Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Dubai proudly announces the launch of its groundbreaking BA (Honours) Liberal Arts program at the Manipal Institute of Liberal Arts (MILA), responding to evolving global workforce demands and reinforcing Dubai’s position as a premier international education hub. This innovative program, with admissions open for September 2025, marks a strategic advancement in higher education for the region.
The BA (Honours) Liberal Arts program introduces a flexible major-minor framework designed to meet the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs report findings, which reveals that 39% of current skills will become obsolete by 2030, while analytical thinking is considered essential by 70% of employers. The program begins with a comprehensive liberal arts foundation year emphasizing independent critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning, followed by three specialized pathways from the second year: the Explorer option (1 Major + 1 Minor), the Innovator pathway (1 Major + 2 Minors), and the Consolidator track (2 Majors). Current academic offerings include majors in Sociology, English, Psychology, Mass Communication, and Filmmaking, with minors in Gender Studies, Journalism, Geopolitics, Arabic, and French. Students engage in extra-disciplinary coursework each semester covering digital literacy, public policy, and creativity, while high-performing students can pursue a fourth-year Honours research track leading to original knowledge creation.
“This innovative Liberal Arts program represents our commitment to preparing graduates for the future of work,” said Prof. Elsa Ashish Thomas, Chairperson of the Manipal Institute of Liberal Arts at MAHE Dubai campus. “As the World Economic Forum emphasizes analytical thinking, creativity, and adaptability as the most sought-after skills, our program uniquely positions students to thrive in an economy where 78 million new jobs are expected to be created by 2030, while traditional roles are being transformed by technological advancement.”
The program launches against the backdrop of unprecedented growth in Dubai’s higher education sector, with student enrollment surging by 20% in the 2024-25 academic year to reach a record 42,026 students across 41 institutions. International student numbers have jumped 29% and now represent 35% of the total student body, reflecting Dubai’s emergence as a global education hub. The city targets 50% international student enrollment by 2033 under the Education 33 strategy. The liberal arts program directly addresses employment market trends, with recent Federal Reserve data revealing art history graduates experiencing just 3% unemployment, while philosophy majors face 3.2% unemployment, significantly outperforming many STEM fields.
The four-year Honours structure allows students to develop expertise across multiple disciplines while maintaining depth in their chosen specializations, with an optional 8-week internship between Semesters 4 and 5 providing valuable real-world experience. The curriculum prepares graduates for careers in media, publishing, and content creation; social development and policy research; HR, PR, and corporate communication; academic research and postgraduate study; and counselling and applied psychology. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies analytical thinking, technological literacy, creative problem-solving, and adaptability as key skills, all of which are core outcomes of liberal arts education. The program’s design directly responds to the World Economic Forum’s identification of critical business skills for 2025–2030, including analytical thinking (considered essential by 69% of employers), creative problem-solving (a key skill with 57% of employers recognizing its importance), and strategic communication (ranked as the most in-demand skill across industries) – competencies that are fundamentally strengthened through the interdisciplinary nature of liberal arts education.
MAHE Dubai Campus has recently been licensed by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and is currently undergoing CAA accreditation. These developments come at a time when interdisciplinary learning is increasingly being recognised as a key pillar of modern higher education.
The program builds on MAHE Dubai’s longstanding emphasis on strong faculty mentorship and academic freedom, evolving these strengths into a curriculum that is interdisciplinary, globally aligned, and future-focused. With its flexible structure, industry connections, and commitment to academic excellence, the BA (Honours) Liberal Arts program sets a new benchmark for liberal arts education in the Middle East.
