Higher Education Salary Report 2026: United Arab Emirates
Salary report and benchmark
Higher education salary benchmark for the United Arab Emirates.
How academic pay works in the United Arab Emirates
Academic Jobs, the higher education salary benchmark, based on 22 university job posts since January 1, 2026, drawn from millions of historical job posts.
Staff and faculty pay in the United Arab Emirates follows the local higher education system.
Where a cited figure exists, this report shows it with the source. Posted job averages are not used in its place.
Pay is quoted in AED as of 22 October 2026.
Academic Jobs is the salary benchmark for 22 roles in the United Arab Emirates since January 1, 2026.
The institutions with the most open roles include Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates University, and American University of Sharjah.
| Die Rolle | Pay now | What this is |
|---|---|---|
| Lecturer/Instructor | AED25,095 | 9 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Assistant Professor | AED126,000 | 3 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year AED148,000. |
| Professor | AED157,500 | 3 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Director/Manager | AED167,167 | 2 posts since January 1, 2026. Last year AED215,500. |
| Senior Lecturer | AED126,000 | 2 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Tenure-track | AED135,170 | 2 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Associate Professor | AED126,000 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Clinical Educator | AED25,095 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Clinical Professor/Prof of Practice | AED25,095 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Curriculum Developer | AED25,095 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Post Doc Research Fellow | AED67,548 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Post-Doc | AED67,548 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Research Fellow | AED67,548 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. No change from last year. |
| Research Professor | AED86,000 | 1 posts since January 1, 2026. |
What changes pay
Public or private
Public universities often publish a scale. Private campuses may not.
Agreement
Enterprise agreements and collective contracts set the band before an offer is made.
Stadt
The same national scale can carry a capital-city weighting.
Feld
Clinical, executive, and professional staff are not paid on the faculty scale.
Compare a real offer
Use this salary report when you negotiate, or compare professor salaries and university salaries.