RECOMMENDING A UNIVERSITY FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDY. Recommending a University for Undergraduate Study

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1 1 Recommending a University for Undergraduate Study By Jaime Buchanan, Mihaela Dascalu, John Laing and Sarah Calderwood ABP, Zayed University Abu Dhabi

2 Introduction: 2 The purpose of this report is to recommend a university for undergraduate study, based on a set number of criteria. In order to identify the best option, the following steps were undertaken: first, each group member researched criteria to consider when choosing where to study. Then, the group held a meeting to decide which criteria should be used to choose a university. After the criteria were selected, each group member researched two different universities, to evaluate them according to the criteria. Jaime researched UAE University and New York University, while John reviewed Abu Dhabi University and Murdoch University. Sarah researched the American University of Sharjah and University Kings College in London, and Mihaela investigated Zayed University and Wilfrid Laurier University. The group then met, and discussed the various institutions, eventually selecting Zayed University as the best choice. Choosing the Criteria: In order to choose the best university, criteria for evaluating the choices had to be established. The following criteria were selected: 1. Location: The group determined that a university near home was important. This means that a university should be close enough to commute daily. A school in the same neighbourhood, or no more than a 20-minute drive away would rank highest, while a university that requires accommodation in another country would score lowest. 2. Major: This is one of the most important criteria. Universities were evaluated based on their choice of programs, and a higher ranking given to those that offered the intended major of each group member. 3. Extracurricular Activities: This criterion means that the university offers a variety of sports and clubs for students to join. A good range of extracurricular activities was considered important, particularly sports and special interest clubs such as photography. 4. Graduate Programs: Many members of the group plan to study a Master s degree after completing the baccalaureate. Therefore, schools were also evaluated on the basis of whether they offered postgraduate programs. 5. University Size: Another important consideration was the size of the university. Universities that are considered small to medium sized were preferred, as they tend to have smaller class sizes. 6. Scholarships: Finally, universities were evaluated according to the scholarships offered. Schools that provided funded education for Emirati students were preferred, as well as schools that provided financial incentives for high achieving students.

3 University Options: 3 The following universities were investigated in this project: 1. Abu Dhabi University (ADU) in Abu Dhabi / Al Ain This university is located in the two major cities of Abu Dhabi and offers a variety of majors, including arts, engineering and IT. It is open to both national and international students, but there are separate campuses for male and female students. 2. American University of Sharjah (AUS) This university is located in the emirate of Sharjah. Several degree programs are available, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. AUS accepts students from all around the world, and has a coed campus. 3. Murdoch University in Dubai (MUD) Murdoch University is an Australian institution with a satellite campus in Dubai s Knowledge Village. MUD provides a range of programming for students in Dubai, with exchange opportunities in Australia. 4. New York University in Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) This institutions is an international university whose main campuses are in New York, NY, Shanghai, and Abu Dhabi. Programs range across the arts and sciences, with graduate and post-graduate degrees available as well. Students who study at NYUAD have the opportunity to take a semester at another of NYU s campuses across the globe. 5. United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain (UAEU) UAEU is the UAE s oldest university. It situated in Al Ain, and has separate campuses for male and female students, with degree programs in science, engineering, education, the arts, and law. 6. Kings College in London UK (KCL) One of London s most prestigious higher education institutions, Kings College in London provides an extensive range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The school also caters to international students, with many facilities and support networks designed to enhance the university experience for international students. 7. Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada (WLU) This is a medium sized university in Ontario, less than an hour from Toronto s city centre. The university has several major faculties, including engineering, science, and arts, and also provides degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and PhD level. 8. Zayed University in Abu Dhabi / Dubai (ZU) Zayed University was established in 1998 under direction of the late president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It has campuses in both major UAE cities: Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and provides gender segregated undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of Arts courses.

4 Findings: 4 University Location Major Extracurricular Graduate University Scholarships Total Activities Programs Size ADU AUS MUD NYUAD UAEU KCL WLU ZU Results indicate that Zayed University was the best choice for studying according the criteria. This is because it ranked highly for location, major, university size, and scholarships. While ZU did not provide a graduate program in the exact intended major, there were related Master s programs available. A number of extracurricular activities were also available, although not as many at some of the other universities. UAEU, on the other hand, ranked lowest. This was due to its large size, and not offering a major in the Arts program, which was the desired major of the group. Recommendations: Based on the research, the following recommendations are made, in order of preference from 1 to Zayed University ZU ranked highest because several criteria give more credit to universities that are based in the UAE, in particular in Abu Dhabi. The University also ranked highly in the Scholarship category, as Emirati students are fully funded by the government for their undergraduate study, with opportunities to receive financial aid for postgraduate study as well. Most importantly, this group intend to study a Major in Art & Art History, and ZU was one of the few universities to offer a degree in this field. 2. New York University Abu Dhabi NYUAD ranked quite highly for a number of reasons. First of all, like ZU, it is local and offers the intended major for the group. Furthermore, it has excellent extracurricular activities and scholarship opportunities. It scored lowest on graduate programs, as NYUAD does not currently offer MA degrees in Arts or related fields. 3. Abu Dhabi University ADU was third in the rankings. It scored highly in location, university size and scholarship opportunities, just like the other two local universities; however, it scored lower in the major and in extracurricular activities. 4. American University of Sharjah AUS came fourth in the rankings because of a slightly further location, requiring either a commute or accommodation in the city. It also scored lower on graduate programs because

5 of the lack of a Master s option in Art or Art history. For the other categories, it scored favourably Murdoch University in Dubai Murdoch scored favourably in location, size, and scholarships available, but was average for the other categories. The lowest score was because of a lack of suitable graduate programs. These factors caused MUD to be ranked fifth overall. 6. King s College in London Although King s College scored very high on graduate and extracurricular programs, the location was a negative influencer, as well as its very large size. As a result, KCL ranked sixth. 7. Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada Location was another major factor in the ranking for Wilfrid Laurier, along with size and scholarship opportunities. It scored very well in major and graduate programs, but overall came seventh. 8. UAE University in Al Ain The last choice university was UAEU in Al Ain for a number of reasons. The programs available were not suited to arts students, and this affected three major categories. The university ranked well in location and scholarship opportunities, but programming options put it last of all the choices. Conclusion: Based on the results of the research conducted in this project, it is clear that ZU is the best choice for local Emirati students who wish to study an undergraduate Arts degree. It scored highest on the criteria used for selection purposes, which included location, major availability, range of extracurricular activities, graduate program opportunities, school size, and scholarship opportunities. NYUAD scored very closely, and would be an acceptable alternative. References Academics. (2018). Uaeu.ac.ae. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from New York University Abu Dhabi. (2018). Home. New York University Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from King's College London - Research & Innovation at King's College London. (2018). Kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from Murdoch University Dubai. (2018). Edu.murdochdubai.com. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from wagv7ekguwk2tiheufp-ripkqcnmpdixesh_7agi_ardjeslrlgldxf0e9tbock5iqavd _BwE#?fsrcname=googlesearch

6 Programs ABU DHABI UNIVERSITY. (2018). Adu.ac.ae. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from rograms Programs Wilfrid Laurier University. (2018). Wlu.ca. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from Study at AUS. (2018). American University of Sharjah. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from Zayed University, United Arab Emirates. (2018). Zu.ac.ae. Retrieved 31 January 2018, from 6