UAE clarifies equivalency requirements for secondary school certificates for US, UK curricula

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has stated that the equivalency of the high school diploma issued outside the country for students of the British and American curricula is subject to specific academic requirements to ensure that the academic qualifications are in line with the standards adopted in the country.

For British curriculum students, it is required to prove the successful completion of the 12th or 13th year by submitting a certificate showing one accredited subject at the Advanced Level with a grade of no less than E or two accredited subjects at the Advanced Subsidiary Level with the same grade, MoE said on its official website.

In addition, students would have to pass five accredited subjects in GCSE or IGCSE certificates with a grade of no less than E or grade 3, it added, noting that Arabic language and Islamic education are not included among the five required subjects.

American curriculum students are required to submit the graduation diploma and transcripts for grades 10, 11 and 12 and to fulfil the English language proficiency requirements by scoring no less than 5 in the IELTS academic test, 61 in the TOEFL iBT test or 450 in the reading and writing section in the SAT test.

The MoE underlined the need to fulfill the mathematics requirement by scoring at least 450 in the SAT Math test before applying for certificate equivalency to ensure that all accredited academic requirements are met.

Equivalency of general education certificates issued outside the country for the 12th grade allows students and graduates to obtain an official decision for equivalence of their certificates after the authenticity of the certificates are verified and approved by the granting educational institutions in line with the MoE-approved international standards.

To apply for the service electronically, students will have to log in using the digital ID, fill in the required data, attaching the documents and paying the prescribed fees, so that the equivalency decision or apology is sent via the email registered in the customer’s account, the MoE said.

The required documents include a certified high school diploma, certified certificates for the two previous academic years, a copy of the passport and a job offer if the purpose of the equivalency is employment or a university acceptance letter if the purpose is to complete studies, it added.

It is also required to submit a certified legal translation of certificates issued in languages other than Arabic or English, it said.

The MoE underscored the need for applicants to ensure that all attachments conform to the service requirements, to merge more than one document related to the same requirement into one file and upload files in PDF format with a size not exceeding 2 megabytes for each document.