American University of Ras Al Khaimah Fees 2026: Full Tuition and Cost Guide for Indian Students

Quick Overview

Note: SACSCOC accredits AURAK as an institution. It does not accredit programs individually; hence, engineering, business, and accounting programs have their individual accreditations (ABET, AACSB, ACCA) mentioned above. 

Key Takeaways

• The undergraduate tuition depends on the credit hour system, and so your tuition costs will differ depending on the number of credits you undertake.
• Although scholarships can reach 70% under the Presidential Scholarship scheme, this level requires a high school aggregate of 99% and an Academic IELTS score of 7.0. It is difficult to qualify for such a scholarship scheme, as most people apply for scholarships between 15% and 40%.
• The cost of off-campus housing may vary between AED 5,600 and AED 13,750 per semester, alongside a non-refundable deposit of AED 2,000 and utility costs of AED 315, which most students forget to include in their budget calculations.
• Indian students also face an initial student visa charge of AED 2,000, along with a deposit of AED 2,000 that is fully refundable.
• Your Indian documents need government attestation, plus a UAE Certificate of Equivalency, before AURAK and UAE authorities recognize them.
• Instalment payments are made using post-dated cheques, so you do not need to make the full payment at once.

Introduction

It is quite an ordeal to make a budget plan for studying at a UAE university from India, because the prices seem to be spread across pieces of paper that never come together as one puzzle. Different sources quote slightly different numbers, and that gets confusing fast. This guide gathers all of the AURAK fees in one place and uses only official information.

AURAK used to be a branch campus of George Mason University, Virginia, established in 2005. It began operating independently as a public university from 2009 onwards. One misconception needs clarification from the start: "public, non-profit" describes AURAK's governance structure, not a subsidy. Every student, Indian applicants included, pays the same published rates on this page.

AURAK is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Education and accredited by SACSCOC in the USA to award baccalaureate and master's degrees. This covers the institution as a whole. Individual programs carry their own additional accreditation, and that is where we go next.

AURAK Accreditation, Rankings, and Campus Life

Program-level accreditation is a stronger quality signal in a specific field than institutional accreditation alone, and AURAK carries plenty of it. All six of its engineering and computer science degrees hold ABET accreditation: Computer Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering under ABET's Engineering Accreditation, and Computer Science under its Computing Accreditation. Biotechnology holds ABET's Applied and Natural Science Accreditation. On the business side, AURAK's School of Business holds full AACSB International accreditation, a mark held by under 6% of business schools worldwide. Within business, the Accounting major carries an exemption for four of the thirteen ACCA papers, Finance carries an exemption for three, and Finance is also affiliated with the CFA Institute. Every AURAK program additionally holds CAA accreditation from the UAE Ministry of Education.

On rankings, American University of Ras Al Khaimah made its first entry into the QS World University Rankings with a 485 ranking in 2025, dropping down to 591 in 2026 and 608 in 2027, which is quite a decline of more than 120 places within just two years. However, there is more to this one trend line. AURAK is ranked quite high in terms of QS Arab Region Ranking with 53 ranking, in addition to having a QS Star 5+ rating.

AURAK's research runs through named centres, including the Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence Center, the AURAK Center for Entrepreneurship, and the RAK Research and Innovation Center.

Courses Offered at AURAK

AURAK organises its programs under three schools.

• School of Business: seven BSBA majors, covering General, Accounting, Finance, Digital Marketing, HR, Hospitality and Tourism, and Business Analytics, plus the MBA and Executive MBA.
• School of Engineering and Computing: Computer Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering, all ABET-accredited, plus Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, an AI minor, and a Bachelor of Architecture. The Master of Engineering Project Management and MS in Sustainable and Renewable Energy sit here too.
• School of Arts and Sciences: Biotechnology, Psychology, Mass Communication, and the Master of Education: Educational Leadership.

The Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is industrially oriented, with ceramic, cement, and petrochemical industries having their bases in this area, making the engineering strength of AURAK a good fit. If finance or media is your area of study, consider the 45-minute drive from Dubai for internship purposes. 

Admission Requirements and Application Process

Good news first: getting into AURAK follows a fairly standard international admissions path, without the maze of paperwork some universities put you through. Your application goes in online along with your passport copy, certificates, photographs, and placement test scores wherever required. Start applying at least two months before your planned intake, since visa processing and document attestation both take time.

Entry criteria vary by school. Business needs a minimum high school score of 70%. Engineering needs 75% to 80% depending on the track, with 80%+ specifically required in Math and Physics. Biotechnology and Psychology need 70%, and Biotechnology also needs 80%+ in Biology. Mass Communication needs 65%. Falling short on a subject cutoff is not the end of the road, since AURAK's Accuplacer placement test offers an alternative route in.

Master's aspirants also need a minimum CGPA of 2.5 out of 4.0 for most courses. If your English score falls short, you enroll in AURAK's Preparatory English Program for four months, with entry requirements of IELTS 4.5, TOEFL iBT 32-34, or 450-499 on the paper-based test.

One more thing Indian applicants often underestimate: your certificates need government attestation before AURAK and the UAE recognise them. The chain runs through five steps. Your state HRD department attests first, then India's Ministry of External Affairs, then the UAE Embassy in India, then the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs once you arrive, and finally a Certificate of Equivalency application with the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Each step depends on the one before it, so budget several weeks and start early.

