American University of Sharjah
الجامعة الأميركية في الشارقة
Emblem of the American University of Sharjah
Other name
AUS
TypePrivate university
Established1997
ChancellorDr. Tod A. Laursen[1]
PresidentBodour bint Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi
Academic staff
338
Administrative staff
563
StudentsTotal Fall 2020 Enrollment: 5,198 [2]
Undergraduates4,593
Postgraduates519
Location
Sharjah
,
United Arab Emirates

25°18′35″N 55°29′26″E / 25.30972°N 55.49056°E / 25.30972; 55.49056
CampusUrban, 128 hectares (316 acres)
ColorsBurgundy, White     
AffiliationsAAICU[3]
MascotLeopard
Websitewww.aus.edu

American University of Sharjah (AUS; Arabic: الجامعة الأميركية في الشارقة) is a private university in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 1997 by Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. Located in University City in Sharjah, AUS has more than 5,000 students from more than 94 countries and a full-time faculty of more than 360 from 48 countries.[4]

AUS offers 26 majors and 48 minors at undergraduate level[5] as well as 16 master's degrees[6] and a PhD in Engineering Systems Management.[7] The university is organized into three colleges and one school.

The university is licensed by the Commission for Academic Accreditation of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (UAE) in the United Arab Emirates, which recognizes all undergraduate and graduate programs. American University of Sharjah is accredited in the United States by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

History

The American University of Sharjah was founded in 1997 by the Emir of Sharjah, Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi.

AUS was granted a license by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in 1998 and held its first student council elections the same year. The subsequent year saw the university being granted a license by the UAE Commission for Academic Accreditation.

The development continued with the university launching its first graduate degree—a Master of Business Administration (MBA)—in 2000 and holding its first commencement the following year. The US Middle States Commission on Higher Education recognized this and, after a comprehensive assessment, granted accreditation to the university in 2004.

In 2006, Emir Al-Qasimi inaugurated the new AUS Library.[8]

The university saw its student body cross the 5,000 mark in 2009. In 2010, the AUS Bachelor of Architecture degree program became the first outside of North America to be granted accreditation by the US National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). In 2012, Forbes Middle East ranked the AUS MBA program as the best offered by a private university in the Gulf region.[9]

Campus

American University of Sharjah is situated in University City, 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the center of Sharjah City and about 25 km from the neighboring emirate of Dubai.

A palm tree garden outside the main administration building on campus

AUS is the flagship institution of University City, a 1,600 acre complex that includes other educational establishments. The university has dormitories, a sports complex, and a gym. Other amenities include a health center, a pharmacy, a bank, a post office, a barbershop, a ladies beauty salon, and two convenience stores.

The center of the AUS campus comprises 12 academic buildings. The academic buildings house classrooms and lecture halls of various sizes; a library; science, language, computer and engineering laboratories; workshops and digital studios; and offices for faculty, academic administrators, and support staff.

The campus includes student residential halls (for men and for women) as well as a large Sports Complex and a Student Center. Approximately 40 percent of the student body lives in campus housing. Unlike most American universities, AUS requires faculty members and their families to live on campus with the intention of providing students with a learning and living environment that allows for on-going interaction with faculty members and their families.[10]

Testing and Professional Development Center

The AUS Testing and Professional Development Center serves as a central point of testing for both the AUS campus and the community. The center accommodates the placement tests for newly AUS admitted students as well as university testing. The center is part of the ETS Strategic Testing Network and offers the ETS Internet-based TOEFL as well as an institutional paper-based TOEFL in addition to other testing services.

AUS is also the sole testing center in the United Arab Emirates for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE) and Professional Engineering Exam (PE) administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying[11] (NCEES) in the USA.[12][13]

Library

The AUS Library, an 11,000-square-meter facility, provides collections, services and programs to support the curricular and research needs of the university community. The majority of the library's rapidly growing physical collection of 141,000 items is in English; however, there are also materials available in Arabic. An online catalog system can be used to search for library materials from any location on or off campus. Using the library website, students and faculty can access e-books, online databases, full-text journals and other digital resources. The library works in conjunction with all parts of the university to provide academic resources for all classes taught at AUS. Facilities include PC workstations, an ‘information commons’ computer environment, two computer classrooms for teaching information literacy and research skills, book, study spaces, including group study and presentation rooms, media preview rooms; circulation/reserves and research help desks and self-checkout stations. The seating capacity is approximately 800. The AUS Archives department is a repository for institutional records that have been created by various academic and administrative departments of the university.[14][15]

