Admission and Enrolment

Entry Requirements

Please access the HCT website link below to refer to the admissions and placement criteria for all HCT credential programs: 

https://hct.ac.ae/en/admissions/entry-requirements/

Eligibility Requirements

Students Eligible for Federal Funding

UAE Nationals and children of UAE National mothers may apply for federally funded admission to HCT, provided they meet all the following criteria:

  • Possess a valid Emirates ID, UAE National ID/Family Book, and a valid UAE passport (or another passport if his/her mother is a UAE national);
  • Passed the UAE General School Certificate (GSC) or hold equivalent qualifications.
  • Completed National Service or is exempted from National Service (male students only).

Admissions Prioritization and Federal Funding Alignment

  • In alignment with the updated Federal Funding System, the previous applicant categorization (Priority 1, Priority 2, and Priority 3) shall no longer apply. All applicants shall be considered for admission based on the following criteria:
  • Recency of graduation from secondary education;
  • Fulfilment of the approved HCT admissions requirements; and
  • Compliance with the federal funding age eligibility requirement (not exceeding 35 years of age at the time of admission for federally funded eligibility).
  • Admission decisions shall be made in accordance with approved academic standards and subject to program capacity.
  • Furthermore, in accordance with the Federal Funding System for Government Higher Education Institutions, any semesters of study previously funded at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), or at other federal institutions including Zayed University (ZU) and United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), shall be deducted from the applicant’s remaining federal funding eligibility.

To ensure accuracy and compliance, HCT shall coordinate with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), ZU, and UAEU to verify transfer student records and federally funded study periods prior to finalizing admission and funding status.

Self-sponsoring Students

Certain categories of students who are not eligible for admission to HCT, but meet the academic criteria, may qualify for HCT admission, provided they pay their own tuition fees as specified below:

Criteria for students paying their own tuition fees

  • Non-Emirati high school students with a High School average of 85% (all streams), and High School qualifying subjects' grades of 90%.
  • UAE Nationals who have already received a federally funded academic credential and are interested in pursuing their studies to earn another credential from HCT.

Tuition Fees for Self-Sponsored Students

  • A non-refundable admission application fee of AED 262.50, inclusive of VAT, is payable at the time of application.

Per Credit Hour Costs
Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) structures tuition fees based on the number of credit hours registered by the student each semester. The tuition fee per credit hour may vary depending on the academic program, qualification level, and approved fee structure.

Estimated Cost Per Semester
The estimated cost is calculated based on the expected number of credit hours registered during the semester and the normal duration required to complete the program.

Tution_fees

Tuition fees shown above are zero-rated for VAT purposes under Article 45(13) of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on Value Added Tax and Article 40 of its Executive Regulation (Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017). Should this VAT treatment change under future legislation, Cabinet Decision, or Federal Tax Authority guidance, applicable VAT will be charged in accordance with the law in effect at the time of billing

Students seeking transfer from Higher Education Institutions to HCT

  1. To be considered for transfer to a credential program at HCT, an applicant must meet the following minimum academic requirements:
    • Meet HCT’s established secondary education admissions requirements.
    • Meet HCT’s English proficiency requirements.
    • Successfully completed one semester or more in a federal, governmental or other CAA-accredited institution inside the UAE or abroad.
    • Achieve a good academic standing at the time of leaving the institution from which an applicant is transferring, i.e. not on probation or dismissed for any reasons.
  2. Students who meet the minimum requirements and are in good academic standing must apply to HCT as a non-current applicant.
  3. In certain cases, applicants who completed one or two semesters in other institutions and have academic probation or academically dismissed but meet HCT’s established secondary education requirements may appeal for admission consideration as a first-year student. In such cases no credits will be transferred towards graduation requirement in HCT.
  4. Since there are significant program content differences between higher education institutions, students should be aware that transfer of credit may result in the student having to repeat some of the studies already completed in the institution he/she is transferring from. The final decision and the year and program placement will be solely determined by the appropriate Academic Division at HCT.
  5. A minimum Grade C is required in any course in order to be considered for transfer of credit. Courses for which transfer of credit is approved by HCT will be assigned a transfer credit grade. This grade will not be included in the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA in HCT.
  6. Course equivalencies will be determined by HCT and will be based on consultations with the appropriate Academic Division.
  7. Occasionally, applicants may opt to bring to HCT’s attention special circumstances that they wish to be considered in the review of their transfer application. Such circumstances may include, amongst others, change of place of residence, recent marriage, medical issues, or a physical disability. In such cases, applicants must provide documentation to support the special circumstances, e.g. proof of marriage, residence change, or medical report.
  8. Transfer credits from another institution cannot exceed 50% of the total credits required for completion of the relevant HCT credential. No final year courses may be transferred.
  9. Applicants who have ceased their studies for one semester or more prior to applying for admissions consideration in HCT will not be considered for admission as current transfer students. To be considered for credit transfer, applicant must be a continuing student in the institution in which he/she was enrolled prior to applying for admission consideration in HCT.

Re-enrollment and Re-admission after an Interruption

Students who wish to enroll after an interruption or graduation (for upgrading students) are classified by their campuses under one of the Categories below:

Deferral

Applicable for:

  • Students who withdraw from a given semester must wait to repeat the course or set of courses in a subsequent term.

Note: The deferral can span up to one year, after which a re-enrolment is applied. To remove the hold, students must apply for re-admission. Deferred students who re-enroll before the expiration of the deferral period are not required to apply for re-admission. The deferral period starts from the semester when the withdrawal happened and lasts for up to one year. For students who previously qualified under Federal Funding, they need to check on their funding eligibility based on any new guidelines that were implemented after they deferred.

Re-admission

Applicable for:

  • Students who deferred enrollment, but who did not enroll before the expiration of the deferral period. Students withdrawn without deferral in a given semester who did not return to “enrolled” status in the following academic year.
  • Students who were awarded HCT credential and seek another credential at a higher level and did not return in the following semester. These students’ funding period for the new higher level degree takes into account their past funded period of their graduated degree.
  • For students who previously qualified under Federal Funding, they need to check on their funding eligibility based on any new guidelines that were implemented after they are re-admitted.

Reinstatement

Applicable for:

  • Students who previously were required by their college to withdraw without deferral from their program for academic or other reasons and have applied to resume their studies.
  • For these students who previously qualified under Federal Funding, they need to check on their funding eligibility based on any new guidelines that were implemented before their reinstatement.