Top Universities in the UAE Accepting TOEFL
Most major UAE universities accept the TOEFL iBT as a direct equivalent to IELTS, including federal universities, Indian-origin campuses, and many international branch campuses. Khalifa University sets the toughest bar we could confirm, TOEFL iBT 91 for its standard postgraduate route. Abu Dhabi University and Canadian University Dubai sit at the other end, accepting 61 for most programs. The published TOEFL and IELTS numbers at a given university usually aren’t a strict conversion of each other, so check the actual TOEFL figure rather than assuming it lines up with the IELTS one.
UAE universities with Indian-origin campuses
BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus
BITS Pilani Dubai is the university’s only campus outside India, opened in 2000 and rated five stars by KHDA.
Its own admission bulletin puts the TOEFL minimum at 61 on the internet-based test, or 500 on the paper-based version, and this only applies to students coming from non-English-medium schools. Students who finished the UAE Ministry of Higher Education curriculum with 80% or higher in English skip the English test requirement entirely. That 80% figure is specific to BITS Pilani’s own policy for that particular curriculum. It’s worth remembering, because a different, lower percentage comes up later in this guide for a different group of students, and the two shouldn’t get mixed up.
Intakes run in September and February. TOEFL and IELTS 6.0 are treated as interchangeable here, so there’s no real reason to pick one test over the other for this school specifically.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dubai Campus
MAHE Dubai was the first Indian multi-disciplinary university campus in the region and also holds a five-star KHDA rating.
The university accepts TOEFL iBT as well as IELTS, PTE Academic, and Cambridge English qualifications. However, it does not appear to publish a specific minimum TOEFL score. Students planning to use TOEFL should contact the admissions team at admissions@manipaldubai.com to confirm the required score instead of assuming it is equivalent to the IELTS 6.0 requirement.
Intakes run in September, January, and a smaller April or May window for some postgraduate programs.
Amity University Dubai
Amity Dubai is part of the India-based Amity Education Group and is CAA-accredited, based in Dubai International Academic City.
Amity Dubai accepts TOEFL as an alternative to IELTS. However, a specific TOEFL score equivalent to its published IELTS requirements, 5.0 to 6.0 for undergraduate programmes and 6.0 for postgraduate and MBA programmes, is not clearly stated. Students planning to submit TOEFL scores should confirm the required cutoff directly with the admissions team.
Applicants who completed their previous education in English may also be eligible for an English-language waiver. Since the exact waiver criteria are not clearly published, do not assume that Amity follows the same 80% threshold used by BITS Pilani.
UAE government and federal universities are accepting the TOEFL
A note for Indian applicants: The federal universities (Khalifa, UAEU, Zayed) all require attested Indian academic documents, and that process can take several weeks. Start it early, no matter which English test you’re using.
Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi
Khalifa has been the UAE’s top-ranked university for eight years running and sits at 177 globally in the QS World University Rankings 2026.
Khalifa University requires a minimum TOEFL iBT score of 91 for its standard postgraduate admissions pathway, as stated on its official postgraduate admissions page. This is the highest TOEFL requirement covered in this guide. The university does not accept the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, so applicants must take the test at an authorised physical test centre.
Khalifa University’s standard postgraduate admission requirement is a TOEFL iBT score of 91 or an IELTS score of 6.5. These scores belong to the same general admissions pathway.
A separate, lower English-language requirement applies to applicants who can prove that they completed a previous degree entirely at an English-medium institution. Eligible applicants may qualify with an IELTS score of 6.0 or a TOEFL iBT score of 79.
This reduced requirement is a specific exemption, not a general score equivalency. Therefore, TOEFL 91 should not be presented as equivalent to IELTS 6.0.
United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Al Ain
United Arab Emirates University, established in 1976, is the UAE’s first federal university.
The university accepts TOEFL as an alternative to IELTS. Its IELTS requirements generally range from 5.5 to 6.0, depending on the programme and study level. However, a single confirmed TOEFL cutoff is not clearly specified. Applicants should therefore contact UAEU admissions to verify the English-language requirement for their chosen programme.
