Admission Requirements

Abu Dhabi School of Management (ADSM) dd welcomes applications from students from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience. Applicants will need to meet both Academic and English Language requirements for acceptance into graduate or undergraduate programs.

Undergraduate Program

Academic Requirements

Applicants must hold a UAE Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent approved by the Ministry of Education. An Equivalency Letter issued from the Ministry of Education is required for a curriculum that does not follow the UAE curriculum.

English Language Requirements

Applicants must meet one of the following conditions:

For holders of UAE Secondary School Certificate – Advanced Stream, the applicant’s English Language grade in his/her high school transcript must be 80% or higher, or its equivalent from other streams, as determined by the approved Ministry of Education matrix.
Holders of High School Certificates from English-Curriculum Schools (e.g. American, British) may be admitted directly.
Holders of High School Certificates from non-English-Curriculum Schools (e.g. Indian) must submit proof of English Language Proficiency Level (IELTS 5.0 or its equivalent).

Applicants who do not meet any of the conditions listed above, must attend an interview with the Undergraduate Admissions Committee to further assess their academic background and English Language ability prior to joining ADSM. Based on the interview’s outcome, the Committee may grant the applicant a direct or conditional admission.

Bridging Courses

Applicants to the BScM program may be required to complete non-credit bearing bridging courses before full admission. The bridging courses, shown below, aim to introduce students to fundamental concepts in mathematics and English language.

Course Code	Course Title
BRD 101	Pre-Calculus
BRD 102	English Skills

Bridging Course(s) will be organized prior to commencing classes and will be published on the Academic Calendar.

Conditional Admission

A limited number of applicants are granted conditional admission based on one of the following criteria:

Conditional ELR: Applicants who do not meet the English Language requirements, may be admitted as Conditional ELR following an interview with the Admissions Committee, and their admission will be subject to one of the following conditions:

The applicant to complete the English Skills (BRD 102) Bridging Course prior to admission.
The applicant to successfully complete the Academic English Language qualifying course (6 CH) during the first semester, with a reduced course load determined by the Admissions Committee, and not exceeding a total of twelve (12) credit hours, which includes the Academic English Language course.

Conditional Academic: Applicants whose high school certificate is issued by a school that does follow UAE curriculum and do not provide an Equivalency Letter issued by the Ministry of Education as stated in Section 2.1.1, may be admitted conditionally subject to the following decrees:

Ministerial Decree No. (73) for the Year 2023
Ministerial Decree No. (41) for the Year 2023
Ministerial Decree No. (41) for the Year 2023
Administrative Decree No. (519) for the Year 2022

Applicants may contact the Office of Student Affairs on 02 6917800 for further information.

Meeting Conditional Requirements

A student must the conditions of their admission, including English language and academic requirements, as outlined above by the end of the first semester of study.

Contact the Admissions team: admission@adsm.ac.ae

Credit Transfer

Students are expected to complete all degree requirements in residence at ADSM. Transfer credits for courses taken elsewhere are accepted in certain exceptional situations deemed appropriate by ADSM. To apply for credit transfer, students must meet the following criteria:

all transfer students must meet the Direct Entry Requirements including the minimum English requirement;
the institution where the student has studied must be accredited by the Ministry of Education in the UAE. Institutions of higher learning located outside of the UAE must be recognized by the Ministry of Education;
the course studied must have required the student to attend classes, i.e. not by correspondence or distance learning;
the student can claim credit transfer for courses that she/he has passed, and which has a counterpart in in ADSM’s BScM program;
the student must submit a course description on the institution paper to be considered for Credit Transfer. The course must cover at least 80% of the topics in the corresponding course in ADSM’s BScM program;
the course must carry the same amount of study hours and must be at the same level or higher;
the student must have passed the course with a minimum grade of C;
the student must be in good academic standing (CGPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent) in the institution from which they wish to transfer credits
the student can claim Credit Transfers for no more than 50% of the courses in ADSM’s BScM program;
transfer credits cannot be applied to courses at the 400 level.
no credit transfers will be granted to the Internship course.

Contact the Admissions team: admission@adsm.ac.ae

Masters Programs

Academic Requirements

Applicants for ADSM graduate programs must have completed a bachelor degree or equivalent at an accredited institution of higher education and have achieved the minimum grade as outlined below:

PROGRAM	*BACHELOR	CGPA – Direct Entry	OTHER
MBA	Any specialisation	> 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent	three years work experience
Master of Science in Quality Business Excellence	Business or Engineering	> 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent	Applicants with a degree in an area other than business or engineering and have relevant work experience, or professional qualifications, may be considered for admission, providing that they complete the Bridging Course(s).
Master of Science in Leadership and Organizational Development	Business	> 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent	Applicants with a degree in an area other than business and have relevant work experience, or professional qualifications, may be considered for admission, providing that they complete the Bridging Course(s).
Master of Science in Business Analytics	Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Economics, Business, or a Quantitative Social Science	> 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent	Applicants with a degree in an area other than that specified and have relevant work experience, or professional qualifications, may be considered for admission, providing that they complete the Bridging Course(s).

