Following the Gulf War in 1991, a team led by Elias Bou Saab from the American College visited the Gulf to establish relationships with various ministries of higher education as well as the region’s schools.

The lack of quality private education at the university level, coupled with an appreciation of the American model of higher education, led them to conduct a feasibility study on the prospects of establishing an American university in the Gulf. The results confirmed the high level of interest and desire for a campus offering an American-accredited educational curriculum.

It also became quickly apparent that the Emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, would be an ideal place to locate such an institution. Dubai was found to be a politically stable, cosmopolitan and outward-looking principality whose nearly non-existent private sector in higher education was just beginning to draw some attention.

The guiding principle underlying the university’s establishment was bringing the American educational system to the region without interfering with or challenging the culture or values of the local community. The institution achieved this goal and sees it as a key to its success.

Elias Bou Saab moved to Dubai in 1995 in order to officially establish the American University in Dubai, which in turn would not have been possible without the commitment and support from the outset of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai. To this day, His Highness continues his unlimited support for higher education in general and to the university in particular.

The American University in Dubai opened its doors in October 1995 as a branch campus of the American College, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

AUD’s initial enrollment was 165 students, over half of which were females. By the time former Secretary of State and Treasury James Baker gave the Keynote at AUD’s first commencement in 1998, enrollment had climbed to 499; and the Dubai government, as an expression of confidence, had decided to build a campus of 1,400,000 square feet for use by the university. AUD moved out of its initial premises to occupy this new, spacious, fully equipped campus in January 2000. Its enrollment at that time was 687.

The year 2000 was also significant because it was in that year that the university was officially licensed by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHE). The private sector for higher education had grown considerably since AUD’s founding, and the Ministry saw fit to establish a formal licensure and (subsequently) accreditation process. It was in 2000 that AUD’s largest academic department – Business Administration – was organizationally designated as a School.

In December 2007, and for the third time since its opening in 1995, The American University in Dubai received independent accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), one of America's seven regional accrediting commissions. AUD is the first and only institution outside of the US and Latin America to be granted this honor by SACS. AUD is now a fully independent institution.

Today, The American University in Dubai, although still very young, is a vibrant institution which serves as a point of reference for higher education within the Gulf Region and greater Middle East. Current enrollment is around 3,000 and 95 nationalities are represented in the student body. AUD’s diverse faculty of roughly 170, possess excellent academic qualifications and professional credentials. And evidence of AUD student success both prior to and following graduation is mounting. AUD continues to maintain its focus on student learning and personal and professional success.