Undergraduate Fees: Full Breakdown

Undergraduate tuition is charged per credit hour, and your rate depends on your program and how many credits you take each semester.

The standard number of credits a full-time student is supposed to have is 12-16 credit hours, putting you in the flat rate category. Below 12 credit hours, the rate is per credit hour, so being a full-time student becomes cheaper.

Full 4-Year Tuition Total, Before Scholarships:

This covers tuition only, across all eight semesters, before non-tuition fees, housing, or scholarships.

Note: INR conversion uses a live mid-market rate of ₹26.30 per AED, checked on 23 July 2026. Bank and remittance rates fluctuate daily, so treat this as indicative.

Non-Tuition and Mandatory Fees:

Tuition is only part of your bill, and this is the part that catches most families off guard. These charges apply regardless of your program.

AURAK requires every student to carry health insurance. Under federal insurance pool rules effective January 2025, the mandatory minimum premium for the Ras Al Khaimah pool is AED 320 a year. Treat this as your floor, not your full budget, since your actual premium runs higher if you choose broader private coverage instead of the base pool plan.

Free transport line means the free transport available at AURAK. This involves the shuttles that operate within the campus as well as the areas surrounding the college. This does not mean that this is an alternative for public transport in case you have to move further to Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai. Besides the cost mentioned above, an international student will also be required to pay a student visa fee of AED 2,000 and a visa deposit of AED 2,000 because AURAK acts as the sponsor for the visa.

Adding all of these figures up across a four-year degree, including the AED 320 annual insurance minimum, comes to around AED 25,480, or ₹6.70 lakh. Of this, AED 3,500 is refundable (the security deposit and visa deposit), which puts your actual non-refundable cost at about AED 21,980, or ₹5.78 lakh.

MBA Fees and Other Graduate Program Fees

Graduate tuition is billed purely per credit hour, with no flat-semester option. Here is how the American University of Ras Al Khaimah MBA fees compare with AURAK's other master's programs.

There are other costs for graduate students, which include AED 500 for the application fee, AED 4,000 for the seat reservation fee, AED 750 for each semester for the technology fee, AED 1,500 for the refundable security deposit, AED 1,500 for the graduation fee, and AED 100 for each semester for medical fees.

Want a number built around your specific intake and program? Try our ROI Calculator, which factors in tuition, living costs, and expected post-graduation earnings for Indian students in the UAE.

Fees for Indian Students: Visa, Housing, and Total Cost

AURAK sponsors your student visa once you are admitted. You will need eight passport photos, a passport copy, your secondary school certificate, and payment of the visa fee and deposit, plus a medical test and fingerprinting through RAK's preventive health department before the visa is issued.

Living on campus is optional but very common for international students because it relieves you from looking for private accommodation in a foreign city.

Here is how a small sharing room, the most economical option, stacks up against your other costs for a general UG program. This table now folds in food and health insurance, so you get one consolidated number instead of five separate ones to add up yourself.

Estimated Annual Cost of Attendance, Small Sharing Room, General UG Program:

Food and Living Costs: This comes to around AED 1,000 - AED 1,500 per month, calculated from the AED 1,250 average for a year of 12 months. It all depends on what you do and eat. This table still excludes flights, which vary by student and season. A personalised version of this table is available through our admissions and visa guide.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Scholarship eligibility depends mostly on your high school percentage and English score. The Presidential Scholarship offers the biggest cut, but its bar is steep. Here is what each tier actually saves you, on the general UG flat semester fee of AED 30,130.

STEM and Petroleum/Chemical Engineering tracks start from a slightly higher base, so your net figure runs marginally higher there. Graduate applicants get the AURAK Scholarship, a 20% reduction for a bachelor's degree with a minimum 3.25 CGPA, maintained at 3.5. Continuing students at any level become eligible for a further 10% based on performance.

Smaller categories exist too: a 20% sibling discount, a 20% partnership discount for designated employer partners, and 30% athletic scholarships for a handful of student-athletes yearly. AURAK's Financial Aid program also supports undergraduates with limited means who hold an admission letter, a GPA of 2.0 or above, and full-time enrolment.

Explore our scholarship guide on Study From UAE for a full walkthrough of which bracket fits your profile.

How to Pay AURAK Tuition Fees

AURAK offers several payment routes: debit or credit card, direct bank transfer to AURAK's RAK Bank account (Nakheel Branch, with your student ID in the reference), cash or cheque at the student services counter, the Skiply app, or AURAK's own online payment gateway, open 24/7. Email your transfer confirmation to Student Finance for their records.

Check your semester deadline carefully, since returning and new students have different cut-offs. Fall 2026 sets these at 30 August for returning students and 26 September for new students, with a final late-fee deadline of 17 September for both. Need more time? Request an instalment plan through Student Finance, usually split two to three ways through post-dated cheques, with the first instalment covering 25% to 40% of your net fee. Miss the primary deadline and a AED 500 late fee applies. Miss the final one and a AED 1,500 reinstatement fee kicks in on top.

Conclusion

The American University of Ras Al Khaimah fees structure rewards planning ahead. Enrol in the 12 to 16 credit hour bracket, aim for the strongest scholarship tier your profile realistically fits, and add housing, food, insurance, and visa charges to get your real annual figure rather than a headline tuition number.

Ready to see how this applies to you specifically? Our counsellors at Study From UAE map out your complete AURAK budget, scholarship eligibility, and visa timeline. Book a free consultation today, and make sure you have detailed information about the college before taking admission there.