*Bachelor degrees must be recognized by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

English Language Requirements

Admission of applicants to master’s programs offered at ADSM is determined by English language proficiency level, as follows:

English Language Certificate	Admission Type	Conditions
EmSAT (English): 1250 IELTS (Academic): 5.5 TOEFL (iBT): 71 TOEFL (CBT): 197 TOEFL (ITP): 530	Direct Entry	None
EmSAT (English): 1100 IELTS (Academic): 5.0 TOEFL (iBT): 61 TOEFL (CBT): 173 TOEFL (ITP): 500	Conditional ELR	During the first semester, the applicant must. • take a maximum of six (6) credit hours in the first term of study, not including intensive English courses. • Complete the Academic English (ACE 6001) course.

Exemption from English Language Requirements: Applicants who have completed their undergraduate degree at an English-medium higher education institution in an English-speaking country may be exempt from providing proof of English language proficiency. This exemption is subject to an interview with the Admissions Committee.

Bridging Courses

Students applying for the MSQBE, MSLOD or MSBA programs, and do not have an undergraduate degree in the required area as stated above, are required to attend Bridging Course(s) prior to enroling in their program of study.

Bridging Course(s) are non-CGPA courses and aim to bridge the gap in students’ knowledge and prepare them for the kind of work required from them as Master’s level students in a graduate business management school.

For the MSQBE and MSLOD programs, the Bridging Program include the following courses:

Introduction to Business Management (BRD 8013)
Research and Analytics in Business (BRD 8014)

For the MSBA program, the Bridging Program include the following courses:

Research and Analytics in Business (BRD 8014)
Introduction to Information Systems (BRD 8015)

Bridging Course(s) will be organized prior to commencing classes and will be published on the Academic Calendar.

Conditional Admission

Applicants may be granted conditional admission following an interview with the Admissions Committee and based on one of the following criteria:

Conditional Academic: granted to applicants who are not able to provide a bachelor’s degree recognized by the MOHESR at the time of their admission. These applicants may be admitted as Conditional Academic and must provide the required recognition by the end of the first term of study.
Conditional ELR: granted to applicants who do not meet the English Language Requirements. These applicants may be admitted as Conditional ELR, and must:

Take a maximum of six (6) during their first term of study.
Complete the Academic English (ACE 6001) course during their first term of study.
Provide one of the following valid and current English Language proficiency certificates:

IELTS (Academic)	TOEFL (iBT)	TOEFL (CBT)	TOEFL (ITP)
5.0	61	173	500

All instruction at ADSM is carried out in English and you will need to demonstrate an adequate level of English language proficiency to enrol.

Meeting Conditional Requirements

A student must the conditions of their admission, including English language and academic requirements, as outlined above by the end of the first term of study.

Contact the Admissions team: admission@adsm.ac.ae

Credit Transfer

ADSM considers credit transfer requests for credits obtained from UAE Higher Education Institutions recorded in the UAE National Register of Licensed Higher Education Institutions, or other organizations in the UAE approved by CAA, or institutions recognized by UAE’s Ministry of Education located outside the UAE.

Students applying for credit transfer must meet the Direct Entry Admissions’ requirements as illustrated above. A specialized committee will examine each application and make decisions regarding them.

To apply for credit transfer students must submit official transcripts, and ADSM will consider transfer credit requests for graduate level credits of relevant courses that provide equivalent learning outcomes, in which the student earned a minimum grade of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent).

ADSM limits transferred credits for its Master’s programs to a maximum of six credit hours.

Contact the Admissions team: admission@adsm.ac.ae

DBA Program

Academic Requirements

Applicants for ADSM graduate programs must have completed a Master degree or equivalent at an accredited institution of higher education and have achieved the minimum grade as outlined below:

PROGRAM	Masters	CGPA – Direct Entry	OTHER
Doctor of Business Administration	Business	> 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or equivalent	Three years work experience

*Master degrees must be recognized by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

English Language Requirements

Admission of applicants to master’s programs offered at ADSM is determined by English language proficiency level, as follows:

English Language Certificate	Admission Type	Conditions
EmSAT (English): 1250 IELTS (Academic): 5.5 TOEFL (iBT): 71 TOEFL (CBT): 197 TOEFL (ITP): 530	Direct Entry	None

English Language Certificate

Admission Type

Conditions

EmSAT (English): 1250

IELTS (Academic): 5.5

TOEFL (iBT): 71

TOEFL (CBT): 197

TOEFL (ITP): 530

Direct Entry

None

Bridging Courses

Students applying to the DBA program, and do not have a background in business, bachelor or master's degree, are required to complete Bridging Course(s) during their first semester of study.

Bridging Course(s) are non-CGPA courses and aim to bridge the gap in students’ knowledge and prepare them for the kind of work required from them as doctoral students in a graduate business management school.

For the DBA programs, the bridging courses include the following courses:

Research Fundamentals
General Management
Operations Management
Entrepreneurship Fundamentals

Credit Transfer

ADSM limits transferred credits for its Doctor program to a maximum of 25%.

Contact the Admissions team: admission@adsm.ac.ae

Industry Programs

Academic Programs

Admission