With 5,000 students from more than 80 nations, the American University of Sharjah (AUS) is one of few US-accredited institutions of higher learning in the UAE.
AUS was founded in 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the UAE and Ruler of Sharjah. He envisioned the university as a leading educational institution in the Gulf region.
Although based on American institutional models, AUS is also thoroughly grounded in Arab culture and part of a larger process of the revitalization of intellectual life in the Middle East.
The university offers 21 bachelor's degrees and eight master's degrees programs in academic divisions that include the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, the School of Architecture and Design, and the School of Business and Management.
AUS is licensed in the United States by the Department of Education of the State of Delaware, and is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. All six of the bachelor degree programs in the AUS College of Engineering are accredited by ABET of the United States.
Sharjah is a major center of learning and the arts, as confirmed by its designation in 1998 by UNESCO as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World.
