RIT Dubai - Direct Enroll (Semester)

Dubai is a premier destination for tourists, business people, and celebrities from around the world. Attracted to its year-round sunshine and luxurious lifestyle, the number of tourists visiting Dubai yearly is expected to top 15 million. Dubai is a modern, cosmopolitan city with a diverse population that spans nearly every culture, ethnicity, and religion. Your educational experience in Dubai is enhanced by the diversity of cultures, engineering feats, and once-in-a-lifetime activities that surround you daily. Ride the elevator to the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Kalifa, or experience the elegance of the world's most luxurious hotel, the Burj Al Arab. Travel to the man-made palm islands, shop in the world's largest mall, ski indoors year-round, or travel through the desert in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. There truly is nowhere like Dubai!

RIT Dubai is strategically located in Dubai Silicon Oasis—a major hub for business, innovation, and technology. Established in 2008, RIT Dubai offers coursework in engineering, computing, cybersecurity, and business supported by a state-of-the-art campus and strong industry connections. Students benefit from immersive academic and cultural experiences in Dubai, a dynamic global city known for its technological marvels, diverse population, and world-class attractions. Dubai is a buzzing, cosmopolitan city known for its welcoming hospitality to visitors that attracts people from all over the world and also offers you a piece of home as you step onto RIT’s campus in Dubai.

All classes are taught in English and English is widely spoken in Dubai.

Scholarships are available - more details below!

Program Details

• Term: Fall or Spring Semester
• Credits: 12-16
• Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Application Deadlines:
  • Fall semester - April 1st
  • Spring semester - October 1st

Detailed information about studying abroad at RIT Dubai, including dates, deadlines, housing, excursions, and dining.

RIT Dubai Campus
The RIT Dubai campus is strategically located in the heart of Dubai Silicon Oasis, and enrolls students from all over the world. The state-of-the-art campus was newly built in 2021 and includes state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, faculty and staff offices, student lounges, a library, and computer labs with the latest technology.

Academics

Students typically take at least 12 credits (4 courses) during their academic term abroad. The academic calendar aligns closely with the RIT calendar and consists of two semesters, each 16 weeks long.

The course descriptions for classes offered at RIT Dubai can be found on RIT SIS. To display the course offerings, change the location at the bottom of the search page to the appropriate campus. The course offerings for RIT Dubai are typically released later than those for RIT Rochester. However, the course offerings are fairly consistent from year to year, so using the previous year’s course offerings as a tentative list is appropriate.

List of recent courses offered at RIT Dubai (course offerings are typically consistent year to year) - Fall 2025 courses, Spring 2024 courses

Students studying abroad at an RIT Global Campus will be registered for their courses by the RIT Education Abroad Office (you cannot register yourself for Global Campus courses in SIS). You will work with your study abroad advisor to find available courses and complete the Global Campus Course Selection form. The RIT Education Abroad Office uses the Course Selection Form to register you for your chosen courses abroad.

Undergraduate courses are available in:

• Business
  • Accounting, Finance, Management Information Systems, Management, Global Business, Marketing
• Computing
  • Cybersecurity, Computing & Information Technology, Networking and Systems Administration
• Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Math, and Physics
• Psychology
• Math, Science, Liberal Arts

Housing in Dubai

You will live in dorms located in Dubai Silicon Oasis. The dorms are a 5-minute shuttle ride (or 15-minute walk) from the RIT Dubai campus. Shuttle services to and from campus are easy and free. All rooms are furnished.

Student Experience and Excursions

Before your departure, you will meet with the team in Dubai via video chat. Once in Dubai, you will receive a thorough on-site orientation, and the RIT Dubai team will help you adjust to your new surroundings. You can participate in local clubs, sports teams, and other student activities. You will also participate in several cultural excursions during your stay in Dubai, most of which are included in the program fee. Some of the most popular include riding buggies on a desert safari, sharing a traditional Emirati meal with a local family, peering over the city skyline from the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, or soaring down the slopes at the indoor ski resort.

To Apply

1) Make an appointment to meet with the study abroad advisor for this program, Myles Chalue - choose date and time
2) Start an application in the Compass.

Program Cost & Financial Aid

Student budget worksheets outline all program costs. Students should take a copy of this worksheet to their financial aid advisor early in the application process to determine how their aid may be applied to the program's cost.

• Fall 2025 Semester Student Budget Worksheet (OUTDATED)
• Spring 2026 Semester Student Budget Worksheet (OUTDATED)
  
  Updated budget worksheet for the spring 2027 program will be available soon.

Financial Aid:
Financial aid may cover some program costs. As you review the budget worksheet, please remember that it does not include your RIT financial aid or scholarships, which may cover some of the program costs. The purpose of the budget worksheet is to show all the costs associated with your study abroad program, which will help your RIT Financial Aid Assistant Director determine how your aid and scholarships may be applied. 

To understand how your financial aid and scholarships may apply to your program costs:

• Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment
• Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting, so they have time to prepare) 
• Please rename the file name of your budget worksheet before uploading it to the Financial Aid portal based on the instructions provided in the portal (adding your name and student ID)

To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact#counseling-team

We recommend that you meet with Financial Aid before the application deadline to understand how your aid will be applied. The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125.

Scholarships:

Global Campus Scholarship
To support study abroad at RIT Global Campuses, RIT Global offers a guaranteed $750 scholarship to all qualifying students who spend the fall or spring semester studying abroad at one of RIT’s Global Campuses. To qualify, students must have a demonstrated level of high financial need, as determined by their FAFSA and the RIT Financial Aid Office. No separate application is required – eligible students will be reviewed for this funding once they have completed an application in the RIT Compass. 

RIT scholarships and national scholarships for study abroad are good options to explore for scholarship funding. Make sure you check scholarship eligibility requirements and note scholarship deadlines. More about study abroad scholarships

Contact

Myles Chalue
Global Programs Manager
Study Abroad Advisor - Global Campus & Exchange Programs
RIT Education Abroad
myles.chalue@rit.edu

Make an advising appointment with Myles: https://calendly.com/m_chalue