Revealed: List of UAE universities whose degrees receive automatic recognition

Dubai: Wondering if your university degree will be automatically recognised by UAE authorities?

The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), which has launched a groundbreaking automatic recognition initiative, has released a list of higher education institutions whose degrees are now automatically recognised under the first phase of the initiative.

This follows the ministry’s announcement on Wednesday that students graduating from 34 UAE-based universities and other higher education institutions can now have their educational qualifications recognised automatically.

The move eliminates paperwork and speeds up graduates’ transition to employment or postgraduate studies.

Since its launch last year, more than 25,000 graduates have benefited from the service, marking a major shift away from traditional bureaucratic processes that previously required physical document submissions and manual verification.

Complete list revealed

The UAE higher education institutions currently included in the automatic recognition scheme are:

• United Arab Emirates University
• Zayed University
• Higher Colleges of Technology
• Ajman University
• Abu Dhabi University
• University of Sharjah
• Khalifa University
• Al Ain University
• University of Dubai
• RAK Medical and Health Sciences University
• City University Ajman
• American University of Sharjah (AUS)
• Abu Dhabi Polytechnic
• Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
• American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK)
• Heriot-Watt University Dubai
• University of Wollongong in Dubai
• American University in Dubai
• Canadian University Dubai
• Amity University Dubai
• Al Qasimia University
• Jumeira University
• Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation
• Al Wasl University
• The British University in Dubai
• Imam Malik College for Sharia and Law
• Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Mohamed bin Zayed University for Humanities
• Fatima College of Health Sciences
• Rabdan Academy
• American University in the Emirates
• Gulf Medical University
• Liwa College

Seamless government services

The initiative is a key component of the UAE’s zero government bureaucracy efforts, enabling graduates to meet government, residency, and visa requirements without additional qualification recognition procedures.

The ministry offers electronic tools to support qualification recognition, including verification of ministry-issued recognitions and digital reports for qualifications issued outside the UAE, ensuring data reliability and ease of use for relevant authorities.

The automatic recognition system will be expanded to include Emirati students studying abroad under ministry-supervised scholarships, ensuring seamless access to government services from anywhere in the world.