Going to University Abroad

A guide to studying outside the UK

Martin Hyde, Anthony Hyde

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415538008
• eBook ISBN: 9781317912163
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

More and more students in the world now decide to undertake their university studies in another country to their own. They see advantages of quality, value and experience in studying abroad and rightly see the experience as a preparation for life and a big plus for their CVs in an increasingly inter-connected world and job market. The world language is now undisputedly English and even universities in non-English speaking countries such as Holland and Denmark, universities that are wanting to attract international students, are switching to teaching university programmes in English. This makes for an unparalleled opportunity for UK students these days, just at a time when UK university fees are increasing significantly. This guide gives an overview of the opportunities available to UK students across the world, from the English speaking counties of the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, to Asia (India, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore), to offers nearer home, in Europe. As well as information on what is available - the education systems and academic cultures and demands of the different destination countries are explained, application procedures and information on living (accommodation, food, entertainment) are provided and there are self-development exercises that will help with the process of cultural readjustment that you as a UK student are likely to undergo and need to understand.

The book covers information for both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and recommends ideal destination countries for these. Tips and advice on how to avoid certain pitfalls while being an international student living abroad are provided.

Chapter 1

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Introduction to the guide

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This chapter will first introduce you to the concept of studying abroad and the various issues that need to be considered when embarking on undertaking this life-changing move. It begins by explaining the historical growth of international universities in the world and the growing opportunities that are becoming available for UK students as a result of this. It also covers some of the key considerations that need to be taken into account for anyone wishing to embark on study abroad. In Chapter 2, the issues of understanding differences in educational approaches and understanding how to adapt linguistically, educationally and culturally are focussed upon. The remaining chapters then explain in detail the study abroad opportunities open to UK students offered by various world destinations. The countries focussed upon are first those of the English speaking world: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland and then four other major potential destinations are presented in depth: Europe, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. Following these are chapters on emerging destinations for study abroad. These look at some of the less well-known countries that are currently opening up as international options for study abroad. The guide is aimed at UK undergraduate and postgraduate students alike and focusses on study abroad opportunities conducted in the medium of the English language.

The historical perspective: origins and spread of the modern university

The origin of the word ‘university’ is from the Latin ‘universitas’. It described the special associations of teachers and students in medieval European towns who were awarded collective rights by the ruling town councils, princes or religious institutions. One key right was the right to grant a degree.

A key notion for the founding of these institutions was that of ‘academic freedom’ – i.e. the idea that students and faculty members should be able to pursue enquiry free from persecution. The first institution to develop such a noble principle was the University of Bologna (Italy) – which is Europe's oldest university.

To celebrate the 900th anniversary of the founding of this university (1088) and the protection of this ideal, a ‘Magna Charta Universitatum’ was signed on 18 September 1988 by 430 international university rectors. Each year more universities worldwide add their signatures to the charter.

In the UK, it is generally agreed Oxford has a claim to have originated as an institution of higher learning in 1096. It was not officially awarded a charter by Papal Bull until 1254 however.

Institutions of higher learning can also be found to have existed in the ancient cultures of Greece and India, the latter possibly laying claims to some of the oldest, with, for example, the University of Takshashila which was established in North West India around 700 BC.

There is also an argument that the origins of the concept of the university can be traced to the Islamic world. Al-Azhar in Cairo was founded in 969 AD and the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez (Morocco) was founded around the same time. However, their founding was primarily for Islamic religious instruction and study which is different from the objectives of the European university. In sum, the origin of the modern concept of a degree awarding university (one that awards Bachelor's, Licentiate and Master's degrees and Doctorates) is generally considered to be of European origin.

The advance of university education across the world

The concept of the European university was spread around the world as a result of European colonialism: by the British in Asia and Africa and the Spanish in Central and South America. Countries that were once under colonial rule, once gaining independence from their colonial powers, have been keen to develop and expand their higher education sector.

Medieval European universities structured ‘knowledge’ in various ways and this accounts for the development of a faculty structure. Indeed universities today still very much follow the pattern of seeing knowledge as located in faculties, such as, for example, the faculties of Philosophy, Letters, Law and Medicine. Within these faculties specific subjects of study (disciplines) were then grouped.