Transportation

AUS offers a shuttle bus service between the student residential halls and other areas of campus. The Transportation Services can also provide transportation to the cities of Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Transportation Services also provides information on local taxi and rental car services. [www.aus.edu/transportation]

Global rankings

University rankings
Global – Overall
QS World[16]348 (2021)

American University of Sharjah was placed at 151-200 bracket in the THE Young University Rankings as well as at 201-250 bracket in the THE Asia University Rankings 2019.[17]

For two years in a row, in 2017 and 2018, American University of Sharjah topped the Times Higher Education (THE) list of universities with the highest percentage of international students globally.[18]


In 2023, American University of Sharjah was ranked #364 according to QS Top Universities.[19]

Student life

Student Publications

Practical writing experience is available to AUS students through three student publications, The Leopard, Realms and Arabian Leopard.[20]

The Leopard Newspaper: “A Reason to Roar”: The Leopard is an official university newspaper and a voice of AUS students. The leopard is the official AUS mascot and was chosen because the UAE preserves and protects the Arabian leopard, which is currently on the brink of extinction.

Realms: This magazine was founded as a literary outlet for AUS students.

Arabian Leopard: The Arabian Leopard newspaper gives students the chance to develop and present their Arabic writing skills and creative writing.

Model United Nations

American University of Sharjah Model United Nations, or AUSMUN, is an annual high school and university conference organized by the International Studies department at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.[21]

International exchange programs

The Office of International Exchange Programs was established to provide AUS students and faculty with exchange opportunities, including sending and hosting visiting scholars, aiding faculty members in arranging international study tours, developing exchange agreements with universities around the world, and achieving membership in the top global exchange consortia.[22]

The Office of International Exchange Programs works with AUS students who wish to study at universities in other countries either for a semester or a year. The office also facilitates the admission of international students coming to AUS to study.[23][24]

In addition to facilitating student exchanges and study abroad, the AUS Office of International Exchange Programs also administers processes enabling faculty-led study tours, visiting scholars, visiting guests and delegations, tuition exchange programs, and the dissemination of information regarding international scholarships and internships.[25][26][27]

Notable alumni

See also

American universities in the Middle East:

References

  1. ↑ "Dr. Tod A. Laursen appointed as new Chancellor of AUS".
  2. ↑ "Fast Facts - Fall 2020". 27 October 2020.
  3. ↑ "Homepage". 10 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Fast Facts - Fall 2018". American University of Sharjah. 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  5. ↑ "majors-Minors".
  6. ↑ "Master's Degrees". 10 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "PhD in Engineering - Engineering Systems Management (PhD ESM)". American University of Sharjah. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  8. ↑ reporter), (By a staff. "Shaikh Sultan to inaugurate new AUS library Wednesday". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  9. ↑ "UAE MBAs among best in Arab world". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  10. ↑ "Uniandi: American University of Sharjah (AUS)". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  11. ↑ "NCEES: AUS registration". Archived from the original on 2013-08-03. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  12. ↑ "AUS named sole UAE testing center for NCEES engineering exams | Companies | MEED". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  13. ↑ "Search".
  14. ↑ "Search".
  15. ↑ "AUS Library". 19 June 2011.
  16. ↑ [QS ranking 2021 https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021]
  17. ↑ "American University of Sharjah". Times Higher Education (THE). 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  18. ↑ "International student table 2018: top 200 universities". Times Higher Education (THE). 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  19. ↑ "American University of Sharjah". Top Universities. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  20. ↑ "Search".
  21. ↑ "Home". AusMUN. Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  22. ↑ "International Study and Exchange". 9 November 2016.
  23. ↑ "American University of Sharjah | IFSA-Butler". Archived from the original on 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  24. ↑ "International Study and Exchange". 9 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "International Student Exchange Programs".
  26. ↑ "Business, Engineering, Arts + Sciences". CIEE.
  27. ↑ "Studying Abroad at the American University in Sharjah". wellesleystudentabroadinsharjah.blogspot.ae.
  28. ↑ "Khaled bin Mohamed: Abu Dhabi's new crown prince and likely future Emirati president".
  29. ↑ Mishal Kanoo: “Never Quit Learning”
  30. ↑ Bardsley, Daniel (2022-04-19). "UAE's best universities: American University of Sharjah". The National. Retrieved 2022-11-11.
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