The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at the American University in the Emirates is designed for experienced professionals seeking to advance their leadership and strategic management capabilities in a fast-changing global business environment. The program offers a personalized academic experience that builds on students’ prior knowledge and professional expertise, guided by AUE’s distinguished faculty. Through applied learning and real-world case studies, students gain the analytical and decision-making skills essential for today’s competitive marketplace.
With its global outlook, the AUE MBA reflects Dubai’s position as an international business hub, offering access to diverse industries and networking opportunities. The program brings together students from multiple nationalities and professional backgrounds, fostering cross-cultural collaboration and innovation. A research track enables learners to specialize and develop a thesis within their chosen business discipline—preparing graduates for impactful leadership roles across the public and private sectors.
| Course Category | Total Number of Courses | Total Number of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Bridging Courses | 5 | 10 |
| Core Courses | 7 | 21 |
| Elective Courses | 2 | 6 |
| Thesis | 2 | 6 |
| Total (Excluding Bridging Courses) | 33 Credit Hours |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Management and Organizational Behavior | 2 | The course examines management functions and theories and analysis the implications of organizational behavior on the process of management. Students will be able to understand and assess behavior of individuals and groups in both culturally diverse and non-diverse organizational setting. The course will help in challenging students to think critically and evaluate the effects that an external environment has on organizational process and behavior. Moreover, students will analyze the elements of organizational structure and the impact that they have on employees. The course covers topics such as: theories and functions of management, organizational culture and structure, employees’ motivation, communication in organizations, stress and conflict management, leadership, team work, job satisfaction, etc. |
| Production and Operations Management | 2 | The course is designed for students to understand the analytic methods in operation of organizations and industries. The course aims to familiarize the issues facing the operations of organization, production scheduling, capacity and Location planning, process selection, facility layout, inventory control, project management, and quality control to gain competitive advantage in an organization. |
| Marketing Concepts | 2 | Course constitutes a preparatory course for MBA students and provides them with fundamental knowledge of marketing. This course will familiarize students with the scope, terminology, topics, and procedures of marketing strategy and importance of consumer. Students will discuss marketing concepts like product planning strategy, pricing, advertising and distribution from a business perspective. |
| Accounting for Managers | 2 | This preparatory course introduces the accounting concepts necessary for decision making as it is the core of efficient management processes that heavily depends upon useful accounting information. This course covers accounting and financial information that can help managers to measure and assess performance as well as assist with operational planning within the organization and choose between cost effective alternatives. |
| Statistics and Quantitative Analysis | 2 | This course aims to acquire a sound education in those statistical concepts quantitative analysis and their applications in the fields of business and economics. This course requires fundamental understanding of basic statistics like frequency distribution, averages, measures of variability, probability. The course also recommends a prior understanding of software application SPSS or Megastat. Course covers statistical concepts and methods like hypothesis testing, variance Tests, regression analysis, Decision theory, chi-Square analysis and ANOVA with an emphasis on business application. Emphasis on the formulation of problems and their solution by standard methods and by computer packages. |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing and International Business | 3 | Marketing and International Business course is designed to expose the students to the dynamic of international environment within its practical point. The dramatic and the increase of free trade in the modern world have had a clear effect on the international business activities of many countries, including marketing; number of business activities is becoming increasingly global in the recent years. Via this course, the student will practice and apply all learned concepts related to international trade theory, counter-trade, cultural differences, global marketing, foreign exchange markets, political environments and international business strategies with an emphasize on applying marketing process in the international environment. |
| Advanced Financial Management | 3 | This course is intended to equip students with advanced knowledge of corporate finance by linking theory and application. The students should be able to understand and apply the practical application of financial theory, concepts and relationships, to review and prioritize concepts in economics, marketing, and resource management, essential in value creation. Additionally, they should analyze different concepts, theories, application and issues related to managerial finance, techniques of analysis, and most importantly, making decisions and managing to create value. Finally, students should develop knowledge in corporate governance issues such as corporate control, bankruptcy, liquidation, and reorganization. |
