UAE University becomes first government school to offer PhD

Daniel Bardsley

• Last Updated: May 08. 2009 1:00AM UAE / May 7. 2009 9:00PM GMT

UAE University in Al Ain will launch PhD programmes this year, a milestone in the 33-year history of higher education in the country.

As part of its goal of joining the world’s top 100 universities within five years, UAEU will take doctoral students from September, making it the first government university to offer the highest form of degree.

Officials expect about 20 candidates to enrol this year. They hope that by 2014 hundreds of doctoral students will begin studies annually, working particularly on research projects of relevance to the country.

Universities in the country have tended not to offer PhDs, as they have lacked the research expertise and funds to supervise students at the level required. One private university, Heriot Watt University in Dubai International Academic City, hopes to take on some part-time PhD students in two months.

At UAEU, the PhD programme will be accompanied by a wider emphasis on improving research capability at the university, which was founded in 1976 as the country’s first higher education institution.

“It’s a very significant milestone and a symptom of the maturity of the country in higher education,” said Dr Wyatt Hume, UAEU’s provost, who took up his post last year with a mandate to make the university globally renowned for its research.

“It’s a firm commitment to helping to meet the research needs of the nation and creating national leaders for the future.”

The university hopes for a bigger government grant to cover the cost of having PhD students. Each one is expected to cost the university Dh300,000 (US$81,700) a year in living, housing and research costs. Within five years the university expects to need an additional Dh210m per year for PhD students.

UAEU is negotiating a revised government funding formula for the increased costs, and additionally says it needs an extra Dh3.3bn over the next three years to finance its transformation into a research university.

The university’s plan also involves the progressive raising of undergraduate admission standards, the creation of more clubs and societies, improved sporting facilities and more visits by outside lecturers.

There are also plans to create eight extra research institutes within the university covering areas such as national, regional and global health, IT, the global and regional economy and energy, environment and water.

The vast majority of UAEU’s 14,000 students are Emiratis, with a smaller number of GCC nationals and others. PhD students are likely to come from a wide variety of nations; many will be UAE nationals.

Up to now, Emiratis wanting a PhD have gone abroad, many to the United States or Britain.

“This will increase opportunities for both men and women Emiratis to study here, but it will be particularly welcome to some of the women who, because of family reasons, are not able to travel overseas,” said Dr Hume, 64, who is originally from Australia but was previously provost of the University of California, which has 10 major campuses, including Berkeley, and nearly 200,000 students.

UAEU will later this year begin moving into new purpose-built academic buildings, but Dr Hume said these may not be enough.

“We may need additional dedicated research facilities,” he said.

Dr Hume said the university, which has about 800 academic staff, was not expected to grow significantly, although he said departments would look to hire more people with strong research experience.

PhDs will be available in the subjects UAEU offers at undergraduate level, including the humanities and social sciences, although Dr Hume said there was likely to be particular emphasis on engineering and health sciences.

Courses will follow an American model: one year of course work followed by research and the writing of a dissertation over the following two to three years.

Dr Hume said standards would rival those at “the best American universities, the best Australian universities and the best European institutions”, with a board of graduate research, of which he is the chairman, maintaining quality.

dbardsley@thenational.ae