Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has enrolled 403 new students for its Fall 2025 intake, marking its largest cohort to date.

This includes the university’s first undergraduate class, new graduate cohorts in existing programmes in Computer Science, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Robotics, as well as the initial intakes for the Master of Science in Statistics & Data Science and the Master in Applied Artificial Intelligence.

The semester received over 8,000 applications across the university’s undergraduate and graduate programmes, resulting in an acceptance rate of approximately 5%.

Timothy Baldwin, MBZUAI Provost and Professor of Natural Language Processing, said:

“AI is transforming the world at a pace that vastly outstrips traditional education models. To realise its full global potential, MBZUAI invests heavily in reviewing and updating our programmes to reflect modern AI research methodology and workflows, based on our bleeding-edge AI research credentials and grounded in societal and industrial needs.”

The newly launched Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence offers two streams: AI for Business and AI for Engineering.

The programme combines technical training with leadership development, hands-on entrepreneurship, and industry experience.

The first cohort comprises 115 undergraduate students from more than 25 countries, with over 25 per cent of students being UAE nationals.

Professor Baldwin added:

“Our extraordinarily talented students don’t just learn about AI, but learn with it, through it, and for it. This is an extraordinary value proposition across all our programmes, but especially for our undergraduate students, who will be studying towards a bachelor’s degree in AI that I believe sets a new global benchmark in terms of technical depth, real-world relevance, and the high-end AI job-readiness of the students.”

Key highlights of the Fall 2025 intake include a total student body of more than 700, representing over 47 nationalities.

Undergraduate students come from countries including Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and the UK.

Postgraduate students come from Canada, China, Egypt, France, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Serbia, UAE, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam.

Among the incoming graduate students, 151 (27.5%) hold degrees from universities ranked in the world’s top 100 for computer science (CSRankings), including Cornell University, Tsinghua University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of California, San Diego.

The university has begun its Orientation Week to introduce new students to its culture of academic rigor, AI-focused research, and community engagement.

The programme includes academic sessions, mentorship activities, and cultural events highlighting UAE heritage and life in Abu Dhabi.

Features such as the Orientation Mini Fair provide access to resources supporting academic success, career development, and student life.

Orientation Week aims to foster a sense of belonging and connection, laying the groundwork for both academic and personal growth.

Featured image credit: MBZUAI