UAEU also operates an ETS-authorised TOEFL test centre in Al Ain, which may be convenient for applicants already living in the UAE.
Zayed University, Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Zayed University follows a US-style academic model and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Graduate applicants generally need a minimum TOEFL iBT score of 79 for standard admission. A lower score of 71 may be accepted for conditional admission, where the corresponding published IELTS requirement is 5.5 instead of the standard 6.0.
A TOEFL iBT score of 71 is frequently cited for undergraduate admission, but this figure was not confirmed by Zayed University. Applicants should therefore treat it as a preliminary reference and verify the current requirement directly with the university.
Zayed University also accepts EmSAT Achieve English, with a minimum score of 1400 for standard admission and 1250 for conditional admission.
University of Sharjah
University of Sharjah is a large, CAA-accredited institution covering most major disciplines.
Undergraduate TOEFL sits at 61, matched with a published IELTS score of 5.0, and this figure holds up across multiple independent sources. Postgraduate TOEFL is 79, paired with IELTS 6.0. The university also takes the EmSAT (1400) and the PTE Academic (50) as further alternatives.
International branch campuses in the UAE are accepting the TOEFL
University of Birmingham Dubai (UK)
The University of Birmingham Dubai is part of a Russell Group university and delivers programmes based on the same academic standards as its UK campus.
Reported requirements indicate a minimum TOEFL iBT score of 80 overall, with section scores of approximately 19 in Listening, 19 in Reading, 21 in Speaking, and 19 in Writing. This is commonly compared with an IELTS requirement of 6.0 overall, with no band below 5.5.
Middlesex University Dubai (UK)
Middlesex University Dubai was the first overseas branch campus of a UK university to open in Dubai.
The university accepts TOEFL as an alternative to its IELTS requirement, which is generally 6.0 overall. However, a specific minimum TOEFL score is not confirmed by the university. Applicants planning to submit TOEFL scores should verify the current requirement directly with Middlesex University Dubai admissions.
University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD, Australia)
The University of Wollongong in Dubai, established in 1993, was the first Australian university campus in the Gulf region.
UOWD does not publish one clear, programme-wide TOEFL iBT requirement that can be applied to all applicants. Its undergraduate admissions information refers specifically to IELTS Academic taken at an authorised test centre and states that the TOEFL iBT Home Edition is not accepted. Based on the published undergraduate criteria, applicants should not assume that TOEFL is accepted unless their programme page or the admissions team confirms it.
The university’s postgraduate admissions information includes a TOEFL score of 550 on the paper-based test. However, this score appears within a specific English-language exemption route for applicants who completed previous studies in English, rather than as a standard admission requirement for every master’s programme.
Other UAE universities accepting TOEFL
Abu Dhabi University (ADU)
ADU’s standard undergraduate and postgraduate pathway asks for TOEFL 61, paired with a published IELTS score of 5.0, confirmed by ADU. There’s a conditional pathway too: TOEFL 51 paired with IELTS 4.5, alongside ADU’s own prep coursework.
Canadian University Dubai (CUD)
Most programs at CUD ask for TOEFL 61, paired with IELTS 5.0, as confirmed by CUD. The Creative Industries program is the exception, requiring TOEFL 71 and IELTS 5.5.
American University of Sharjah (AUS)
AUS is one of the few UAE universities that runs its own ETS-authorised TOEFL test centre.
AUS lists a minimum TOEFL of 80 (shown as 4.5 under the new 2026 band scale), paired with IELTS 6.5. AUS accepts TOEFL and IELTS. If you’re weighing PTE or Duolingo for AUS specifically, confirm current acceptance with AUS admissions rather than assuming either one counts.
Ajman University and Gulf Medical University
Both universities take TOEFL alongside IELTS as part of their general admissions policy, which is standard practice across the UAE. Ajman’s more competitive programs, Pharmacy and Medicine especially, likely ask for more than the general intake requirement, so check the program-specific number directly with admissions.
