Agenticum · Thoughts · 7 min read

AI bachelor's degrees in the UAE: three programmes compared

Three UAE institutions now offer an undergraduate degree built around artificial intelligence. This guide compares programme structure, tuition, scholarships and admission requirements, and identifies what to confirm with each university.

Nikolay Zuykov · Agenticum · 2 November 2026

Three ways to get an AI bachelor's degree in the UAE (comparison table)

The short answer: you can choose between MBZUAI's Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence, Khalifa University's BSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, and Canadian University Dubai's (CUD) BSc in Artificial Intelligence. MBZUAI offers its degree in two streams, Business and Engineering. This comparison uses the Engineering stream. All three universities publish tuition and entry rules on their own pages. Where the table says “Ask”, request the information from the admissions office in writing.

	MBZUAI BSc in AI (Engineering)	Khalifa BSc in Robotics and AI	CUD BSc in AI
Credits	At least 120	130 (normal length)	128 credit hours
Length	Within four years	Ask	4 years, 8 semesters
Work experience	6-credit internship after year 2; full-time co-op in year 4	Ask	Professional internship
List tuition	USD 45,000 a year plus cost of attendance (≈ AED 165,262.50 / SAR 168,750)	AED 2,500 per credit hour	AED 2,415.53 per credit hour incl. 5% VAT
Whole degree at list price	Ask	≈ AED 325,000 / SAR 331,858.41 / USD 88,495.58	≈ AED 309,187.84
Scholarships	Merit-based and need-based, covering up to 100% of tuition and cost of attendance	Full tuition for UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers; tiers for international students	Ask
School average	At least 90% overall or equivalent	Ask	Ask
Maths minimum	Ask	80% (Elite/Advanced), 90% (General)	80% in maths, physics and science (listed for engineering applicants on the UAE MoE Advanced track)
English minimum	IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 90, PTE 60 or other accepted tests	IELTS 6.0, EmSAT 1400 or TOEFL iBT 79	IELTS Academic 5.0, TOEFL iBT 61 or TOEFL ITP 500
Accreditation statement	Check the CAA programme list	All programmes CAA-accredited, per Khalifa	Accredited by MoHESR in April 2025
Announced	Not covered here	13 August 2024	9 July 2025

MBZUAI: a BSc in AI with a co-op year

MBZUAI offers its Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence in two streams, Business and Engineering. The Business stream needs no prior coding experience.

The Engineering stream requires students to complete at least 120 credits within four years. In the summer after year 2, students do a six-credit internship. In year 4 they work off-site, full-time, in a co-op placement with a private company, startup, government organisation or academic institution.

Tuition is USD 45,000 a year, plus cost of attendance (about AED 165,262.50 or SAR 168,750 a year). MBZUAI offers merit-based and need-based scholarships that cover up to 100% of tuition and cost of attendance.

MBZUAI's first undergraduate class, in Fall 2025, had 115 students from more than 25 countries. Over 25% of them were UAE nationals.

Khalifa University: BSc in Robotics and AI

Khalifa announced this full-time Bachelor's programme on 13 August 2024.

The programme normally requires 130 credits, split as follows:

48 credits of general education
14 credits of maths and science
62 credits of Robotics and AI core
6 credits of technical electives

Undergraduate tuition is AED 2,500 per credit hour, so 130 credits come to about AED 325,000 at list price (about SAR 331,858.41 or USD 88,495.58).

Scholarships can reduce this. UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers get a scholarship that covers all tuition, and eligible students also get free university accommodation. Khalifa assesses international students on academic merit and other factors and places them in a tier: full tuition (Tier I), or a 75%, 50% or 25% waiver. A scholarship is not guaranteed.

Khalifa states that it is fully licensed and that all its programmes are accredited by the UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA).

Canadian University Dubai: a BSc in AI with an internship

CUD announced its BSc in Artificial Intelligence on 9 July 2025. The School of Engineering, Applied Science and Technology teaches it. The programme comprises 128 credit hours over four years (eight semesters) and includes a professional internship where students apply what they have learned.

