Abu Dhabi University is a university in the United Arab Emirates with campuses in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. It was established in 2003, after three years of planning by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and other citizens of the United Arab Emirates. According to the University, its founders "envisioned an institution that would be among the best in the UAE, the Persian Gulf region and throughout the world. The largest private university in the United Arab Emirates, it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees based upon the American model of higher education.