- Home
- Freshman Year
Freshman Year
University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) offers global university degrees which are aligned with the UOW Australia campus. This alignment allows prospective students who meet UOW direct entry requirements to finish their bachelor degrees in three years, instead of the existing four-year programs.
Any prospective student that does not directly qualify for an advance entry three-year program, is still able to enroll in any of our bachelor’s degree, through a one-year Freshman Year.
The Freshman Year is a year-long program, designed to provide students with foundational knowledge to succeed in their preferred areas of specialisation.
The Freshman Year will provide students the foundational knowledge on Academic Language Skills, Mathematics and Statistics, General Education, computing and a specialist subject which will lead to admission to specific bachelor degree.
The minimum academic entry requirements and admissions criteria to be eligible for a bachelor degree depends on your high school curriculum. The minimum requirements based on the most common high school systems are outlined below:
School System | Bachelor Degree Direct Entry (4 Years) |
---|---|
UAE Al-Thanawiyya Al-Aama |
Elite or Advanced Track 70%, General Track 75% |
Arab Countries Al-Thanawiyyah Al-Aama |
70% |
American High School Diploma | Overall average grade of C (70% or 2.5/4.0) |
Bangladesh HSC |
GPA of 3.0 / 5.0 |
British GCE Curriculum | Minimum 5 IGCSE/GCSE subjects and 2AS/ 1A level subject(s) |
Chinese Senior High School | 60% |
International Baccalaureate Diploma | 21 Points |
India CBSE & ICSE, Grade 12 |
50% |
Iran Pre-University Certificate |
11 |
Kenya | 31 |
Nigeria WAEC & NECO |
Minimum of 7 subjects with no more than 1 “Pass” |
Pakistan Higher Secondary School Certificate |
50% |
CIS Countries Attestat |
Average 3/5 |
Notes:
- All students applying for these programs are required to have an EmSAT in Mathematics with a score of 600 or equivalent.
- Students with qualifications from other curriculum should contact the Student Recruitment and Admissions department at UOWD to determine their eligibility.
- All students applying from non UAE MoE curriculum must provide an equivalency of their Secondary School Certificate from the Ministry of Education, UAE; stating the completion of Grade 12.
- A student who does not satisfy the criteria for Equivalency of Secondary School Certificate, may be subject to conditional admission, based on receiving a Letter of No Objection to Conditional Admission issued by the Ministry.
At UOWD, all classes are taught in English and in order to enrol in a bachelor’s degree you will need to submit one of the following certificate of English language proficiency:
English Language Testing | Bachelor Degree Direct Entry (4 Years)* |
---|---|
IELTS Academic |
Overall IELTS (Academic) score of 5.0 & Minimum score of 5.0 in Reading & Writing |
TOEFL Internet-based |
61 |
TOEFL Computer based |
173 |
TOEFL** International paper based |
500 |
EmSAT Achieve – English |
1100 |
Notes:
* Students with a minimum overall score of 6.0 in academic IELTS (or equivalent) and a minimum score of 6.0 in reading and writing(or equivalent) are eligible for advanced standing for English Language subjects.
** Students admitted under this criterion must complete the test at AMIDEAST.

Open Day
Remember to attend our next Open Day on Saturday, 9 December 2023.
Join our experts to learn more about our degrees and how you can enrol in our
Winter intake which starts on 2 January 2024.