Ariel University (Hebrew: אוניברסיטת אריאל), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank.

The college preceding the establishment of Ariel University was founded in 1982 as a regional branch of Bar-Ilan University. Originally located in the settlement of Kedumim, it moved to Ariel where it built a larger campus and went on to become the largest Israeli public college. In the 2004–05 academic year, the affiliation with Bar-Ilan ended and it became an independent college.

On 17 July 2012, the Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria voted to grant the institution full university status. This move was praised by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Education Gideon Saar, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and some Knesset members as well as Nobel Prize in Economics winning mathematician Robert Aumann. The Council of presidents of Israeli Universities condemned the move. A survey in 2013 found that 65% of the public in Israel supported the recognition of Ariel University as Israel's eighth university.

Ariel University has 26 departments for B.A., BSc and BArch studies, in three faculties and three schools. In addition, Ariel University offers a master's degree programs for M.A., M.B.A. and MSc in 2014, Ariel University initiated a PhD programs for Doctorate studies also. In 2011, it had a student population of 14,000, with a branch in Tel Aviv. All degrees are recognized by the Council for Higher Education in Israel.

The university and its staff have been the target of boycotts, both in Israel and overseas, for its location in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In 2005, the Israeli government supported upgrading the college to university status. The change of status was not immediate since the Council for Higher Education in Israel must approve such changes. In July 2006, the Council rejected a proposal to merge several regional colleges in the Galilee. Based on the findings of a committee appointed by the council, it was decided not to approve the establishment of any new universities in Israel for the next five years.

Upgrading the college to university status was controversial. Settlements such as Ariel are considered illegal under international law by the international community, and Palestinians see them as an obstacle to peace, but the Israeli government disputes this. British Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said: "We are also deeply disappointed in the decision to upgrade Ariel’s university centre. Ariel is beyond the Green Line in a settlement that is illegal according to international law. (...) We reiterate our call on Israel urgently to reverse these decisions".

In August 2007, prior to achieving official university status, the college was renamed the "Ariel University Center of Samaria." Although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the change, both Minister of Education Yuli Tamir and the Council for Higher Education said they would block it, with the latter announcing in 2008 that they would not recognise degrees awarded by the college. The name change was recognised in 2010, although the college remained without university accreditation until it was approved in July 2012.