Application Documentation Requirements

Application Documentation Requirements

An applicant must provide the following documents for undergraduate admission: 

1. Completed application form.

2. Original UAE high school certificate or a certified/attested equivalent (approved by the Ministry of Education). 

3. Official documentation of minimum English requirements per program as specified in the charts below (section 2). 

4. Copy of a valid passport and identity card.

5. Four recent passport-size photographs (in color) or in JPEG format file. 

6. Receipt for the non-refundable admission fees as per the current fees structure.

7. If the applicant applies for micro-credentials within the undergraduate program and the micro-credential is: 
   

   • Offered  directly by UD the applicant must meet the admission requirement of the undergraduate program. 

   • With a partnership university or entity, the student must meet the admission requirement of the program and provide written consent to share their data, personal (passport, visa etc.) and related academic documents (transcripts, grades, certificates etc.) with the external entity  in order to meet any necessary requirements to complete the program.

Admission Criteria

Admission Criteria
Applicants must meet the minimum academic requirements for the program of their choice. The specific requirements for each program are provided below:

BBA Admission Policy

Bachelor of Law Admission Policy

As this is a joint  program  between UD and University of London, students are obliged to follow the admission requirements outlined in the below table. 

University of London applications submission takes place every year before the end of September, after the student attends one full year at UD, and successfully completes a total of 30 CHs with a minimum CGPA of 2.0.

Bachelor of Science in Computing and Information Systems

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering

Admission Criteria and Requirements for Visiting Audit Special Students

Visiting Students

1. A visiting student is a student enrolled at another institution who wishes to take courses at UD for transfer back to his/her home university. 

2. A visiting student must present an approval from his/her university regarding the transferability of UD credits to his/her program at his/her home university.

3. A visiting student must submit the relevant application form and register during the scheduled admission/registration periods.  The application for admission must include a copy of his/her passport and four recent photos (JPEG format file) and a copy of his/her latest University Transcript.

4. The visiting student must meet UD’s English language requirements (if the student’s current language of instruction at his original university is not in English). 

5. A visiting student must fully adhere to UD regulations and rules, including attendance. 

6. The cumulative number of credit hours allowed for the registration by the visiting student should not exceed 36 credit hours, and such student cannot register for more than 2 consecutive regular semesters or 4 non-consecutive semesters (Short semesters are not considered as long as the number of credits is not exceeded). Exchange students (i.e. from universities which UD has an MOU are subject to the terms of such agreements).

7. A visiting student may apply for a regular student status after complying with the UD admission requirements of the intended program. Courses studied at UD during the visiting period will be counted if they are associated with the selected program of study.

Audit Students

1. UD allows individuals interested to attend one or more courses as audit students. No limit is set.

2. The candidate must show some evidence of prerequisite knowledge required for auditing the course.  This can be done through a meeting with the course instructor/Program Director/Dean for clarifying this point and the purpose of auditing the course. 

3. Following a positive meeting, the course instructor, Program Director and Dean shall sign the related Application Form, which must be submitted to the Admission Department along with other required documents. The latter usually includes a passport copy and four recent photographs (JPEG format file), among others. 

4. The applicant must pay the regular course and other applicable fees for visiting/short course students before attending any classes.

5. Attendance  is not mandatory, so the applicant will not be issued an attendance certificate.

6. Since homework assignments/examinations are not mandatory, the applicant won’t be issued a transcript. 

7. The course(s) taken as an audit cannot be counted toward a degree offered at UD.

Special/Non-Degree Students  

1. Special students are students who have obtained their undergraduate degrees from UAE-accredited universities and who are interested in taking courses of similar or higher levels at UD for credit but not toward a degree. The students must normally have the necessary academic background or experience to match the level or requirements of the requested course through submitting the latest academic qualification.

2. Special students must meet UD's English language requirements.

3. The maximum number of credits taken shall not exceed 30 UG credits.

4. Special students must comply with attendance and course assessment policies, same as UD students.  

5. The transcript of a special student must clearly show the status of a special student.

6. A special student must submit the application form along with the required documents before the beginning of the semester/term.

7. A special student may apply for a regular student status after complying with UD admission requirements of the intended program. If accepted, the courses taken can be counted toward that degree.

Readmission/Reinstatement for Interrupted UD Students

1. A student who has withdrawn or has canceled his/her registration at UD, may be considered for readmission upon submitting a formal request to the Registration Department.

2. A student dismissed from UD on academic grounds may be re-admitted into a different program in a field different from the one from which the student is transferring.

