The American University in Dubai (
AUD) is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning in
DubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
,
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, founded in 1995. AUD was founded in 1995 as a branch campus of the American InterContinental University in Atlanta, Georgia, but turned into a private, non-sectarian institution in 2007. AUD is accredited regionally as a separate unit by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. AUD serves UAE nationals and international students from all over the world and offer them an American-style education.
The University has both US and UAE accreditation for all of its programs. AUD is the only university outside the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
to be directly accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsThe Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
, although it is not the only US-accredited university in the Gulf region (others are accredited by the U.S. Middle States Commission on Higher Education). American University in Dubai is not affiliated with
American UniversityAmerican University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Academics
The University is organized into Schools and Departments:
- School of Business Administration
- School of Engineering
- Mohammed bin Rashid School of Communication
- Department of Computer and Information Technology
- Department of Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
- Department of Visual Communication
Visual communication as the name suggests is communication through visual aid and is described as the conveyance of ideas and information in forms that can be read or looked upon...
- Department of Interior Design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
- Division of Arts and Sciences
- Center for English Proficiency
Language proficiency or linguistic proficiency is the ability of an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language. As theories vary among pedagogues as to what constitutes proficiency, there is little consistency as to how different organizations classify it...
The campus
The American University in Dubai is situated next to
Dubai Media CityDubai Media City , part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has been built by the Dubai government to boost UAE's media foothold, and has become a regional hub for media organizations including news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production,...
,
Dubai Internet CityDubai Internet City is an information technology park created by the government of Dubai as a free economic zone and a strategic base for companies targeting regional emerging markets. The economic rules of DIC allow companies to avail themselves of a number of ownership, taxation and custom...
, and the
Palm IslandsThe Palm Islands are an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on which major commercial and residential infrastructures will be constructed...
. It is 15 minutes from the heart of Dubai's financial and commercial centre and 25 minutes from
Dubai International AirportDubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...
.
AUD's multi-complex facility is situated on grounds of approximately 1300000 sq ft (120,774 m²). and encompasses three academic buildings, a Student Center, an administration building, residence halls, a cafeteria area, and an open air sports facilities.
Accreditation
International accreditation:
In December 2007, AUD received accreditation as a separate unit (independent of the American InterContinental University) by the Commission on Colleges of the
Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsThe Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
(SACS) to award Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. AUD is the only institution outside of the US and Latin America to be granted this honor by SACS; other universities in the region are accredited by the U.S. Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Previously, from its founding in 1995, and until December 2007, AUD was only accredited by SACS as a branch campus of
American InterContinental UniversityAmerican InterContinental University, commonly called AIU, is an international for-profit university with open admissions owned by Career Education Corporation ....
(AIU). SACS later granted AUD separate unit accreditation. The
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research* Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research * Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research * Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research...
(
Commission for Academic AccreditationThe Commission for Academic Accreditation is the government-run institutional licensure and degree accreditation organization for private universities and their academic programmes in the United Arab Emirates . It was established in 1999, with headquarters in UAE's capital city Abu Dhabi, and is a...
) of the United Arab Emirates has also accredited various programs.
Visitors
- In 2009, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited AUD, and delivered a speech to the community.
- In 2009, Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
delivered the commencement speechA commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...
at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2008, Margaret Spellings
Margaret Spellings was the Secretary of Education from 2005-2009 under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and previously served as White House Domestic Policy Adviser to President George W. Bush....
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2007, Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2006, Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2005, Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
delivered a speech and met with the Clinton Scholars at the university .
- In 2005, Christiane Amanpour
Christiane Amanpour, CBE is anchor of ABC News's This Week and formerly chief international correspondent at CNN, where she worked for 27 years. She is a Board Member at the IWMF .-Early years:...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2004, Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2003, Sandy Berger
Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger was United States National Security Advisor, under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. In his position, he helped to formulate the foreign policy of the Clinton Administration...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2002, Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2001, George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 2000, Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 1999, Ray LaHood
Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood is a Republican politician from Illinois who is currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, having served since 2009. Previously, he represented the Illinois's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms .-Early life and...
delivered the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
- In 1998, James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
delivered the commencement speech at AUD's first graduation ceremony.
See also
- American University of Cairo (AUC)
- American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
(AUB)
- American University of Iraq - Sulaimani (AUI)
- American University of Kuwait
The American University of Kuwait is a private liberal arts institution based on the American model of higher education in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Although established in 2003, the University opened to students, faculty and the general public in September 2004. It is sister colleges with Dartmouth...
(AUK)
- American University of Sharjah
American University of Sharjah is an independent, not-for-profit coeducational higher educational institution in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, founded in 1997 by Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah...
(AUS)
External links