According to CUD, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research accredited the programme in April 2025.

CUD publishes a per-credit price: AED 2,300.50 before VAT, or AED 2,415.53 with 5% VAT. CUD lists estimated first-year tuition of AED 79,712.33 for 33 credits. With incidental fees, CUD gives AED 81,948.83 for year 1 (about USD 22,314.18 or SAR 83,678.18). CUD says these yearly figures are estimates for full-time first-year study and include the application fee. Before you apply, ask CUD to confirm the fees for your year of entry.

Admission requirements side by side

Requirement	MBZUAI	Khalifa	CUD
School average	At least 90% overall or equivalent	Ask	Ask
Maths	Ask	80% on Elite/Advanced, 90% on General	At least 80% in maths, physics and science (UAE MoE Advanced track)
IELTS	Academic 6.5	6.0	Academic 5.0
TOEFL iBT	90	79	61
Other English tests	PTE 60 and other accepted tests	EmSAT 1400	TOEFL ITP 500

MBZUAI asks for a recognised high-school qualification with an overall average of at least 90% or equivalent, depending on the curriculum and the competitiveness of the admissions cycle.

On CUD's admissions page, the subject rules appear under the Engineering program. Ask CUD whether these rules apply to BSc in AI applicants. The English minimum shown is CUD's general undergraduate requirement.

Published tuition in AED, SAR and USD, and available scholarships

Programme	AED	SAR	USD	What can reduce it
MBZUAI, per year, plus cost of attendance	≈ 165,262.50	≈ 168,750	45,000	Merit-based and need-based scholarships, up to 100% of tuition and cost of attendance
Khalifa, 130 credits	≈ 325,000	≈ 331,858.41	≈ 88,495.58	Full tuition for UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers; 100%, 75%, 50% or 25% tiers for international students
CUD, year 1 estimate	81,948.83	≈ 83,678.18	≈ 22,314.18	Ask CUD
CUD, 128 credits incl. VAT	≈ 309,187.84	Not converted	Not converted	Ask CUD

These are list prices before any scholarship. For Khalifa and CUD, the SAR and USD amounts are approximate conversions of the AED price. For MBZUAI, the AED and SAR amounts are approximate conversions of the USD price.

At Khalifa, UAE nationals and children of Emirati mothers have their full tuition covered. For international students, Khalifa's tier depends on academic merit and other factors, and a scholarship is not guaranteed.

Deadlines and how to check accreditation yourself

For the current MBZUAI cycle, Early Action closed on 1 November 2026. Regular Decision closes on 1 February 2027.

Use these steps before you apply:

Open each university's undergraduate admissions page and note the deadline for your intake.
Ask for the tuition and scholarship terms for your year of entry by email, so you have them in writing.
Check accreditation for the programme itself, not only the university. Khalifa states that the CAA accredits all its programmes. CUD states that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research accredited its BSc in AI in April 2025. For MBZUAI's BSc in AI, look it up on the CAA list of accredited programmes.
If you studied outside the UAE, or at a UAE private school on a foreign curriculum, you may need a UAE Ministry of Education equivalency certificate for MBZUAI. Ask the other admissions offices which documents they need to recognise your school certificate.

Which one fits you: a short checklist

You want work experience within the degree: MBZUAI's Engineering stream requires a six-credit internship after year 2 and a full-time co-op placement in year 4.
You want to study AI but have never coded: MBZUAI's Business stream needs no prior coding experience.
You want robotics as well as AI, and you are an Emirati or the child of an Emirati mother: Khalifa, where tuition is fully covered.
You are an international applicant considering Khalifa: ask about merit scholarships and budget for a partial waiver or no scholarship.
Your IELTS Academic score is between 5.0 and 5.5: CUD's general minimum is 5.0, compared with Khalifa's 6.0 and MBZUAI's 6.5.
You want a published first-year cost estimate: CUD, after you confirm the fees for your year of entry.