This concept of the university, and the value of knowledge in these disciplines, spread from the early modern period onwards across the globe, replacing other systems of higher learning. The spread can be seen to have developed in the following manner:

Period	World region
Eleventh–twelfth centuries	Western Europe
Fourteenth–fifteenth centuries	Eastern Europe
Sixteenth century	Americas
Nineteenth century	Australasia
Nineteenth–twentieth centuries	Asia and Africa

Early student mobility

Within universities in Europe, as they developed, differences in subject matter specialisms began to separate the north from the south. Italian universities tended to focus on law and medicine, whereas Northern European universities focussed on the arts and theology. Because there also developed differences in the quality of teaching in these areas, even since medieval times, scholars were already travelling north or south, based on their interests and their means.

The spread of universities was rapid: by the end of the eighteenth century there were 143 universities in Europe, with the highest concentrations in the German Empire (34), Italian countries (26), France (25) and Spain (23).

The most recent world list of universities undertaken in 1997 noted there were now 8,861 universities in 203 counties in the world, making a formidable choice for international students to choose from! Universities in the world are increasingly linking up with each other – one organisation, the International Association of Universities has over 600 members (see www­.ia­u-a­iu.­net­/).

Quality and institutional accreditation

Although world universities co-operate with each other, universities are also in competition with each other. Nation states increasingly look to their university sector to compete with other nations in the ‘knowledge economy’. This means competing to secure the top professors and high achieving students (especially at research level) and to encourage them to locate in their countries, thus providing spin-off economic benefits. This competition has spawned many worldwide league tables which are used to compare the world's universities in terms of their standards and prestige.

University world ranking systems

• The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU): www­.ar­wu.­org­/

• QS World University Rankings: www­.to­pun­ive­rsi­tie­s.c­om/­uni­ver­sit­y-r­ank­ing­s

• Times Higher Education World University Rankings: www­.ti­mes­hig­her­edu­cat­ion­.co­.uk­/wo­rld­-un­ive­rsi­ty-­ran­kin­gs/

University world rankings are sites designed to try to help international students make a choice from the vast array of offers. It is wise, however, to consider that national papers may well have more information on universities within their own countries (local knowledge) and also that caution is best practised when checking these lists, as sometimes their objectivity may be felt to be coloured by national or political ideology!

Another way that a student can check on the quality of an institution is to look at its accreditation.

International business school accreditation

Besides there being national accreditation bodies set up in countries by national Ministries of Education (MoEs), to oversee their country's education standards, there have also developed international (privately run) accreditation bodies. These perform a supra-national accreditation function similar to national-level MoEs. They are often subscribed to by private universities and institutions that fall outside, or do not wish to be governed by, a national MoE. International accreditation is a process that many international business schools volunteer for in order to reassure applicants that the school in question offers programmes that have achieved a certain quality standard.

As there are over 12,400 business school institutions worldwide, having accreditations is one way that students can differentiate between them when making a choice over which one to attend.

In fact there are three principal international accreditation bodies used by business schools. These are shown in Table 1.1. Table 1.2 gives the other recently developed bodies.

Note: The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (www­.che­a.o­rg/) is the non-governmental body that acts as the quality assurance agency for US Higher Education (the USA does not have government controlled regulation) and this organisation also maintains a database of accreditation bodies that have been allowed CHEA membership. This is a useful website to check out accreditation bodies used by private universities and business schools.

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Table 1.1 Three principal international accreditation bodies

Name of body

Acronym and website

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• 1 Introduction to the guide
• 2 Adapting to the new cultural environment
• 3 USA
• 4 Canada
• 5 Australia
• 6 New Zealand
• 7 South Africa
• 8 Ireland
• 9 Europe
• 10 Hong Kong
• 11 China
• 12 Singapore
• 13 The Caribbean
• 14 Dubai
• 15 India
• 16 Japan
• 17 Malaysia
• 18 Russia
• 19 South Korea
• 20 Taiwan
• 21 Turkey
• 22 Ukrainev
• Appendix: transcript form for use in applying to your universities
• Index