Top Universities in UAE

31 universities in UAE with a measured position, 9 of them ranked worldwide.

#UniversityCityWorld rankIn-countryCitations
1 New York University, Abu Dhabi #38 (2026) #16 27,645,621
2 United Arab Emirates University #229 (2026) #2 1,671,813
3 Khalifa University #230 #3 1,119,393
4 Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research #230 #3 1,119,393
5 American University of Sharjah #272 (2026) #4 437,070
6 University of Sharjah #328 (2026) #5 1,081,529
7 Ajman University #440 (2026) #6 208,478
8 Abu Dhabi University #501 (2025) #7 192,583
9 Zayed University #754 #8 232,890
10 Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) not ranked #11 139,047
11 Higher Colleges of Technology not ranked #12 97,951
12 Gulf Medical University not ranked #13 76,207
13 British University in Dubai not ranked #14 65,938
14 Rak Medical & Health Sciences University not ranked #17 49,264
15 University of Wollongong - Dubai Campus not ranked #18 37,512
16 Dubai Medical College for Girls not ranked #20 30,162
17 American University in the Emirates not ranked #21 28,278
18 Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi not ranked #22 24,490
19 American University in Dubai not ranked #23 19,516
20 Jumeira University not ranked #29 2,671
21 Alain University of Science and Technology not ranked #10 140,109
22 Skyline University College, Sharjah not ranked #16 56,121
23 Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University not ranked #19 34,967
24 Dubai Pharmacy College not ranked #24 13,942
25 Rochester Institute of Technology, Dubai not ranked #25 13,825
26 Al Ghurair University not ranked #26 5,552
27 Alhosn University not ranked #28 5,000
28 Al Khawarizmi International College not ranked #27 4,403
29 American College Of Dubai not ranked #30 3,091
30 Ittihad University not ranked #32 719
31 University of Jazeera not ranked #31 712

What the two columns mean

In-country is the position the ranking record gives the university among those in its own country, and it is often the more useful number: a university ranked 480th in the world may still be third at home. It is carried over as published, so it does not always follow the order of the other two columns. World rank is the university's QS World University Rankings position. Citations are the number of times work published by the university has been cited, as recorded in OpenAlex; it is the measure used to order universities that QS does not rank at all.

The two do not always agree. A large research university can out-cite a smaller one that sits above it in QS, because QS weighs reputation surveys and staff ratios as well as research.

Rankings in other countries