MBZUAI

Full Scholarship Opportunities

All admitted students on full-time basis are granted the privilege to complete their study with a full scholarship, including:

  • 100% tuition fees
  • Highly competitive monthly stipend
  • State-of-the-art student accommodation
  • UAE visa sponsorship
  • Health insurance coverage
  • Annual air ticket to home country

Eligibility Criteria

For Master’s programs:

  • Completed Degree: Bachelor’s degree in S.T.E.M fields, such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics and other relevant Engineering majors, from an accredited university or college recognized by the UAE Ministry of Education, without the need of prior work experience.
  • Academic Transcripts:Students should have a minimum CGPA of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) or equivalent or top 20% of the university’s grading scale.
  • English Language Proficiency Certificate: Each applicant has to show proof of English language ability by providing one of the following:
    • Standard TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 90 
    • IELTS Academic with a minimum overall score of 6.5
    • EmSAT English with a minimum score of 1550
    • Waiver Applicants must satisfy the following minimum requirements to apply for MBZUAI programs: requests from eligible applicants who are citizens (by passport or nationality) of UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand who completed their studies from K-12 until Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree (if applicable) from those same countries will be processed.
    • They need to submit notarized copies of their documents during the application stage and attested documents upon admission.
    • Waiver decisions will be given within seven days after receiving all requirements.
  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE): General score is a plus and would be considered in the evaluation of the applicants (optional).
  • Statement of Purpose: In a 800-word essay, the applicant should present his/her motivation for applying to the university. It may include information regarding the applicant’s personal and academic background as well as his/her chosen career path; goals as a prospective student; graduation plans; and other details that will support the application.
  • Entry Exam: Selected applicants will be invited to participate in an entry exam that will include questions related to the following topics
    • Math (basic Math questions related to calculus, probability theory, linear algebra and optimization)
    • Machine Learning (no previous background is needed)
    • Programming (basic programming questions)
  • Admission Interview

For PhD programs:

  • Completed Degree: 
     Bachelor’s degree in a S.T.E.M field such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics and other relevant Science and Engineering majors, from a university accredited or recognized by the UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) which demonstrates academic distinction in a discipline appropriate for the doctoral degree. Students should have a minimum CGPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) or equivalent. OR

    Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in S.T.E.M fields, such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Physics and other relevant Engineering majors, from an accredited university or college recognized by the UAE Ministry of Education, without the need of prior work experience.
  • Academic Transcripts: Students should have a minimum CGPA of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) or equivalent or top 20% of the university’s grading scale for both degrees.
  • English Language Proficiency Certificate: Each applicant has to show proof of English language ability by providing one of the following:
    • Standard TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 90 
    • IELTS Academic with a minimum overall score of 6.5
    • EmSAT English with a minimum score of 1550
    • Waiver requests from eligible applicants who are citizens (by passport or nationality) of UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand who completed their studies from K-12 until Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree (if applicable) from those same countries will be processed.
    • They need to submit notarized copies of their documents during the application stage and attested documents upon admission.
    • Waiver decisions will be given within seven days after receiving all requirements.
  • Graduate Record Examination (GRE): General score is a plus and would be considered in the evaluation of the applicants (optional).
  • Statement of Purpose: In a 800-word essay, the applicant should present his/her motivation for applying to the university. It may include information regarding the applicant›s personal and academic background as well as his/her chosen career path; goals as a prospective student; graduation plans; and other details that will support the application.
  • Research Proposal: It is a 3-5 page document summarizing the potential research project an applicant is interested in working on.
    • The proposal should clearly justify the research gap which the applicant would like to fill in over the course of his/her study.
    • It must be presented in the context of currently existing literature.
    • The proposal must provide an overview of how he/she aims to investigate the underlying research project, and what are the expected outcomes.
    • The proposal could also mention his/her relevance and suitability for the project.
    • Finally, the proposal should highlight the scientific and commercial significance of the project.
    • Note that applicants are expected to write a proposal completely independently.
    • MBZUAI selection team will read an applicant’s proposal and use it as one of the measures to gauge and assess his/her skills.
    • MBZUAI faculty will NOT help applicants write a research proposal for the purpose of the application.
    • The research statement should include the following details: Title, Problem definition, Literature review, Proposed research/methods/solution (optional), Study timeline (a table, figure or a small paragraph presenting your plans for the 4 years in the PhD program), List of references
  • Entry Exam: Selected applicants will be invited to participate in an entry exam that will include questions related to the following topics:
    • Math (basic Math questions related to calculus, probability theory, linear algebra and optimization)
    • Machine Learning (basic understanding of different machine learning algorithms and concepts)
    • Programming (strong programming background is important)
  • Admission Interview
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