The UAE scholarships that international students can actually win are almost all run by universities, not by a single government programme. Full funding exists at graduate level: MBZUAI pays tuition plus a monthly stipend to funded master’s and PhD students, Khalifa University’s top PhD tier pays AED 20,000 a month plus an allowance of up to AED 20,000, and UAEU has a PhD scholarship open to all nationalities. NYU Abu Dhabi gives need-based aid to undergraduates. Most other awards in the UAE are tuition discounts of 10% to 50%, and some are for UAE applicants only.
The nearest deadline as of 24 October 2026 is NYU Abu Dhabi’s Early Decision I financial aid date on 10 November, followed by MBZUAI’s fall 2027 deadline on 15 December 2026. Below I go through each scholarship in the UAE for undergraduate, master’s and PhD students, what it really pays, and which ones are closed to international applicants, using each university’s own pages.
UAE scholarships for international students compared
“Fully funded” in this table means tuition plus a living stipend. Many lists online call every UAE award fully funded; most are tuition discounts that leave you paying the rest of the fees, housing and living costs.
| Scholarship | Level | What it pays | Open to international students? | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBZUAI graduate funding | MSc, PhD (AI fields) | Full tuition, monthly stipend, housing, insurance, flights for funded students | Yes; PhD funded, MSc not automatic | 15 December 2026 |
| Khalifa University graduate scholarship | Master’s, PhD | Tiered: up to full tuition; PhD stipends up to AED 20,000 plus allowance | Yes | 16 March 2027 (fall intake)* |
| Khalifa University undergraduate tiers | Bachelor’s | 25% to 100% tuition plus textbooks | Yes | Set by KU admissions |
| UAEU PhD Scholarship (All Nationalities) | PhD | Full tuition, monthly stipend, health insurance | Yes | Same as graduate admission deadline |
| NYU Abu Dhabi financial aid | Bachelor’s | Need-based grants | Yes | 10 November 2026 (ED I CSS Profile) |
| Emirates Aviation University Chancellor’s Scholarship | Bachelor’s, postgraduate | Up to 100% tuition, up to 10 awards a year | Not stated | Fall semester only |
| Zayed University graduate merit scholarship | Master’s | 10%, 25% or 40% of tuition | Yes, all nationalities | Graduate admission deadline |
| Canadian University Dubai Academic Excellence | Bachelor’s | 10% to 50% tuition | Yes | 7 July 2027 (fall), 20 December 2026 (spring) |
| University of Dubai merit discounts | Bachelor’s | 30% or 50% tuition; 100% for 3 Shaikh Hamdan scholars | Shaikh Hamdan award: any nationality | Set by UD admissions |
| Curtin Dubai PhD studentship | PhD | 100% tuition, AUD 35,000 a year stipend | Not stated | Six-monthly rounds |
| Middlesex University Dubai International Study Grant | All levels | Amount not published | Yes | Rolling, with admission |
*Khalifa University’s fall 2026 graduate deadline was 16 March 2026, so the next one is listed as 16 March 2027 (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens).
Fully funded UAE scholarships for master’s and PhD
MBZUAI (Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence)
MBZUAI in Abu Dhabi is a graduate university for AI and related fields. Funded students get free tuition, a monthly stipend, annual return airfare, health insurance and, where eligible, a UAE residence visa. Its admissions page lists stipends of AED 15,500 a month for international MSc students and AED 17,500 for international PhD students. An older MBZUAI admissions page gives lower figures (AED 8,000 and AED 10,000), so check the amount in your offer letter.
Who gets funded depends on the degree. PhD students are funded centrally in year 1 and then by their faculty advisor from year 2. MSc students are fee-paying by default; funding comes only through merit awards, research or teaching assistantships, or a government scholarship for UAE nationals. The Master in Applied AI is fee-based (AED 170,000 in total) and is not funded.
| MBZUAI fall 2027 cycle | Date (Gulf Standard Time) |
|---|---|
| Portal opened | 1 September 2026, 8am |
| Final application deadline | 15 December 2026, 5pm |
| Decisions | 31 March 2027 |
| Offer response deadline | 15 April 2027 |
- Grades: minimum CGPA of 3.0 or 3.5 out of 4.0, depending on the programme.
