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
UAE Ministry’s requirement for Business and Engineering
Effective fall 2021, the UAE Ministry of Education introduced reforms for Emirati and UAE residents enrolling in business and engineering program at all universities in the UAE. The reforms include High School Averages as well as minimum EmSAT scores. Please note, the minimum requirements for these programs are set by the UAE Ministry of Education; however, AUD requires higher scores to waive the placement exams required for admissions. Please consult with the Office of Admissions at myapplication@aud.edu.

FOR BUSINESS STUDIES:
- EmSAT score of 600 in Mathematics or SAT Math score 350
- EmSAT score of 600 for Arabic Language; for international students who have studied outside the UAE, they can register for a non-credit Arabic course at AUD
- A minimum High School Average of 70% for Advanced or Elite Track or 75% for General Track
FOR ENGINEERING STUDIES:
- EmSAT score of 600 for Arabic Language or the equivalent score on AUD’s Arabic placement exam*
- EmSAT score of 900 in Mathematics or SAT Math score of 450
- EmSAT score of 800 in Physics or Physics AP with a grade of 3 or above
*Alternatively, non-native Arabic speakers, or students who have not taken Arabic in the last 3 years in high school, can enroll in a non-credit MEST 095 Introduction to Arabic course. The course fee is 525 AED. To access the course, you need to register and pay via this link: https://modules.aud.edu/. Upon completing MEST 095, you will be able to register for the following required Arabic course as per your program sequence.

This requirement MUST be completed within your first semester at AUD; otherwise, you will be asked to transfer to another program that requires a lower EMSAT score.
Additional Requirements - If you are seeking admission to the Engineering Program
Engineering applicants should have a good knowledge of Physics and Math in high school. Students graduating from UAE schools and applying for Engineering should fulfill as part of the UAE Ministry of Education guidelines:

High School Average of 75% for Elite Track, or, 80% for Advanced Track
- EmSAT score of 900 in Mathematics or SAT Math score 450
- EmSAT score of 800 in Physics or 600 on SAT Physics subject test
- EmSAT score of 600 in Arabic Language
Math Placement: Placement into an appropriate math course will be determined by the university-administered ACCUPLACER™ Exam.

Engineering applicants with a SAT Math score of 560 will be placed in MATH104 and score of Math 590 in MATH210 or equivalent Students who have the equivalent of MATH 210 transferred from another recognized university or from advanced high school curricula (A-level, AP, etc.) will be exempted from taking this Exam.

Computer Placement: Computer proficiency will be determined by the university’s Computer Proficiency Exam prior to their first term of admission into Engineering. 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.
Additional Requirements - If you are seeking admission to the Architecture Program
Students applying to the Architecture Program must also provide the following:
- A portfolio to be submitted online via http://applyonline.aud.edu/arch/ consisting of three artworks of the student’s production, which may include but is not limited to paintings, drawings, photographs, models, calligraphy or animation (relevance to architecture is encouraged), along with a short paragraph commenting on each piece.
- Photos of three buildings selected worldwide along with a short paragraph justifying the choice of each of the three buildings (100 words).
- Students applying for the B.Arch. program are required to sit for the Math Accuplacer exam at AUD. Math readiness and placement into an appropriate math course (MATH105 or MATH205) will be determined by the university administered ACCUPLACER™ Exam.
Your Test Scores
- English Requirements:
  English placement test are required for admissions. If you have taken any international/national exams (TOEFL/IELTS/EMSAT), please submit them with your application for evaluation. AUD's international code for TOEFL® is C005.
  
  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:
  Applicants with a SAT score of 560 will be exempt from taking the Math Accuplacer™ exam, except for Engineering students. Architecture students with the above score may register directly in MATH105 (Precalculus for architecture), those willing to register in MATH 210 (Calculus for architecture), will have to sit for the AUD Accuplacer and test out of MATH105. AUD’s international code for SAT is 2688.
- Computer Requirements:
  Computer Placement: Computer proficiency will be determined by the university’s Computer Proficiency Exam prior to their first term of admission into Engineering. 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.
- Arabic Requirements:
  Arabic placement test are required for admissions. Placement into an appropriate Arabic course will be determined by the university-administered exam. Applicants with an EMSAT Arabic score can check their placement level with the Admissions Office.
  
  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.
Transfer Student and 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 3 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.

In addition to the above 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 or equivalent in their country of attendance.
- 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.