The Top US Business School in the MENA Region

Stern at NYUAD unites NYU Stern’s 100+ years at the forefront of business education with NYU Abu Dhabi’s standing as one of the world’s leading universities.

About Stern at NYUAD

Regionally Relevant Degree Programs for One of the World’s Fastest-Growing Regions

The Stern School of Business at NYU Abu Dhabi is the top US Business school in the region. Stern at NYUAD is an academic enterprise that is uniquely positioned to influence management and business in MENA. The School offers premier, internationally distinguished business degrees, tailored for aspiring leaders in the UAE and abroad.

Stern at NYUAD gathers a global community of learners and talented professionals to equip them with a strong business and management foundation through an innovative curriculum taught by esteemed faculty. Through dynamic coursework, innovative teaching avenues, and real-world opportunities the programs aim to accelerate careers in a dynamic global economy.

AT A GLANCE

Founded in 2025: Stern at NYUAD is the top US business school offering MBA degrees in the region.
130,000+ alumni network: Graduates join one of the world’s most extensive business school networks.
Purpose-built campus located on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. We are not a visiting or temporary school.

Regional expertise: Curriculum, resident faculty, and partnerships shaped around the UAE and wider MENA region.
#7 US ranking: Consistently ranked among the top 10 business schools in the United States. (US News & World Report, 2026)
Shaped by values that keep us at the cutting edge of business education.

From the Dean

Each day, Abu Dhabi is becoming more and more a global city, more connected to other global cities and capitals throughout the world. There's an incredible need here for business education, for young people looking to enhance their careers, and for the businesses that need them. When we looked at where to extend our Stern MBA program, this was a natural location.

Professor Rob Salomon

Dean, Stern at NYUAD

The Stern at NYUAD Experience

Every program at Stern at NYUAD is shaped by the region’s dynamic economic landscape, and our connections to local business and government run deep. Here’s what studying at Stern at NYUAD means for you.

Resident Faculty

At Stern at NYUAD, your professors are based in Abu Dhabi and immersed in the same market you’re studying, so the case studies and conversations after class are grounded in what’s happening in the region right now.

Vibrant Community

You’ll be studying at our purpose-built campus on Saadiyat Island, in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s Cultural District. It’s a place designed to be a home, not a stopover, so you live, debate, and forge relationships here, not just attend class.

Regionally Relevant Curriculum

Your coursework is shaped around the realities you’ll actually work in: the regulations, the business culture, and the opportunities specific to the UAE and wider MENA region. Less time translating case studies from other markets, more time working with the frameworks you’ll use in your own career.

Regional Partnerships

You’ll benefit from the relationships Stern at NYUAD has cultivated with leading regional organizations, sovereign institutions, and public sector leaders, engagements that keep our research and curriculum grounded in real-world relevance, and open doors for you.

The Capital of Capital

Abu Dhabi sits at the intersection of global capital flows, emerging markets, and investment. It is also one of the world’s leading adopters of AI. Studying here puts that scale of decision-making on your doorstep, not as a case study, but as your neighborhood.

Global Experience

Your regional expertise is only half the picture. Every program includes at least one module at another NYU location, so you graduate with a global perspective to match your regional depth. You’re never confined to one market’s view of business.

Our Graduates Are in Demand With the Region’s Top Employers

With a Stern at NYUAD degree, you’re positioned for the roles and salaries the region’s most ambitious organizations are actively seeking to fill.

Our inaugural Class of 2025 secured roles across financial services, technology, government, and more, with average total compensation exceeding USD 208,000 (PPP adjusted). Download the full Employment Report to see where they went and who hired them.

Average compensation $209k (PPP-adjusted)

Learn about the employment outcomes of our inaugural MBA Class of 2025

Download Report

Four Values, One Shared Standard

Whether you study in Abu Dhabi or New York, every Stern student is shaped by the same four values. They define how we teach, who we admit, and the kind of leader we aim to develop.

My MBA Experience

Kali Hailegiorgis, a Class of 2025 graduate of Stern at NYUAD One-year Full-time MBA, shares her experience in the program, and what made it stand out.

My MBA Experience

Kali Hailegiorgis, a Class of 2025 graduate of Stern at NYUAD One-year Full-time MBA, shares her experience in the program, and what made it stand out.

Over 100 Years of Excellence, Always at the Forefront of Business

When you join Stern at NYUAD, you’re not joining a spin-off or a satellite program. You’re joining the same institution that has shaped business leaders worldwide for well over a hundred years, and you’re doing it on a full-service campus designed to be your base in the region.

NYU Stern was founded in 1900 as one of the first schools in the world dedicated to formal business education, and has spent the century since shaping the executives, founders, and policymakers who lead global industry today. In 2025, Stern established a permanent presence in Abu Dhabi, bringing that same quality of faculty and curriculum to the region through its full-time MBA, the first offered by a leading US business school anywhere in MENA.

When you study here, you’re earning the same NYU Stern degrees awarded in New York, taught by the same quality of faculty, at the same standard of rigor. What’s different is context: our programs are tailored specifically for this region, giving you a globally recognized degree with deep regional grounding, the business education this market is asking for.

#7 US Ranking

NYU Stern is consistently ranked among the leading business schools in the United States, including a top 10 place from U.S. News & World Report (2026).

130,000+ Alumni Network

You’ll graduate into one of the world’s most extensive business school alumni networks, spanning every major industry and region, from finance and technology to government and the arts. You are joining this network the day you enroll, not the day you graduate.

We aim to equip students to address today’s most urgent business and societal challenges, succeed in an ever-evolving business landscape, and accelerate their professional growth.

Professor Barbara Scheck  

Vice Dean of Programs

Stern at NYUAD

OUR STUDENTS SAY IT BEST

The MBA has redefined my perspective of the frontiers of business and how we as business leaders can actually create change.

David Ponce

MBA Class of 2025

The Signature Internship Project was a great experience, and I got the chance to work with one of my target companies.

Syed Hamza Raza

MBA Class of 2025

I specifically looked for a program that could help me stretch beyond technical work and get me to think more strategically. It has exposure to both the UAE and New York — I think that's very valuable.

Maiqi Zuo

MBA Class of 2025

The fact that it’s a one-year program, which is really intensive, is super beneficial compared to many programs, as it means within a year we have our degree and can get jump back into the workforce.

Situ-Coralie Amega

MBA Class of 2025

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The Top US Business School in the MENA Region

About Stern at NYUAD