Universities in Dubai: The Full List

List of universities in Dubai (61 institutions)

The table lists 61 degree-awarding institutions with a campus or centre in Dubai. Each one appeared as active on the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) institution list, on KHDA's higher education directory, or on both, when we checked in October 2026. Search the table by name, area or country, or sort by type.

Not in the table: institutions the CAA list marks as licence revoked or inactive (for example Al Ghurair University, Al Dar University College, American College of Dubai, University of South Wales Dubai and Michigan State University Dubai). If a website or agent is still promoting one of these, treat that as a warning sign.

Who licenses universities in Dubai: CAA, MoHESR and KHDA

Two regulators matter, and many universities now hold both approvals.

• Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), through its Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA), licenses institutions and accredits programmes at federal level. This is the approval that federal employers and the ministry's attestation service look for.
• Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is Dubai's education regulator. It has long issued permits to universities in Dubai's free zones, such as Dubai Knowledge Park and Dubai International Academic City, and checks that programmes match the home campus.

Since early 2025 the two systems have been joining up. In February 2025 MoHESR announced federal licences, issued in coordination with KHDA, for 16 Dubai institutions including Curtin, Murdoch, Middlesex, BITS Pilani, Manipal, Hult, Georgetown and the University of Manchester. The ministry said this lets students obtain ministry approval of certificates and transcripts. Middlesex and Curtin both state that the CAA granted their institutional licence on 9 January 2025.

Dubai Academic City and Knowledge Park universities

Most private and branch campuses cluster in two free zones run by TECOM Group.

Dubai International Academic City (DIAC)

DIAC, on the Al Ain Road side of the city, hosts the larger teaching campuses with student housing nearby. Universities in Academic City listed by KHDA include Amity, Murdoch, Curtin, BITS Pilani, Manipal, the University of Birmingham Dubai, the British University in Dubai, S P Jain, Saint Joseph University and ESMOD. The federal campuses of Zayed University and HCT are in the same area, as are the University of Dubai and the American University in the Emirates.

Dubai Knowledge Park (DKP)

DKP, near Al Barsha and the Dubai Internet City metro stops, suits working students. Knowledge Park universities on KHDA's directory include Heriot-Watt, Middlesex, the University of Wollongong in Dubai, the University of Bradford, the University of Manchester's Dubai centre, SAE, Strathclyde, EM Normandie, Plekhanov, Symbiosis and Abu Dhabi University's Dubai campus.

DIFC and other areas

Business schools focused on executive and part-time study sit in DIFC: London Business School, City, ESCP, SKEMA, Georgetown and Paris II Pantheon-Assas, plus Istituto Marangoni. Others are spread out: AUD in Dubai Media City, RIT in Dubai Silicon Oasis, DIDI in Dubai Design District and Canadian University Dubai at City Walk.

Public, private and branch campus universities in Dubai

Public universities in Dubai. Two federal institutions have Dubai campuses: Zayed University and the Higher Colleges of Technology. Federal places are mainly for Emirati students. Zayed University's fee page charges non-national students AED 2,500 per credit hour and applies tuition to UAE nationals only in specific cases, such as self-funding students (ZU fee page, Oct 2026). Dubai's government also runs institutions such as Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (online and blended), MBRU (medicine and health) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government.

Private universities in Dubai. UAE-founded private universities include AUD, the University of Dubai, Canadian University Dubai, the American University in the Emirates and the British University in Dubai. They award their own degrees, usually on a US-style credit-hour system.

International branch campuses. Most universities in Dubai are branches of overseas universities, awarding the home university's degree. According to Dubai's Government Media Office (July 2025), 37 of Dubai's 41 international higher education providers are branch campuses. See UK, Australian, Indian and US universities in Dubai.

Dubai universities by subject: business, BBA, law and masters

• Business universities in Dubai and BBA: almost every private and branch campus offers a BBA or business degree. Examples with published fees include Manipal (BBA day programme AED 50,925 a year for the September 2026 batch) and Amity (AED 2,100 per credit hour, 123 credits) (university fee pages, Oct 2026). Compare more on the undergraduate courses page.
• Law universities in Dubai: options on the CAA list include Imam Malik College for Sharia and Law, Amity (BBA LLB) and Middlesex (LLM programmes). Check whether a law degree leads to practice in the UAE or abroad; that depends on the jurisdiction, not the university.
• Dubai universities for masters: DIFC schools focus on MBAs and executive masters; Knowledge Park campuses run evening and weekend masters. See MBA in Dubai.
• Medicine and health: MBRU, Dubai Medical University, Fakeeh and Batterjee. See medical universities in UAE.
• Online universities in Dubai: HBMSU is the main federally licensed online university based in Dubai. MoHESR said in 2025 that some distance and online programmes may get conditional approval, so check the programme before enrolling.

Top universities in Dubai: rankings and KHDA ratings

For Dubai top universities, look at two different signals.

• Global rankings. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, the Dubai-based institutions ranked in their own right are Canadian University Dubai (616), the American University in Dubai (620), Zayed University (588, a federal university with a Dubai campus) and the University of Dubai (781 to 790), as reported by Khaleej Times. Branch campuses carry their home university's rank: Dubai's Government Media Office cited the University of Manchester (35th), University of Birmingham (76th), Curtin (183rd) and Wollongong (184th) in QS 2026.
• KHDA ratings. KHDA's directory shows overall star ratings from its 2022 higher education classification. Five-star rated institutions include Murdoch, BITS Pilani, Manipal, Curtin, City, London Business School, Hult, Heriot-Watt, Middlesex and Manchester.

For the full ranking tables and what they measure, see best universities in UAE.

How to choose a university in Dubai

New universities in Dubai

Dubai keeps adding campuses. The Government of Dubai Media Office announced in July 2025 that IIM Ahmedabad, the American University of Beirut and Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences would open Dubai campuses for the 2025-26 academic year; all three now appear as active on the CAA list. Other recent arrivals on KHDA's directory include Georgetown University Dubai, EM Normandie, Plekhanov, Symbiosis and Luiss. The same release reported 42,026 students at Dubai's 41 private higher education institutions in 2024-25, a record, with more than 700 programmes on offer.

If you are interested in jobs in universities in Dubai, the institutions in the table above are the employers to watch; most publish vacancies on their own careers pages.