The United Kingdom is world-renown for its high standard of education. From the establishment of Oxford University in the 13th century, the British have been developing a strong tradition of higher education for nearly 1,000 years.
Placing a strong emphasis on individuality, Britain provides students with a wide variety of education options, such as International Relations, Developmental Studies, Peace Studies, and the always-popular Business and Art & Design Courses. The UK is also known as a relatively safe study abroad destination.

High Quality Lectures and Small Classes

British university programs are three years in length and feature a low number of students per class in lecture format courses. Essays and papers make up a large part of course-work and students must develop their research, dissertation, and presentation skills in order to perform well.

The Strength and Popularity of Art & Design

British Art and Design Programs include Drawing, Sculpting, Prints, Flat and Vertical Designs, Textiles, Film, Photography, Computer Graphics and a number of other areas. Unlike programs in some countries, where students learn to create the same model, instructors in the UK encourage students to develop their own interpretations, materials, and methods. As a result, students not only learn independent and individual approaches to art, but also learn to make selections and produce results on their own.

Compulsory education is until sixteen years of age and students must pass a national (GCSE) examination in order to receive graduation certificates that are vital for further education and employment opportunities.
For students who wish to proceed onto higher education, they advance into Sixth Form and more specialized studies. At the age of eighteen, there is another national examination (GCE-A Level) and the results of this examination determine whether students are able to proceed to the educational institution of their choice.

There are roughly 100 universities in the UK and, with the exception of one, all are public institutions. Most undergraduate programs are three years in duration (in Scotland they are four years). Since specialized studies begin right away, overseas students must realize this and be prepared to take a Foundation Year as preparation, if necessary.