TOEFL score requirements at a glance
The “published IELTS requirement” column reflects what each university states as its own separate IELTS figure, not a mathematical conversion from the TOEFL score. The two don’t always line up with each other or with ETS’s own concordance data, so don’t treat one as a stand-in for the other.
| University |
Min. TOEFL (UG) |
Min. TOEFL (PG) |
IELTS requirement |
| Khalifa University |
Not covered |
91 (standard pathway) |
6.5 standard, 6.0 exemption route only |
| Zayed University |
71 |
79 standard, 71 conditional |
6.0 standard, 5.5 conditional |
| University of Sharjah |
61 |
79 |
5.0 UG, 6.0 PG |
| BITS Pilani Dubai |
61 |
61 or higher, program-dependent |
6.0 |
| American University of Sharjah |
80 (4.5 new scale) |
80 (4.5 new scale) |
6.5 |
| Abu Dhabi University |
61 (51 conditional) |
61 (51 conditional) |
5.0 (4.5 conditional) |
| Canadian University Dubai |
61 |
61 to 71 |
5.0 (5.5 Creative Industries) |
| University of Birmingham Dubai |
80* |
80* |
6.0* |
| UOWD |
Acceptance unclear, confirm directly |
Acceptance unclear, confirm directly |
6.0 (UG, IELTS-confirmed) |
| MAHE Dubai |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Not mentioned |
| Amity University Dubai |
Accepted, score not published |
Accepted, score not published |
Not mentioned |
| UAEU |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Roughly 5.5 to 6.0 |
| Middlesex University Dubai |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
6.0 |
| Ajman University |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Not mentioned |
| Gulf Medical University |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Accepted, score not mentioned |
Not mentioned |
Figures marked with an asterisk are supported by multiple credible secondary sources but were not confirmed on the university’s official website during this review.
Can Indian Students Skip TOEFL for UAE Universities?
Indian students can skip TOEFL only when the university accepts another English-language test or grants a formal exemption based on the applicant’s previous education. There is no UAE-wide waiver, and no single Class 12 English score applies across all universities.
- BITS Pilani DubaiHas a clearly defined exemption for students who completed the UAE Ministry of Education curriculum and scored at least 80% in English. This exemption is specific to that curriculum and should not be applied automatically to students from CBSE, ICSE, or other Indian boards.
- MAHE Dubai and Amity DubaiMay consider English-language waivers for applicants who completed their previous education in English. However, the applicable score, curriculum, and documentation requirements vary. The 60% Class 12 English threshold reported by some secondary sources should not be treated as an official campus-wide rule unless the university confirms it for the applicant’s programme and board.
- UK and Australian branch campuses,Including the University of Birmingham Dubai, Middlesex University Dubai, and UOWD, generally require applicants to provide recognised evidence of English proficiency. Any waiver is subject to the university’s published admissions policy and the applicant’s academic background.
- Federal universitiesSuch as Khalifa University, UAEU, and Zayed University also maintain defined English-language requirements. Some applicants may qualify through an exemption or conditional-admission pathway, but completing school or university in English does not automatically remove the requirement.
The practical rule is clear: Indian students should not assume that an English-medium certificate or a particular Class 12 score guarantees a TOEFL waiver. The exemption must be confirmed for the specific university, programme, curriculum, and intake.
TOEFL or IELTS: which should you choose for UAE admission?
For most UAE universities on this list, TOEFL and IELTS are genuinely interchangeable, so the honest answer is: whichever one you’re already comfortable with, or whichever has a test centre and date that fits your schedule. A few things are worth weighing specifically for the UAE.
- If you’re aiming for Khalifa University or AUS, both have unusually specific TOEFL numbers (91 and 80) tied directly to their own admissions. Plan your target score against the TOEFL figure itself rather than converting from an IELTS target.
- If you’re already in the UAE, or planning to move there partway through your application, AUS and UAEU both run their own ETS-authorised TOEFL test centres locally. IELTS doesn’t offer quite the same setup.
- If your target university’s TOEFL cutoff isn’t confirmed, and several in the table above aren’t, don’t assume it mirrors the IELTS figure exactly. A university’s published TOEFL and IELTS minimums are usually two separately set numbers, not a strict conversion of one from the other, and they don’t always match ETS’s own concordance data either. A short email to admissions settles it.
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