UAE's oldest university marks five decades of higher education
UAE University in Al Ain, the country's first national university, is celebrating 50 years since its founding in 1976.
Established in 1976 under the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the university was set up to build national talent and widen access to higher education. It opened to its first students in 1977 with 502 enrolled across four faculties, and its first graduating class in 1981 numbered 242, including 50 women.
The university has since added faculties and colleges, including Sharia and Law, Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and Health Sciences. According to its official statistics, enrolment in the second semester of 2025 reached 17,722 students, of whom women made up 71 per cent.
In 2010 the university moved into a purpose-built campus of about 80 hectares in Al Ain, with classrooms, laboratories, research centres and advanced IT infrastructure. It now operates nine colleges spanning agriculture, business, education, engineering, law, medicine, science and other fields.