Universities in Middle East

🇦🇪Dhahran · Est. 1963

A public research university in Dhahran, established in 1963 and known for its strength in engineering and petroleum-related fields. Instruction is in English across bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs, with an emphasis on research.

🇦🇪Riyadh · Est. 1957

A public research university in Riyadh and the first university established in Saudi Arabia, offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees across medicine, engineering, the sciences, business, and the humanities. Arabic is the main language of instruction, with several programs — particularly in medicine, engineering, and the sciences — taught in English.

🇦🇪Doha · Est. 1973

Qatar's national university with the country's largest student body. Most undergraduate programs in English (engineering, business, medicine, computing), with some humanities programs in Arabic.

🇦🇪Thuwal · Est. 2009

A graduate research university on the Red Sea coast offering only master's and PhD programs. All admitted students receive a fellowship covering tuition, monthly stipend, housing, and medical insurance.

🇦🇪Abu Dhabi · Est. 2007

The UAE's top-ranked research university, particularly strong in petroleum engineering, aerospace, and AI (home to MBZUAI partnerships). All instruction in English. Generous scholarships available.

🇦🇪Doha · Est. 2010

A research-focused university in Doha, founded in 2010 as part of Qatar Foundation's Education City. It offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs — alongside executive and professional education — across science and engineering, health and life sciences, public policy, law, and economics, with instruction in English.

🇦🇪Haifa · Est. 1912

Israel's oldest university and a global powerhouse in engineering, computer science, and biotechnology. Three alumni have won the Nobel Prize. International students can apply to the English-taught undergraduate International School of Engineering.

🇦🇪Abu Dhabi · Est. 2010

An NYU portal campus offering a small, highly selective liberal arts and sciences experience. Acceptance rate hovers near 4%. Generous need-based financial aid available to international students, often covering full tuition and travel.

🇦🇪Sharjah · Est. 1997

A private, English-medium university in Sharjah offering an American-model curriculum across engineering, architecture and design, arts and sciences, and business. It awards bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, with merit- and need-based scholarships available.

🇦🇪Muscat · Est. 1986

Oman's national public research university, located in Muscat and established in 1986. Most programs are taught in English across nine colleges spanning engineering, medicine and health sciences, science, and the social sciences, with bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and funded scholarships for eligible students.

🇦🇪Abu Dhabi · Est. 2019

A research university in Abu Dhabi focused entirely on artificial intelligence, offering degrees in fields such as machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing. All instruction is in English, and the university is known for funded graduate study.

🇦🇪Kuwait City · Est. 1966

Kuwait's main public research university, established in 1966 and spanning around 15 colleges including engineering and petroleum, medicine, pharmacy, business, law, and the sciences. Technical and health programs are commonly taught in English, while many humanities and social-science programs are taught in Arabic.

🇦🇪Sakhir · Est. 1986

The national public university of Bahrain, established in 1986, with its main campus in Sakhir. It offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs across colleges including engineering, information technology, business, law, science, and health sciences, with most programs taught in English.