be held responsible for enrolling in any course at AUD prior to receipt of required course descriptions.). Separately, requests for transfer credit that accompany late applications (i.e., those received two months or less prior to the original date of entry) may not be processed prior to the beginning of the semester of first enrollment.
Transfer credit is accepted by AUD solely at its discretion. In the case of courses taken five (5) or more years prior to enrollment, the “age” of such courses may be reason for refusal of transfer credit, contingent upon the assessment of the Dean, Associate Dean or Chair of the academic unit for which transfer credit is sought.

In order for AUD to consider transferring credit from an institution, this institution must be licensed or officially recognized by the Department/Ministry of Education of the country where it is in operation.

For the Bachelor of Architecture, courses transferred from NAAB non-accredited program will have to satisfy the Course Learning Outcomes and the Students Performance Criteria of the program. See B.Arch Transcript Evaluation Form.
Advanced standing credit (A ‘levels, AP, IB, French Bac, German Abitur)

Advanced Standing Credit
Students desiring to request credit evaluations for advanced standing credit (A Levels, Advanced Placement, IB Diploma, French Baccalaureate, German Abitur), should contact the Office of Admissions for information on university processes and procedures for advanced standing.

Advanced Placement (AP)
Examinations provide students with the opportunity to complete college-level coursework while in high school and to gain valuable skills and study habits for college. If a student achieves a qualifying score of 4 or higher on the respective AP Examination, proficiency credit is awarded according to ACE recommendations for the respective lower level course requirements. Students must submit an official AP score report to be evaluated for this proficiency credit award.