The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (Aurak) has announced that its admissions period for new applications will remain open until the end of August.

According to the QS World University Rankings, Aurak has for the first time broken into the top 60 universities in the Arab region, and the latest figures rank the university at number 11 on a national level.

Since entering the QS rankings just two years ago, the university has climbed 150 places, said a senior official.

"In light of the university’s recent success, a large influx of new students ahead of the new semester is expected, beginning in September, 2016," remarked Hassan Ammari, manager of the admissions department.

He also highlighted the large number of applications that the university has received over the last two months, and expects the growth in applications to continue until the end of August.

Ammari said: “Enrolled students have a number of options in terms of financial aid, be it based on merit or through our relationships with embassies and large companies within a variety of industries.”

Since 2011, when Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim was named president, the university has grown considerably.  Besides the steady growth in the number of students, Aurak has seen its number of academic programmes grow from just four in 2011, to 22 in 2016, said a statement from Aurak.

This includes four graduate programmes in the university’s School of Graduate Studies and Research, it stated.

Prof Al Alkim said: “We have a long term plan in place, which will see our university transform into one of the leading institutions of higher education in this region.”-TradeArabia News Service