- Documents: CV, transcripts and degree certificate, statement of purpose, research statement (PhD), English test result, passport, photo, and two referees for MSc or three for PhD.
- Screening exam: every applicant sits one.
- Fee: AED 200, waived if you score above 75% on the screening exam or are admitted.
Khalifa University graduate scholarship for international students
Khalifa University (KU) in Abu Dhabi absorbed the former Masdar Institute, so the “Masdar Institute scholarship” on older lists is now a KU award. You do not apply separately: KU assesses you at admission and places you in one of four tiers. On the PhD research path, tiers I to III pay AED 20,000 a month, and the top tiers add an allowance of up to AED 20,000 subject to approval, in return for a work commitment after graduation. Master’s tiers I and II cover full tuition and free housing but list no monthly stipend.
Every tier, the PhD study path and the Ministry of Education equivalency step are set out in our Khalifa University scholarship guide. KU’s fall 2026 graduate deadline was 16 March 2026.
UAEU PhD Scholarship (All Nationalities)
United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain offers a four-year PhD scholarship with a full tuition waiver, a monthly stipend, health insurance and a bonus of up to AED 3,000 from an external research project. UAEU does not publish the stipend amount on the scholarship page, so I have left it out.
- Grades: at least 3.5 out of 4.0 in your master’s degree, then at least 3.3 during the PhD.
- Research area: a UAE priority sector, such as renewable energy, transportation, health, water, technology or space.
- Funding: no job or other sponsorship while on the award; full-time study of at least 9 credits a semester.
- How to apply: the graduate admission application on the College of Graduate Studies site. The scholarship deadline is the admission deadline.
Undergraduate scholarships in the UAE
NYU Abu Dhabi need-based aid
All NYUAD grants for non-Emirati students are based on financial need, so your family’s finances decide the amount. You file the CSS Profile once before admission. If your parents are divorced or separated, both must file their own profile, or you lose eligibility for grants. The CSS Profile dates are 10 November for Early Decision I, 10 January for Early Decision II and 1 February for Regular Decision, at 11:59pm US Eastern time. NYUAD usually renews aid at the same level each year.
Khalifa University undergraduate tiers
KU’s undergraduate scholarship for international students has five tiers: full tuition, 75%, 50%, 25%, and textbooks only. KU does not publish the grades that place you in each tier.
Emirates Aviation University (Dubai)
| Award | Value | Undergraduate entry | Postgraduate entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chancellor’s Scholarship (up to 10 a year, fall only) | Up to 100% of tuition | 95% in final school year, IELTS 6 | CGPA 3.8/4.0, IELTS 7 |
| Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship (up to 100 a year) | Up to 50% of tuition | 90% in final school year, IELTS 6 | CGPA 3.5/4.0, IELTS 7 |
Neither award covers registration, textbook or partner fees, and Chancellor’s scholars must keep a 3.8 CGPA. The EAU page does not say whether international students qualify, so ask admissions before you count on it.
Canadian University Dubai Academic Excellence Scholarship
CUD’s scholarship policy opens its awards to students of any citizenship who meet admission requirements and study full time. The waiver depends on your school-leaving average:
| School average | Tuition waiver | CGPA to keep it |
|---|---|---|
| 99% to 100% | 50% | 3.98 to 4.0 |
| 95% to 98.9% | 40% | 3.95 to 3.97 |
| 90% to 94.9% | 30% | 3.90 to 3.94 |
| 85% to 89.9% | 20% | 3.85 to 3.89 |
The top merit award at CUD is 50%, not the 100% waiver some lists describe. Fall awards last a year if you keep the CGPA; spring awards last a semester.
