Admission of UAE nationals to colleges and universities
This page provides information on how UAE nationals can get admission to colleges and universities and how they can seek scholarships at home and abroad.
Admission department
National Admissions & Placement Office (NAPO) is responsible for processing applications only from Emiratis and students whose mothers are Emiratis for admission to institutions of higher education in the UAE.
Expatriate students residing in the UAE and/or international students have to approach each individual higher education institute for registration terms and conditions.
Students who apply through NAPO are required to take EmSAT in English, Math, Science and Arabic tests and achieve the score set by the college/university they desire to get into.
Emirati students with high general school scores are eligible for a scholarship to study abroad under the sponsorship of the UAE's Ministry of Education.
UAE nationals/children of Emirati women who completed secondary education need to fulfil a number of other requirements, which include:
- completing General School Certificate (GSC) or its equivalent and achieving the score set by the desired college/university
- completing the unified online application for higher education and uploading all related documents through the ‘Student portal’
- undergoing a medical check-up.
Students may also apply by accessing the Ministry of Education eService ‘register students in public institutions of higher education’ which requires the student to fill in the registration form and upload required documents.
Note: Those who completed secondary school in the earlier batches/years must contact the desired college/university directly.
Useful links:
- EmSat-The Emirates Standardised Test - Ministry of Education
- FAQs - Ministry of Education
Technical schools
Graduates from Secondary Technical Schools (STS) have the same admission requirements as graduates from government secondary schools.
Applied technology schools
UAE students holding high school certificates from applied technology schools are allowed to join the UAE University. They are primarily admitted to faculties of medicine, health sciences, engineering, information technology, science and food and agriculture subject to the requirements being met. Kindly visit the FAQs page on the website of Ministry of Education.Private schools graduates
UAE nationals who completed secondary education from private schools and are seeking admission to a university, need to fulfil these admission requirements. MoE's website provides specific information for:
- holders of High School Diploma (American curriculum)
- holders of British curriculum GCSE/IGCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education/International General Certificate of Secondary Education)
- holders of International Baccalaureate (IB).
The website of Ministry of Education under the page ‘FAQs’ provides information about application requirements to higher education institutes for high school graduates from private schools.
Further, high school graduates from private schools, which follow curricula other than the public curriculum, must have their certificates equalised.
Accredited tests for equalising private high school certificates include:
Related links:
Scholarships for nationals
Read about government's scholarships for UAE students.