| Research Methodology | 3 | This course offers an introduction to quantitative and qualitative designs in management research as well as to applied statistical methods. The students will learn the language and terminology of business research, the research process, use of different data sources and statistical techniques, measurement issues such as reliability and validity, and research instruments including questionnaires and interview schedules. It will prepare students for conducting an independent study, including formulating research questions, reviewing the literature, selecting a research approach and analytical/statistical models appropriate for answering the questions. The course has an applied orientation and students will develop basic research skills and knowledge to effectively use research in decision-making and solving organizational problems. The students will be trained in the use of SPSS and NVivo software programs and will learn to apply SPSS-based statistical methods in their quantitative studies and NVivo in qualitative research projects. The course will emphasize the importance of cross-cultural dimension in the design and execution of empirical studies relating to different aspects of business. |
| Managerial Economics | 3 | This course is designed to enhance the understanding of microeconomic concepts and quantitative tools used in decision making problems. Topics to be covered in the course include forecasting consumer demand, production, pricing and production decisions, and sensitivity analysis. The course covers the changing structure of organizations and the strategic behavior of managers in today's complex and continuously changing business environment. |
| Strategic Management Theory and Practice | 3 | The Strategic Management course is the capstone course in the MBA Program which integrates the knowledge from different business disciplines such as Economics, Financial Management, Marketing International Business and Information technologies. The course will help students gain knowledge necessary to successfully manage organizations in a highly complex business environment. Various advanced strategic models and tools are used to enhance the practical application of recent theoretical models. Course helps students develop knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to design effective strategies for global business. |
| Leadership and Change Management | 3 | This course examines the importance of leadership in organizations and change management and explains the role of leaders in times of change. The course objective is to provide a balance of theory and practice as it analyses the major leadership theories and change management in regional and international organizations. This course will also help in challenging students to think critically and to make decisions by considering the causes and nature of change, cultural and political contexts for change and how to lead change and designing, planning and implementing change in organization The topics covered include managerial roles and decisions, leadership skills, traits and behavior, various leadership theories, distribution of power in organization, organizational change, etc. Students will be put into leadership role, engaged in applying the concepts and handling leadership function. |
| Management of Information Technology | 3 | The course discusses the information systems planning, and organizing and the application of information technology advancements. This course has a managerial perspective that describes how IS / IT supports business goals and functions are applicable to management, what information resources are available to the manager, and how the manager is involved in the information development process. |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Thesis 1 | 3 | Students in this course will work with their thesis supervisor to develop a thesis proposal and begin their distinctive, applied research project. The primary goal is for the student to practice the mechanisms of transitioning from concept to active inquiry. Depending on the nature of the topic, the student will develop a study questions, conduct a literature review, develop a methodological approach, and begin preliminary research. Students are expected to apply qualitative, quantitative, and comparative research approaches to the chosen topic. |
| Thesis 2 | 3 | In this course, students will continue developing their thesis project, revising techniques (if required), addressing challenges, analyzing findings, and eventually articulating the complete experience. Students will build on work from the previous semester and put all of the pieces together to complete the final thesis project, following the required research process and procedures. Students will be required to provide a verbal defense as part of the assessment and fulfilment of the course. |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Cost and Managerial Accounting | 3 | This course provides a comprehensive, graduate level exploration of managerial accounting. The course focuses on the use of accounting data in the management of an organization. Naturally, what accounting data are interesting and how they might be used depend on what the manager is seeking to accomplish and what other information is available. |
| Project Management | 3 | This course is designed to provide an overview of main concepts, models, project management tools, techniques, and challenges associated with planning and managing projects. This course equips the students with the required knowledge in different related topics like Project Selection, Scope Management, Project Team Building, Risk Management, Cost estimation and Budgeting, Project Scheduling, Project Evaluation and Control, Resource Management. All the covered topics are aligned with PMBOK, and the student will experience his practical skills through MS Project. |