University of Dubai
- Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Scholarship: 100% for three students a year of any nationality, in business, engineering and IT, or law.
- Merit discount: 50% for the full programme with a school score of 95% or more (keep a 3.5 CGPA), or 30% with 90% or more (keep 3.3).
- International Students Scholarship: a partial award for students who finished high school outside the UAE; the amount is not published.
UD’s discounts do not apply to PhD students.
Partial UAE scholarships at other universities
Several Dubai branch campuses advertise generous awards, but read who they are for. At Middlesex University Dubai, the Academic Excellence Scholarship (10% to 50%) is for UAE applicants only. International students get the International Study Grant, whose amount you have to ask admissions about, plus the Teacher Study Grant (20% or 25%) if you work in a school. Curtin Dubai’s fully funded options are a PhD studentship (100% tuition and AUD 35,000 a year for up to three years), one Zafar Siddiqi award a year for students from low-income families, and two KHDA Dubai Top Achievers places a year for any nationality.
Zayed University gives graduate merit scholarships to entering students of every nationality automatically: 10% of tuition with a CGPA of 3.20 to 3.59, 25% with 3.60 to 3.79 and 40% with 3.80 or higher. That is lower than the 50% figure that circulates online. Abu Dhabi University lists seven scholarships but does not say which ones international students can hold, so email admissions@adu.ac.ae before relying on one.
How to apply for scholarships in the UAE
- Pick by funding first: if you cannot pay fees or living costs, only MBZUAI, KU, UAEU PhD, NYUAD and the few single-place full awards are realistic.
- Apply for admission: at almost every UAE university the scholarship decision comes with the admission decision. KU, Zayed and MBZUAI assess you for funding without a separate scholarship form.
- Prepare English scores: EAU asks for IELTS 6 (undergraduate) or 7 (postgraduate); other universities set their own minimums.
- Start degree attestation early: UAE universities need your certificates recognised by the UAE Ministry of Education, which can mean notarisation, translation and embassy attestation at home.
- Get the stipend in writing: amounts differ by tier, programme and year, and some universities show different figures on different pages.
If the Gulf suits you, compare these with Qatar government scholarships and Kuwait scholarships without IELTS, which have different rules on stipends and language tests.
FAQs on UAE scholarships for international students
Are there fully funded scholarships in the UAE for international students?
Yes, mainly at graduate level. MBZUAI PhD students, Khalifa University’s top PhD tiers and UAEU’s PhD scholarship pay tuition plus a stipend; at undergraduate level, NYU Abu Dhabi’s aid depends on financial need.
Is university free in the UAE for foreigners?
No. Free public university education is for Emirati citizens. International students pay fees unless a scholarship or waiver covers them.
What is the MBZUAI application deadline for fall 2027?
15 December 2026 at 5pm Gulf Standard Time. Decisions come on 31 March 2027.
Do Khalifa University master’s scholarships pay a stipend?
KU’s scholarship page lists no monthly stipend for master’s students. Tiers I and II cover full tuition and free housing, and the fall deadline is 16 March 2027 based on this year’s date.
Wondering about the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs award? Our UAE MoFA scholarship post explains who it is for.
Sources and updates
Figures come from each university’s own pages: the MBZUAI admission process page and its admissions overview, Khalifa University’s graduate and undergraduate scholarship pages for international students and its postgraduate admission page, UAEU’s PhD Scholarship (All Nationalities) page, NYU Abu Dhabi’s scholarships and financial aid page, Emirates Aviation University’s scholarships page, the Canadian University Dubai scholarship policy, the University of Dubai scholarships and discounts page, Curtin Dubai and Middlesex University Dubai scholarship pages, Zayed University’s graduate application page and Abu Dhabi University’s scholarships page. Checked on 24 October 2026. I will update this page when Khalifa University and UAEU publish their fall 2027 deadlines.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
