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Guide: Are UK Universities Accredited? | The UK Study Expert

Posted on by Jackie Christopher

A question we get a lot from American students is if UK universities are accredited, which is really a fancy way of asking: are UK degrees viable and accepted in the United States?


You’ll be happy to know the answer is yes, with a few exceptions for specialty fields.


American students are used to hearing colleges and universities described as accredited, but the UK system works a little differently. UK universities are not accredited by one single organization in the same way you might expect in the US. Instead, UK degrees must be awarded by universities or other institutions with official degree-awarding powers. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) also plays an important role in reviewing and supporting academic quality and standards across UK higher education.


Universities also use external examiners as part of their quality-assurance process, who are drawn from a pool of academic staff from other institutions, as well as business and industry professionals. These examiners routinely assess the quality of a university’s education as compared with other universities, as well as observing assessment processes to make sure things are up to standard.


Can you bring a UK degree back to the US and use it? In many cases, yes. But there isn’t one US agency that automatically recognizes every degree earned overseas. If you’re applying to graduate school, the university decides whether to accept your qualification. For employment, it’s generally up to the employer, and either may ask for a credential evaluation showing how your UK degree compares with a US degree.


As always, there are some exceptions to the rule. For some specialty fields in the US, you may have to take extra exams or classes upon your return to practice in your field.


Here are examples of fields where you may need additional exams, coursework, credential evaluation or professional licensing before you can practice in the USA:

  • Nursing
  • Teaching Credentials (may not transfer over depending on the state)
  • Medicine
  • Social Work
  • Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy
  • Law (may not be able to sit the bar exam depending on the state)
  • Architecture
  • Psychology at the PhD level (if you are wanting to become licensed as a therapist)


Disclaimer: We always recommend doing your own independent research and asking experts in your field about the transferability of UK degrees. State licensing and accreditation boards in the US are especially good sources to ask about this.


Please note that the majority of UK degrees will not need extra accreditation for use in the US. This includes humanities, science, mathematics, business, and a plethora of other degrees! When in doubt, The UK Study Expert can help point you in the right direction about which degrees may need more accreditation.


If you want to ensure that you are making the right decision in the application process, our advisors can support you throughout the process and help you get into your dream UK university!

UK University Entry Requirements | The UK Study Expert

Posted on by Jackie Christopher

If you’ve been confused by entry requirements listed on UK university websites, then you’ve come to the right place. We know the grading system, and all this talk of A-Levels, looks and sounds like a foreign language. Have no fear – the UK Study Expert is here to simplify UK entry requirements for you.

 

First, what you need to know is each university has a set of entry requirements based off of American exams and GPAs, therefore, you won’t be going off of UK requirements at all! These US requirements are usually buried somewhere deep on the university’s website. In this article, we are going to go over the general requirements you need to get into UK universities for both graduate and undergraduate programs.

 

Graduate Degree Program Requirements

Let’s begin with the easiest requirements to break down: Graduate (Master’s) Degree requirements. You’ll be happy to find out that Graduate degrees in the UK do not need the GRE (what a sigh of relief)! UK universities will be looking at your GPA as the main entry requirement for their programs.

 

Generally, if you have a 3.0 and above, you’re in a really good spot for most UK universities. Of course, the higher your GPA, the better, but generally UK universities are more lenient towards GPA than their US counterparts.

 

Students who have a 2.5 GPA and above still have a good list of universities to choose from.

 

Under 2.5 is definitely doable, but the lower you go, the more of a case-by-case situation it will be when admissions is deciding on your application (work experience also comes into play, of course).

 

Besides GPA, certain specialty programs may ask for portfolios or entrance exams, but this is not the norm for most graduate programs. If anything extra is needed beyond a student’s GPA, it will be clearly stated on the university’s program page.

 

You can take the quiz on our website to see a list of your best matches based off of your GPA.

 

Undergraduate Degree Program Requirements

Undergraduate Degree requirements are slightly more complex, and vary depending on the university you are applying to.

 

The best exam to boost your UK application is the AP exam. The more AP exams with high scores you have, the better. If you are looking to study at prestigious universities such as University of Oxford, Cambridge University, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Edinburgh, etc., it is a main component for admission in a student’s application. This is due to the UK education system and A-Level qualifications. The closest equivalent to this in the US is AP exams, which is why this is a hard requirement and universities will not provide any substitutions or flexibility. The IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum is also highly considered.

 

if you don’t have AP exams, there’s also plenty of other high-ranked, well-known universities that offer flexible requirements to choose from!

