More Students Turning to Non-Public Tertiary Options Than Ever Before

 Enrolment in private higher education institutions in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reached a record high this academic year and is expected to increase next year. This success has been driven by the Emirates’ reputation for safety, flexible visa regulations, governmental support and forward-looking academic programmes.

For the 2024 to 2025 academic year, 42,026 students enrolled at 41 private higher education institutions in Dubai, of which 37 are international campuses.

The number of international students increased by 29% on the previous year, while Emirati student enrolment grew by a record 22%, according to Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority[/url] (KHDA).

Private higher education is strong in Dubai, whereas there are only a handful of public universities, which include branch campuses of Abu Dhabi’s Zayed University and Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. The Dubai government last year announced the creation of Dubai National University.

Leading HE hub

“The UAE has rapidly emerged as a leading higher education hub, particularly since the early 2000s, with significant growth in the past decade.

“Strategic government investment, education-friendly policies, and partnerships with globally ranked universities have positioned the country as a top destination for quality international education,” said Gary Fernandes, associate regional director of the prospect experience and global admissions hub at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, a satellite campus of the Scottish university.

Enrolment for Heriot-Watt's September 2024 and January 2025 Dubai intakes increased by 4.5% year on year, to 5,100 students from 125 nationalities.

Indicative of the growth of private higher education in Dubai, Middlesex University Dubai started in 2005 with just 28 students and today has over 6,300 students from over 127 countries.

“This demand continues to rise, and we anticipate further growth from key markets such as China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt over the next decade, in addition to the strong base across the Indian subcontinent, Africa, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries [which includes the UAE], and Europe,” said Professor Cedwyn Fernandes, pro-vice chancellor and director of Middlesex University Dubai, a satellite campus of the English university.

“These students are not just contributing to enrolment numbers; they are helping shape the future of education in the UAE, driving demand for new programmes, strengthening institutional ties across regions, and ensuring that campuses remain multicultural and globally relevant,” Fernandes noted.

There are 706 programmes at the Emirate's 41 private higher education institutions, with 91 new programmes offered this past year. Programme specialisations with the highest growth are business, at 39%; engineering, at 15%; information technology (IT), at 13%; media and design, at 8%; and education, at 5%, according to the KHDA.

By nationality, students from India account for 42% of enrolments, while 9% come from across the UAE's seven Emirates, 7% from Pakistan, 4% from Egypt, 3% from Russia and Jordan, respectively, and 2% from China, the Philippines, Syria and Lebanon, respectively, according to KHDA, which did not give further information on student nationalities.

An attractive option

India’s Symbiosis International University opened a campus in Dubai in 2024 and has seen strong enrolment, Dr Anita Patankar, the branch's executive director, told University World News.

“While Indian students from across the world continue to form a core part of our student community, we're seeing growing interest from across the GCC, Africa, and Southeast Asia,” she said.

Tougher visa requirements for international students in the United States and Europe, as well as funding cuts for higher education over the past year, have also driven up enrolments in Dubai, other Gulf universities and at private universities in Lebanon, academics told University World News.

Patankar said there has been a “clear global shift” in student preferences for “academic quality, personal safety, and long-term opportunity” in recent years.

“With growing concerns about changing visa policies, political instability, and reduced public funding in traditional study destinations, students and their families are actively seeking environments that offer clarity, security, and future-focused learning,” she said.

The UAE also offers Golden Visas (for investors, entrepreneurs and talented professionals) and Green Visa schemes (for skilled individuals, freelancers or the self-employed), which allow for long-term residency for students, researchers and skilled professionals.

Saleh Yammout, vice president of finance and administration at RIT Dubai, a branch campus of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) New York, said demand for private higher education in Dubai has surged since 2021, following the post-pandemic recovery and economic diversification efforts.

RIT Dubai now caters to 4,500 students and has introduced six research and innovation centres aligned with UAE national government priorities: energy and sustainability; advanced manufacturing; entrepreneurship; smart cities; accessibility; and future foresight.

“We are also scaling faculty recruitment, expanding programme offerings, and strengthening industry partnerships,” Yammout told University World News.

He said that contributing factors to Dubai’s popularity were its strategic location, English-language instruction, internationally recognised degrees, strong employment prospects and a high standard of living.

“The country's tolerance, diversity and emphasis on safety make it an ideal choice for families considering overseas education,” said Yammout.

Demand for specific subjects

Middlesex University’s Fernandes said there has been a shift over the past five to 10 years in demand for certain subjects. “While traditional fields like business, IT, finance, education, and media studies remain strong, there is growing demand for specialised, future-focused areas,” he said, noting this shift is closely tied to the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which prioritises innovation and technology and seeks a doubling in the size of the Emirates’ economy over the next decade.

A key means of achieving this is attracting the world’s best universities and digitalising the economy.

“AI is particularly central to this evolution. With the launch of initiatives like the Dubai AI Campus [a cluster of AI companies] and the integration of AI into national school curricula, the UAE is aligning its educational vision with its AI Strategy 2031, preparing students not just to participate in this transformation but to lead it,” said Patankar.

Symbiosis University is one of five Indian universities with campuses in Dubai and is benefitting from India-UAE bilateral cooperation in education.

The UAE and the wider Gulf region’s demand for business leaders and programmes to diversify the economy has seen strong demand for undergraduate programmes in business and MBA programmes: “Over 70% of our current MBA cohort are already interning with leading companies in Dubai, gaining valuable real-world experience alongside classroom learning,” said Patankar.

Yammout said at RIT Dubai there has been a shift towards technology-focused and innovation-driven programmes: “High-demand areas include cybersecurity, computing programmes, data analytics, and sustainable engineering. We've also seen growing interest in psychology, new media and design, and innovation-led business programmes,” he said.