4 Facts About Earning an Undergrad Degree in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates has earned a reputation as a world-class travel destination. But it also stands out as an attractive place to study abroad, drawing a steady stream of international students to its universities scattered across seven emirates.

Some 64,119 international students studied in the UAE during the 2012-2013 academic year, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The data show that the majority were Arab international students coming from Syria, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen, as well as a large number of students from India.

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, leads the United Kingdom in attracting students from Arab countries and has become the third most popular destination, followed by France and the U.S., for students from the region, according to the institute. Prospective Arab international students should keep the following four facts about the country's universities in mind as they weigh their options.

1. Universities offer a variety of scholarships. A big draw for students is the ability to study in the UAE on scholarship. Jordanian national Yazeed Sharaiha is studying applied foreign languages at Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, a branch campus of a French university, and received a scholarship that pays 25 percent of his tuition fees. At Sorbonne, scholarship and housing assistance are given to undergrads only, with the latter covering between 20 percent and 80 percent.

"I see that the UAE is the best place. It's modern, open-minded and beautiful," says Sharaiha. "And for Sorbonne, I didn't want to study in English. I prefer French."

Al Ghurair University in Dubai offers merit scholarships regardless of nationality, depending upon a student's high school grade-point average, says Ameer A. Al-Bayati, dean of student affairs. He says the university also offers special discount programs for Palestinian and Syrian students as long as they maintain a certain GPA during college. The percentage of the discount in some cases is up to 100 percent, depending on the student's GPA, Al-Bayati says.

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2. International students can take advantage of the country's rosy employment outlook. Job prospects are looking bright. Year over year, the UAE has had the highest rise in employment opportunities compared with neighboring countries, with the health care industry the largest generator of employment opportunities, according to the Monster Employment Index released earlier this month.

Anna Dechert, director of admissions at New York University Abu Dhabi, says many of the school's students are drawn to it because of the "opportunities within the UAE for Arab expatriates across a broad range of industries."

The school has career counselors who work with students to identify internship and job opportunities. It holds biannual career fairs in September and February that bring about 50 organizations to recruit for volunteer opportunities, internships and full-time jobs.

Dechert says the school provides students with an academic environment that they can use "to launch a career that perhaps brings them back to their home country further down the line."

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3. Students have access to a variety of U.K. and U.S. branch campuses. From Rochester Institute of Technology to Middlesex University, the UAE has the highest number of branch campuses in the world, with the majority in Dubai. Degrees from these schools are recognized worldwide. Students can choose between U.K. universities that require students decide on a major early on and U.S. universities that give students time to ease into their major of choice, among other options.

Egyptian national Abdallah Youssef says he chose the UAE for its well-established education system. He selected Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, a branch campus of a U.K. institution, for its one-year preparatory program for a bachelor's in engineering.

"I joined the program in order to gather enough information about the types of engineering studies and decide my major at the end," says Youssef.

An advantage of U.K. and U.S. branch campuses is that they often allow students to study at the home campus as part of their program. Heriot-Watt offers intercampus transfers where students can spend one semester or more at the U.K. home campus or the other branch campus in Malaysia.

Sudanese national Hamam Elkhidir Ahmed Suliman, also in Heriot-Watt's preparatory program in civil engineering, applied to and was offered the opportunity to spend two years in Dubai and the other two years in Scotland.

Suliman says in Sudan, "undergraduate studies are not good" and says the courses are limited and no British or American branch campus universities exist in the country.

"I always wanted to study at a top-ranked university in the U.K. or U.S.," says Suliman, who was drawn to the UAE for its large number of branch campuses. "I applied to a lot and got lots of offers from different schools but Heriot-Watt is the best in civil engineering."

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4. Studying in the UAE is an international experience. The UAE is host to many national and international competitions, conferences and conventions. This is in line with the country's vision to transition to a knowledge-based economy and promote innovation, research and development.

Palestinian Rami Salahat, who received a full scholarship and is studying computer science and engineering at Al Ghurair University, won first place in the scientific innovation category in the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance competition. Salahat competed against students of different nationalities from various UAE universities.

"I am definitely participating in future national and international competitions, conferences and events," says Salahat. These competitions and events allow him to explore his limits and develop new technical and social skills and abilities, he says.

Heriot-Watt student Suliman says he appreciates that the UAE is such an international country, which attracts people from all parts of the world, giving him exposure to different cultures and perspectives. Having visited the country many times before moving, he says he feels welcomed and at home in the UAE.

"UAE is located at the center of the world," says Suliman, who plans to pursue his master's degree there and work in the UAE. "They are used to international students and tourists more than other MENA countries, because the country is developing very fast."

See the complete rankings of the Best Arab Region Universities.

Anayat Durrani is a Los Angeles-based freelance education reporter for U.S. News, covering Arab region universities.