Northumbria broadens its American appeal

More American students could be studying the north east after Northumbria University became an approved member of America’s university application system.

Northumbria University has joined educational organisations from across the globe to become part of the Common Application – the system through which US students can apply to colleges and universities. The system, which is the American equivalent of UCAS, allows students to make an unlimited number of applications to universities all over the world.

Northumbria has chosen to become part of the Common Application to specifically appeal to US students and its membership aligns with the US government’s pledge to double the number of US students studying abroad by 2020.

Andrew Lane, deputy director for international development at Northumbria University, said: “The US market is shifting; students are now much more interested in UK institutions, and we want to support that development.

“A lot of work has been done explaining the UK’s UCAS system to US college counsellors and trying to take them through the intricacies of the system. However, the complexity of the UCAS system sometimes puts students off and it has often ended up that only a relative handful of US high school students are interested in studying overseas.

“We’ve been reliant upon college counsellors being sensitive to the needs of applicants who want to apply to UK institutions and decided that it would be better to go into the market on US student terms, using their own system and tools to make Northumbria more accessible to them.”

This development is part of Northumbria’s broader strategy of engagement with the US, alongside the launch of the new Northumbria-Fulbright scholarship in Art and Design, which has already done much to raise Northumbria’s profile amongst potential US postgraduate students.

There are now more than 500 universities with membership of Common Application across 47 US states as well as in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Qatar, Singapore and Switzerland.

Northumbria joins Bath University, Newcastle University, St Mary’s University in London, the University of Glasgow and the University of Sheffield as a new entrant for the 2015/16 academic year.

Andrew added: “Being part of Common Application fits in well with Northumbria’s ethos. We firmly believe that studying in another country has the potential to transform a career path by adding to a student’s employability skills and their awareness of the world. I’m certainly a very strong advocate for it and believe it can change perspectives and make a real difference.”