American University of Ras Al Khaimah Scholarship: Complete Guide for Indian Students

Quick Answer

Key Takeaways

• AURAK's top merit scholarship, the Presidential Scholarship, cuts tuition by 70 percent. Students need 99 percent or above in high school and IELTS Academic 7.0.
• The entry-level merit tier starts at 15 percent. It gets reviewed case by case, with no fixed grade cutoff.
• Graduate applicants with a bachelor's CGPA of 3.25 or above qualify for a 20 percent AURAK Scholarship.
• Continuing students receive up to a 10 percent increase on their existing scholarship every year, based on academic performance.
• The minimum English score for undergraduate admission sits at IELTS Academic 5.0, TOEFL iBT 61, or Duolingo 80.
• A need-based Financial Grant exists separately for students with a CGPA of 2.0 and demonstrated financial need.
• Partner, sibling, and alumni scholarships each carry a 20 percent tuition discount.

Does an American University of Ras Al Khaimah scholarship actually change your family's UAE education budget? It does. Every tier gets explained below, in under ten minutes.

Introduction

You are an Indian student mapping out your UAE education budget. One question keeps coming up in every UAE education planning conversation. Does American University of Ras Al Khaimah give scholarships that genuinely move the needle on cost? AURAK currently runs five undergraduate merit tiers, one graduate scholarship, an athletic scholarship, a need-based grant, and several partner and family discounts. Some cut your tuition by 15 percent. One cuts it by 70 percent. This guide walks through who qualifies for each tier, and which grades and IELTS scores you need. Read through once, and you have every AURAK scholarship tier mapped out clearly.

Does AURAK Give Scholarships to Indian Students?

AURAK welcomes applicants from India and the rest of the subcontinent on the same terms as every other nationality. The university does not run a separate track for Indian students, and this actually works in your favour. Your high school percentage and English test score decide your scholarship tier, not your passport.

Many families ask a related question too. Does American University of Ras Al Khaimah give merit scholarships that reward strong academic records rather than financial need alone? AURAK's answer is yes. Five merit tiers exist for entering undergraduates. Each one links a specific high school percentage to a fixed tuition reduction. A separate Financial Grant covers students with limited financial resources instead of top grades. It asks for a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, along with full-time enrolment of 12 credits or more.

Before you weigh any scholarship tier, confirm the degree itself holds up. AURAK is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Education. It also holds accreditation from the Commission for Academic Accreditation, the CAA, for every degree it awards. The university carries US accreditation from SACSCOC too, plus international accreditation from the UK's QAA. Individual programs go further still. The business school holds AACSB accreditation. Computer science falls under the Computing Accreditation Commission, and biotechnology sits under ANSAC, both linked to ABET. Your scholarship discount only matters if the degree behind it holds real weight. This accreditation record confirms that it does.

Your CBSE, ICSE, or state board percentage gets converted to AURAK's required scale during your application review. This conversion step confuses many first-time applicants. Ask your admissions counsellor for a clear breakdown before you assume you have missed a tier by a few marks.

Consider a student who scored 96 percent in the CBSE boards. That average lands inside the Dean's Scholarship band. It secures a 30 percent tuition reduction before he even sets foot on campus. The result comes purely from his exam scores, nothing else.

You might also be weighing a public university option. Our Al Qasimia University scholarship guide covers a comparable full-tuition route worth checking before you decide.

American University of Ras Al Khaimah Scholarship Requirements: Tiers, Grades, and CGPA

The table below lists every current merit tier for entering undergraduate students.

Each tier locks in for one academic year at a time. Your renewal depends on the CGPA column above, not your entry score alone. A student on the Presidential Scholarship who drops below a 3.75 CGPA moves down a tier the following year. Consistency across semesters matters as much as your entry grade did on day one.

Graduate applicants get a separate scholarship track entirely. Bachelor's degree holders with a CGPA of 3.25 or higher qualify for the AURAK Scholarship, a 20 percent tuition reduction. This tier comes with its own maintenance requirement of a 3.5 CGPA, noticeably higher than most undergraduate tiers.

Continuing students, meaning anyone already enrolled at AURAK, receive an additional benefit on top of these tiers. Your existing scholarship percentage increases by up to 10 percent. This increase depends on the previous year's academic performance and meeting the qualifying conditions each cycle.

A standard full-time undergraduate semester (12 to 16 credit hours) costs AED 30,130 in tuition for most programs at AURAK. This is the figure your scholarship percentage actually reduces. A Dean's Scholarship at 30 percent brings that semester down to roughly AED 21,091. A Presidential Scholarship at 70 percent brings it down to roughly AED 9,039. Engineering, Computer Science, Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, and Biotechnology carry a slightly higher base rate. Check AURAK's own Tuition & Fees page for your specific program before you calculate your own figure.