3. A student dismissed from UD on disciplinary grounds will not be re-admitted into the university, even as a new student. 

4. Applications for undergraduate readmission may be considered if the period of study interruption does not exceed 7 years (14 regular semesters) from the last registered semester. In such a case, the same ID number will be used  and courses taken at UD will be considered. Courses taken outside UD must have a minimum grade of “C”  will be transferred. (See the Transfer Admissions and Courses Policy S6.3 for full details).

5. Applicants for undergraduate readmission will need to meet the current program enrollment requirements as well as ensure exams such as the IELTS and English EmSAT tests are still valid. (EmSAT validity lasts 18 months and IETLS and TOEFL in 2 years). 

6. Applications for re-admission after longer study interruption periods (i.e. >7 years) will be treated as new students (with new ID’s) provided that dismissal from previous study was not based on disciplinary grounds. Restrictions on study programs also apply. 

7. In the case outlined in item G, l only UG courses that were taken at UD may be considered if it aligns with the current curriculum, and will be marked as Transferred as long as the previous grade was at least “C”. Other non-general courses may be considered subject to a challenge exam where the student must score at least 65%. Grades will be reported as “transfer” in the transcript. Graduate courses are not eligible for consideration.

Admission for Interrupted non-UD students  

See Policy S6.3 on Transfer Admissions and Courses.

Transfer Students

Advanced Standing

UD allows academic credit exemption for up to 6 courses (18 CH) for Advanced Placement subjects in the undergraduate programs.  Eligible students can benefit significantly from reduced cost of undergraduate studies and also speed up their graduation in BBA/BS.  For more details, refer to UD Policy S 6.4 on Advanced Standing.

Conditional Probation Admission

A student is considered a conditional student if they do not meet the regular admission criteria. The duration for conditional admission is up to one long semester, during which the student must sign a declaration stating that they will provide the missing documents. A hold will be placed on the student’s account, and they will be dismissed from the program unless they meet the admission conditions. The student can submit the missing documents at any time during the permitted period. Once the student submits the documents and meets the admission conditions, the hold will be voided  by the Registration Department, and the student will be considered as a student who has fully met admission requirements.

Placement Tests

Math Placement Test (MPT) : 

1. Students who do not meet the minimum math requirements must take the UD Math Placement Test (UD MPT).

2. Students can take the UD MPT again within three weeks if they score less than 400 and more than 290 on the first exam.

3. Math II is obligatory for all IT students, regardless of their UD MPT or EmSAT scores.

4. Calculus is obligatory for all Engineering students, regardless of their EmSAT or UD MPT scores.

5. Transfer students who receive credits for Math I or Math II on the basis of courses completed at another institution, are not required to take the MPT.

6. If a student is not satisfied with the Math requirement submitted at the time of admission and wishes to pursue further exemptions, the student is obliged to take the MPT. Based on their score, the student will be placed in the courses applicable to that score.

7. Based on the student's UD Math Placement Test (MPT) score, the table below shows their course placement: 

Table 1:  Math Test Score and Placement

English Placement Test: 

1. Students who do not meet the minimum English requirements must take the UD English Placement Test (UD EPT).

2. Based on the student's UD English Placement Test (EPT) score, the student will be placed in the English remedial course.

General Admission Regulations

The following admission regulations are followed:

1. Applications for admission will be accepted until the announced deadline, which must normally be 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the semester. Applicants will be informed about the admission decision including their eligibility for transfer credits, or the date for any required placement tests, if applicable, within a week from application date.

2. Admission decisions of students into UD are normally valid for only one semester. Students who fail to register will lose their admission status and must resubmit their application as a new applicant.

3. If the student requests to postpone his admission for the following semester on reasonable grounds, the student will not have to repay the non-refundable registration fees.  

4. Applicants should make sure that they have all required documents submitted to  finalize their admission  before course registration begins. 

5. The names of UD students on all university documents are spelled in English exactly as they appear on their passports or identity cards. If the name on a passport or an identity card does not appear in English, it will be spelled according to the applicant’s preference.

6. Applicants, who were denied admission to UD, may file a petition for admission on a conditional basis. These applicants will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for approval by the VPAA. 

7. Students granted conditional admission will be considered At-Risk, and will accordingly be closely monitored by their assigned faculty advisor. 

8. A student status report for conditionally admitted students will be issued at the end of each semester and a hard copy will be archived in the student’s file.

9. Admissions standards for various undergraduate programs are normally assessed every 3 years as part of continuous improvement and enrollment planning, except when need arises.

Policy Overview- Undergraduate Admissions Policy

Definitions and abbreviations: