Graduate Admissions Overview
STEP 1: Review the admission criteria for each of our programs below
STEP 2: Required documentation
- Complete online application form (view ‘New MSc/PhD’ application guide here | view ‘PhD articulation’ application guide here)
- CV (with academic background, work experience, research publications, and programming/coding skills)
- Official Bachelor’s degree transcript and degree certificate or expected graduation letter
- Official Master’s degree transcript and degree certificate or expected graduation letter (only for PhD applicants with a Master’s degree)
- Referee recommendations (minimum of 3 for PhD applicants and 2 for MSc applicants)
- Research Statement (only for PhD applicants) (make sure to upload in pdf form)
- Statement of Purpose (make sure to upload in pdf form)
- Valid English language proficiency certificate (must meet the admission criteria and required upon admission)
- Valid passport copy
- Valid Pakistan national identity card copy (only for Pakistan nationals)
- Photo with white background
- Entrance exam (highly recommended but applicants may opt out from the exam)
- Valid Emirates ID
- Valid passport copy with unified ID number
- UAE national service completion/exemption letter (only for UAE national males)
- Family book (or UAE national mother’s family book, for children of Emirati mothers)
- UAE birth certificate (only for children of Emirati mothers)
- UAE national mother’s valid Emirates ID (only for children of Emirati mothers)
- UAE national mother’s valid passport copy (only for children of Emirati mothers)
- Valid UAE visa (only for non-GCC children of Emirati mothers)
- Valid UAE visa
- Valid Emirates ID
STEP 3: Decide on the program you’re interested in and submit your complete application through the online application portal by the “Regular Deadline”
Only one application per admission cycle must be submitted; multiple submissions are discouraged.
| Application portal opens | Regular deadline | Decision notification date | Late deadline |
| 1st October 2024 (8:00 AM UAE time) |
15th January 2025 High-calibre applicants who apply by the ‘Regular Deadline’ and have complete applications (including the required recommendations) will be given full consideration. |
31st March 2025 (5:00 PM UAE time) |
31st May 2025 The online application portal will remain open until the ‘Late Deadline’. We do not guarantee that these late applications will be given full consideration. |
STEP 4: Make sure that your application file is complete and has all the required referee recommendations
You may view the document and referee recommendation submission status through the ‘Manage Documents’ and ‘Manage Referees’ links, respectively, of your online application portal.
STEP 5: Prepare for the online screening exam
All applicants with complete files, including the required number of recommendations, will be invited to participate in an online screening exam to assess their knowledge and skills. Guidelines are available in the admission criteria section of the offered programs’ webpages: Master’s programs | Ph.D. programs. Completion of the exam is not mandatory but highly encouraged as it would provide additional information to the evaluation committee. Waiving the exam is only recommended for those students who can provide strong evidence of their research capability, subject matter expertise, and technical skills.
STEP 6: Technical Interview
A subset of applicants will be invited to a technical interview with admission committee members. Instructions will be provided before the interview.
STEP 7: Wait for the decision
All complete applications submitted by the regular deadline (January 15th, 5:00 PM UAE time) will be reviewed by the admissions committee. We expect to send out notifications for all applicants in this group by 31st March 2025 (5:00 PM UAE time). Late applications, on the other hand, will be processed only as needed.
Credit transfer
Students applying for admission who wish to transfer credit from a federal or licensed institution in the UAE, or a foreign institution of higher learning based outside the UAE and accredited in its home country must provide evidence, as outlined in the admission procedure, which will allow the Academic Committee to make a determination regarding the transfer.
- The limit for the number of transfer credits which may be accepted for a specific degree program is 25 per cent of total credit hours for MSc and Ph.D. programs.
- Transfers will only be permitted for students who are in good academic standing and who are eligible to return to their current or former institution.
- MBZUAI will accept the transfer of credits only for courses relevant to the degree that provide equivalent learning outcomes and in which the student earned a grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or better.
- The grade of the transfer credit course will be recorded as a “TC” on the transcript record. The approved transfer credits will be calculated towards the credit hours but not included in GPA calculation.
- The course transfer credits may not have been used previously in any graduate program to fulfil the requirement of any other graduate degree.
- The course credits must have been completed no more than a maximum of (2) years prior to the student’s acceptance into the program of MBZUAI.
- The MBZUAI Academic Committee will have the ultimate right to accept or reject the transfer requests for any student.
All applications for transfer credit to M.Sc. or Ph.D. programs must be submitted online providing all required documentation.
Scholarships
MBZUAI offers students a choice of graduate programs in a modern and innovative university setting, located in the thriving capital of the UAE. Combining a contemporary education system and robust curriculum with the rich culture and heritage of Abu Dhabi, MBZUAI offers an experience like no other.
All students admitted on a full-time basis are granted the privilege to complete their study with a full scholarship. However, to maintain the scholarships, stipends and other benefits, students are expected to maintain high academic standing, comply with the university code of conduct, and fulfil certain requirements during their study tenure.
The scholarship includes:
- 100% free tuition fee
- On-campus student accommodation
- Health insurance and UAE visa sponsorship for non-UAE nationals
- Monthly stipend (subject to the University’s rules and regulations, as mentioned in the University Catalogue)
- International and UAE resident students
- MSc: AED 8,000
- PhD: AED 10,000 (Married PhD students may request to live off-campus and receive an additional AED 5,000 housing allowance subject to approval and submission of official documents.)
- UAE national students
- MSc: AED 30,000 (single) or AED 33,000 (married; will require the submission of official documents)
- PhD: AED 36,000 (single) or AED 39,000 (married; will require the submission of official documents)
- International and UAE resident students
Students may refer to the University Catalogue available on the university website for information regarding their financial entitlements and obligations.
Contact admissions office
Applicants are encouraged to contact the Admission team via email at admission@mbzuai.ac.ae or by completing the form below. Inquiries and requests emailed to the Admission team during the working hours (https://mbzuai.ac.ae/about/contact/) are processed based on the order of receipt and within a standard response timeframe of three business days. On the other hand, those received after working hours, on the weekends and during public holidays may take longer to be processed.