This tuition math covers part of your bill only. AURAK's own admissions team confirms that scholarships reduce tuition fees only. Application fees, technology fees, service fees, and security deposits stay payable in full regardless of your scholarship percentage.

Athletic, Partner, and Family Scholarships at AURAK

AURAK caps the Athletic Scholarship at one or two incoming students each budget year. This 30 percent tuition reduction goes strictly to genuine sporting talent. Your application portfolio needs match footage, certificates, and a coach's reference letter. Add a summary of your achievements in a sport such as cricket, football, or athletics. This scholarship renews yearly if you maintain a 2.75 CGPA, stay on a university team, and avoid disciplinary action.

Two scholarship partners open further routes to reduced fees. Employees of organisations designated as AURAK Scholarship Partners, along with their dependants, receive a 20 percent tuition discount. Two named programmes run their own application process outside AURAK's system. These are the TDRA education fund and the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research Scholarship. Both sit outside AURAK's direct control, so you apply to them on their own timelines.

Family, alumni, and employment discounts round out the list . A second sibling enrolled at AURAK at the same time as an existing student receives a 20 percent tuition discount. This condition holds only while every enrolled sibling stays registered together. AURAK alumni who return for an additional graduate degree also receive a 20 percent reduction. This rewards families who already trust the university once.

One practical note before you count on multiple discounts together. AURAK does not publish a fixed rule on stacking a merit scholarship with a sibling or partner discount. Raise your exact combination directly with the Scholarship and Financial Aid Office. Do not assume one discount automatically triggers the other, and ask for the combined figure in writing before you finalise your budget.

Eligibility, English Scores, and How You Apply

Clear AURAK's base admission requirements before any scholarship tier applies to your file. Most undergraduate schools ask for 65 to 80 percent in your relevant high school stream. Your English score needs to reach IELTS Academic 5.0, TOEFL iBT 61, or Duolingo 80 at minimum. Engineering and computer science applicants also need 80 percent or above in Mathematics and Physics. A passing Accuplacer test score works instead, in the same subjects.

Your actual application journey looks like this. Submit your high school transcripts and English test score. Receive your official admission letter. Your file gets automatically reviewed for a merit tier based on the percentage you scored. Athletic and need-based applicants submit an additional portfolio or income documentation alongside this. Continuing students apply for their annual increase through the Scholarship and Financial Aid Office instead of the general admissions portal.

AURAK's own academic calendar shows a consistent pattern across recent cycles. New-student applications for the Fall intake closed on September 15, and the Spring intake closed on January 26. Treat these as the typical closing window, not a fixed date for your specific year. Confirm the exact deadline on AURAK's Important Dates page before you plan around it.

Attestation and your visa run on a separate track from your scholarship file, and both need real lead time. Your high school and university transcripts need attestation first. Only then does AURAK's Office of Administration sponsor your student visa. The visa application itself asks for eight passport photos, your passport copy, and your secondary school certificate. You also pay the visa fee and security deposit, AED 2,000 each. A medical test comes next, a blood test and an X-ray, plus fingerprinting through Ras Al Khaimah's police department. AURAK typically opens visa applications once you have enrolled and paid at least 25 percent of your tuition for the joining semester. The visa itself renews every year you stay enrolled.

Your CGPA on campus follows a 4.0 scale, not the percentage or 10-point scale most Indian boards use. Ask your counsellor to walk you through the conversion once you enrol, rather than guessing at it from home. A 3.75 sounds modest on paper, yet it sits right at the top tier once converted correctly.

Reach out directly through AURAK's official scholarship page for the exact grade conversion your board follows.

A note on timing: AURAK sets and reviews scholarship percentages, required grades, and maintenance CGPAs each academic cycle. Confirm the current figures directly with the university before you submit your application, since tiers occasionally shift between intakes.

Your Next Step Towards an AURAK Scholarship

Your high school percentage and English score already point you towards one of AURAK's five merit tiers. Now you know exactly which grades unlock which tuition reduction, and which CGPA keeps that reduction in place. The application itself takes less time than most families expect, provided your transcripts and test scores stay ready in advance.

Our IELTS UKVI guide for Indian students explains why AURAK and most UAE universities skip that specific test version. This helps if your intake date sits close to your test date.

Book a free consultation with Study From UAE's counsellors today. Get your documents, tier eligibility, and intake timeline mapped out before you apply directly to AURAK.