| Innovation and Entrepreneurship | 3 | This course marks students’ introduction to the theory and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship. Whether they are creating an opportunity or seizing an existing one students explore the core concepts and tools for creating new products or services, new businesses, or new markets from a multilayered perspective. The course examines the fundamentals of innovation in a multitude of settings, operationalizing the entrepreneurial spirit via a comprehensive business plan, and making decisions in the areas of strategic planning, financing, marketing, process improvement, and management with an awareness of the opportunities and challenges of working in an increasingly complex environment regionally and internationally. |
| Total Quality Management | 3 | This course is designed to expose students to the various TQM frameworks, philosophies, and quality improvement basic and advanced tools necessary for implementing the quality culture that characterizes world-class organizations of the 21st century. The course is built around the core values and the criteria for performance excellence embodied in the national as well as international Quality Award. Furthermore, the course explores these key actions necessary for transforming business organization into excellent organizations that deliver value to their customers, clients, and constituents. |
| Digital Marketing and Social Media | 3 | This course introduces students to emerging interactive technologies and social media tools, and discusses ways in which these technologies can be exploited by businesses to more effectively serve markets. Students will further examine how marketing-related functions are changed by the potential of new technologies and how these new technologies can become key components of the organization’s strategic marketing effort. Special emphasize is given to analysis of modern digital, tech-savvy connected customers, digital subcultures and engagement and content marketing practices. |
| Seminar in Contemporary Topics in Management | 3 | The primary objective of this course is to acquaint students with some of the most recent business practices, trends and challenges within various business disciplines. Specific contemporary/ emerging topics from different areas of management are covered, such as Blockchain and Bitcoin, Organizational Excellence, Neuromarketing, Design Thinking, Mobile commerce, Smart City Management, Crowd- funding and Lean Startup etc. This will provide students with an opportunity to explore cutting-edge developments in different management areas, and to choose the topic most relevant to their field of interest. The course will explore current topics with a special emphasize on contemporary business and management practices and challenges from MENA region. |
| Organizational Development | 3 | This course explores the major aspects of Organization Development, to manage and implement change effectively within contemporary organization. This course will emphasize on practicing Organizational Development using a wide variety of interventions to achieve greater effectiveness. |
| Islamic Economics and Finance | 3 | This course provides a comprehensive study of the Islamic Economics and Finance. It focuses on the Islamic economic philosophies underlying the Islamic economic system and its implications for the tools of fiscal and monetary policy. Economic fairness, market functionality & efficiency, and equity are examined from an Islamic vantage point. |
Goal 1: Develop students’ abilities to perform in diverse, competitive, team-intensive, and dynamic work environment.
Goal 2: Offer innovative and cutting-edge curricula that bring academia, students, alumni, and the business community together for bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Goal 3: Provide students with business acumen, intelligence, leadership, and lifelong learning skills.
Goal 4: Enhance problem-solving, critical thinking, oral and written communication skills essential to perform distinctively in the modern business world.
Goal 5: Attain intellectual leadership by hiring faculty members committed to teaching, research, and community service.
Goal 6: Prepare students to assess the impact of globalization and business intelligence on business.
PLO1: Synthesize specialized knowledge of different business functions for effective business administration.
PLO2: Develop innovative business strategies and implement effective data management processes to improve organizational effectiveness.
PLO3: Apply quantitative and qualitative research techniques to identify, assess, and solve complex business problems.
PLO4: Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills in an international and multicultural setting.
PLO5: Demonstrate leadership, change management, and team-working strategies autonomously in a highly complex working environment.
PLO6: Apply ethical and socially accountable principles to support decision-making within a relevant business context.
For graduate degree completion, graduate students must satisfy the following requirements:
1.) Earn a minimum CGPA of 2.00 on a scale of 4.00.
2.) Successfully complete all courses as described in the study plan.
3.) The Degree Completion requirements must be met within the timeframe of the program.
4.) Successfully complete the "Thesis" course.
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Graduates of the MBA program are equipped for leadership and management roles across a wide range of industries. The program’s global perspective and practical approach prepare students to thrive in corporate, entrepreneurial, and government settings.
Career paths include positions such as Business Consultant, Marketing Manager, Financial Analyst, Human Resources Manager, Operations Manager, Project Manager, Investment Advisor, Strategy Analyst, Entrepreneur, and Executive Director. Graduates also gain the analytical and leadership skills necessary to advance into C-suite roles or pursue further academic research and teaching opportunities.