 

Since COVID and universities moving away from standardized testing, many UK universities have followed suit and have implemented a new test-flexible approach. The ‘main formula’ most universities are looking for is:

 

Ex. 3.0 GPA + (SAT or ACT or AP exams with a good score)

 

However, we have been finding that more universities are taking different combinations of exams and honours classes or dual enrollment classes in place of the ‘main formula.’

Some universities ask for less/more exams, and some universities will be fine with lower GPAs, while some will require higher GPAs. There are even a growing number of universities that have gone test optional!

 

Furthermore, if you have an associate’s degree, this will also be considered in place of exams at most universities, just note that your credits may not transfer.

 

As you can see, there are so many ways to fulfill requirements for UK universities! To make this much easier on you, we have provided this quiz on our website to compile a list of your best university matches based off of your GPA and test scores.

 

Foundation Programs and Extended Degrees

 

For undergraduate students who don’t quite meet the mark on GPA and test requirements, there is an option to do a foundation program before your undergraduate program. These are also sometimes called extended degrees. This will add an extra year prior to starting your undergraduate degree, and entry requirements are usually pretty minimal for most foundation programs – a lower GPA and test scores is more readily accepted.

 

To find out if a Foundation degree is the right option for you, you can read our article Should You Consider a Foundation Degree.

 

The UK Study Expert Search Tool and Quiz Can Help You

Lucky for you, the UK Study Expert has taken the guesswork out of figuring out what each university requires with our handy dandy search tool. Or you can find your best university by taking our free UK University Quiz Match.

 

 

Study: British Pound Drops vs US Dollar | UK Study Expert

Posted on by Jackie Christopher

Due to the recent changes from the British government on tax cuts and borrowing, the British Pound (GBP) has weakened to $0.92 per US Dollar (USD). Never has the US Dollar been so strong against the Pound.

 

Even before the Pound dropped, you might be surprised to know that the UK has always been a more affordable option to earn a degree compared to the US.

 

The average cost of tuition fees for students studying in the US on campus is $35,500 per year (Best Colleges, 2022). UK university tuition fees can range from £14,000-£26,000 per year. Not only are tuition fees far less in the UK, UK degrees in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland offer 3 year bachelor degrees (unless it’s an integrated or placement year degree). Therefore, students save an additional year of tuition and living expenses.

 

This also rings true to master’s degrees in the UK. A master’s degree in the UK is 12 months long. This allows the student to save another year of tuition and living expenses.

 

As for living expenses, if you are living in London and are on a 9 month course (degree), the UK Government recommends students applying for their UK Student Visa must have at least £12,006 to cover housing, food and transportation (not just room and board). For students living outside of London for a 9 month course, it is recommended having at least £9,207.

 

So if you’re looking at affordable UK degree options, you could earn your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 4 years and save 2 years worth of tuition and living expenses!

 

Currency Conversion – Total Cost to Earn Your UK Degree

 

Now let’s convert those currency figures (GBP) to dollars (USD) in today’s economy…

 

If we looked at the lowest amount for UK undergraduate tuition fees (£14,000) and living fees outside of London (£9,207), the student would be looking at total expenses of £23,207 per year.

 

UK tuition fees and living expenses per year for a student living outside of London could be as low as $25,000 per year (xe.com, Sept 28, 2022).

 

If we looked at the highest amount for UK undergraduate tuition fees (£26,000) and living inside of London (£12,006), the student would be looking at total expenses of £38,006 per year.

 

UK tuition fees and living expenses per year for a student living inside of London could be as high as $41,000 per year (xe.com, Sept 28, 2022).

 

Is this the time to be looking at earning your degree in the UK more than ever? Is the pound expected to jump back and rise?

 

We can’t predict the future but from what we’ve read, it looks positive for Americans. The US dollar has strengthened and played a contributing factor. Economics have also pointed out that they don’t see the pound jumping back up anytime soon. The Washington Post interviewed Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, who said “Recovery is not on the horizon” for the foreseeable future.

 

How Can I Start My Search and Find the Right UK University Match for Me?

 

There’s two main resources students can look to find the right UK University fit…

Students can start by taking The UK Study Expert UK University Match Quiz which asks you questions about what degree you are interested in applying to (undergraduate or graduate), your interests, and academic profile. The quiz will then populate the top 5 UK universities that best match your profile.

The UK Study Expert also has an Undergraduate UK University Search Engine and Postgraduate UK University Search Engine. Students can input their GPA, SAT scores, ACT scores, how many AP exams they have taken/will take, subject interest, and more. They can input as much information or as little of their academic profile and interests. Once added, the search engine will populate UK university options that match their interests and entry requirements.

