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New York University, Abu Dhabi leads the 36 Public universities in the United Arab Emirates at #38 in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Next come United Arab Emirates University (QS World #229) and Khalifa University (QS World #230). Across the whole list there are 313 courses to choose from.
36 universities · ranked best first
how we rankPublic University · 25 courses
Public University · 4 courses
Public University · 3 courses
Public University · 47 courses
Public University · 14 courses
Public University · 33 courses
Public University · 10 courses
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
Public University · 17 courses
Public University · 6 courses
All 6 courses →Public University · 16 courses
Public University · 25 courses
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
Public University · 20 courses
Public University · 52 courses
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
Public University · 2 courses
Public University · 5 courses
Public University · 14 courses
Public University · 20 courses
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
Public University · 0 courses
No course listed yet for this search — see the university's full profile.
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7 of these universities hold a QS World position, from #38 (New York University, Abu Dhabi) to #754 (Zayed University); they are listed first, in that order. The rest are ordered by research impact. United Arab Emirates University has the largest research record in this group, with 1,664,570 citations and an h-index of 335. 5 universities have neither a QS position nor a research record yet and appear at the end, marked "Not yet ranked".
The split is 36 public to 0 private institutions. By location, Abu Dhabi (2), Sharjah (1) and Dubai (1) account for the most of those we can place. The oldest is United Arab Emirates University, founded in 1976. University of Sharjah is the largest, with 17,000 students.
By level: 159 bachelor's, 96 master's, 28 phd / doctorate and 11 professional. The most common subjects are Medicine & Health Sciences (65), Business & Management (55), Engineering (47) and Computer Science & IT (38). The usual length is 4 years and 1–2 years. 100% are full-time. Start dates lean to Fall (98% of courses with a stated intake) and Spring (82% of courses with a stated intake). University of Wollongong - Dubai Campus offers the widest choice, with 52 of these courses.
We hold indicative fees for 4 of these universities. United Arab Emirates University is the least expensive at USD 12,000 a year and Khalifa University the most at USD 15,000; the middle of the range is about USD 14,000. Check each university's own fee page before you budget — figures change every year.
New York University, Abu Dhabi (QS World #38), United Arab Emirates University (QS World #229) and Khalifa University (QS World #230) lead this list. QS World positions come first; the rest are ranked by research impact.
Of those with published fees, United Arab Emirates University is the least expensive at about USD 12,000 a year. Fees are indicative — confirm on the university's site.
36 public and 0 private universities are on this list.
Most listed courses run 4 years, with 1–2 years the next most common.
Fall is the main intake — 98% of courses with a stated start date begin then, and Spring is the second.
University of Wollongong - Dubai Campus, with 52, ahead of University of Sharjah (47).
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