 

UK universities have clear, transparent information for students to be admitted into their universities. They favor academics rather than looking at a holistic review of a student’s profile. To find out their US entry requirements, students can click on any of The UK Study Expert UK university pages to find out their US entry requirements.

 

Study Creative Writing in the UK | The UK Study Expert

Posted on by Jackie Christopher

Why study creative writing in the UK? (And why Falmouth University in particular?)

 

If you’re looking ahead to university and considering what you might want to study, and where, you might not have considered creative writing as a major yet. That’s not surprising: it’s not usually taught as a separate academic subject in secondary schools (high school). It’s usually taught as part of your language studies, which for many US students means it’s a (fun, one hopes) component of English class if that is the language of instruction. Let’s take a look at how it’s taught, how it’s taught in British universities, and what’s unique about our program(s) at Falmouth.

 

Maybe you’ve heard the myth that creative writing can’t be taught. Of course it can be, but how does it actually work? The workshop is the basic model of creative writing instruction at universities. The goal of the workshop is to recreate for the student writer how a reader will react to their work. In the real world the author isn’t there to explain their intentions. The written text has to stand on its own. Thus, in the workshop, the students will be guided through a peer-review process—sometimes a very intensive one—to offer feedback. Typically, only one or two students will have their work critiqued in a given session; the instructor will set up a rota or schedule for that. This is done in a focused way, often paired with readings in order to highlight specific skills and techniques, and to assess how well the student writer has utilized them. These may include story or poem structure, different literary forms, language mechanics (grammar, sentence structure, punctuation), description, character development, genre, dialogue, and much more. Does the story make sense, or does it contradict itself? Is it immersive, or is it just a casual, bare-bones telling of what happened? Are there gaps in the logic? Are the sentences clear and well constructed? Or is the writer trying too hard to write Really Beautiful Prose?

 

The biggest difference between UK and US programs, other than duration (3 years in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland vs 4 years in the US), is the British focus on industry and outcomes. Although both countries are broadly similar in their methodologies, Britain’s universities have a legal mandate to look at employment applicability. (This is why every UK university program website you look at will have some text telling you how the course might be useful preparation for certain types of jobs.) With this in mind, the classes (modules) comprising the degree will focus on craft and on readings, but there will also be coverage of, for example, the publishing industry and how it works. Like the US, many UK writing programs host literary journals and events, but the UK arguably has a stronger reading culture. Literature is still more valued here, and there is more visible government support for the arts in general. Moreover, the UK’s relative compactness means that literary events, festivals, and so forth are unlikely to be too far away.

 

Why Falmouth University, then? Despite being an arts university, Falmouth also has a strong culture of entrepreneurship. Our creative writing programs feature two modules on the publishing industry during year one, and another module focuses on the practicalities of being a writer. This means you will finish the year knowing how to select appropriate markets for your work, how to submit it, and how the publishing industry actually works—from the manuscript stage through to the printed book or the online literary journal you might read. There is the expected focus on craft, but you’ll also graduate knowing what to do with it.

 

A secondary benefit is the size of the program: it’s just large enough to allow us to run choices of modules, and it’s large enough for students to find their own groups of friends, but it’s small enough that the lecturers are able to offer 1:1 support and guidance. Everyone on the faculty is also a working writer, and a few also run (or have run) presses. Also, the Woodlane campus (now known as the Falmouth campus where the program is housed) is ridiculously pretty and six blocks from the beach. There’s the Lighthouse, a comfortable lounge and events space where students can hang out and work between classes—and, crucially, form community. Falmouth is unique among UK universities in that it has its own personality and guiding philosophy, and it isn’t afraid to do its own thing. If you’d like to know more about the program, please get in touch. Someone from the department would be more than happy to have a chat with you.

 

Dr. Marshall Moore is Course Leader (BA Hons, English & Creative Writing) and Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication at Falmouth University. He holds an MA in applied linguistics from the University of New England (Australia) and a PhD in creative writing from Aberystwyth University. His research interests include the pedagogy of creative writing and the disconnects between the academy and the publishing trade. Recent and forthcoming books include two academic collections: The Place and the Writer: International Intersections of Teacher Lore and Creative Writing Pedagogy (Bloomsbury, 2021) and Creative Writing Scholars on the Publishing Trade: Practice, Praxis, Print (Routledge, 2022). His memoir I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing will be published by Rebel Satori Press in 2022.