International Student Prospectus
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS 1 Disclaimer This publication is intended as a guide on courses delivered by Robert Gordon University. Information in this publication is correct at the time of print, but must be read as subject to change at any time and without notice. For more up to date information, please visit our website www.rgu.ac.uk 2 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS 3 Plan Your Journey CONTENTS Welcome from our Principal 6 Welcome to Your New Home 36 Your Welcome to Scotland 7 Your Cost of Living 37 Your Guide to Our Heritage 8 Academic Calendar 38 Your RGU 10 Your Application to RGU 41 Your Career 12 Your Student Visa 43 On Your Doorstep 16 Your Scholarship 45 Your Aberdeen 18 Your Entry Requirements 46 On Your Calendar 20 Your English Language Requirements and Assistance 50 City Centre Map 22 Your Pathway to RGU 55 Your Campus, Garthdee 25 Undergraduate Course Fees 56 Your University 28 Postgraduate Course Fees 58 Your Student Life 30 Research Course Fees 61 Your Student Support 32 Aberdeen on the Map 62 Your Accommodation 34 Contact Us back page 4 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS 5 Welcome Your Welcome Studying at a university is an adventure – an adventure of the mind and an adventure for life. It is where everyone can discover their potential, make lifelong friends and open up To Scotland their minds to knowledge and ideas. All good universities, including Robert Gordon University (RGU), offer this. Scotland has a global reputation as the small country with a spirit of its own. We are delighted that you are considering making Scotland your home But RGU also offers more. We understand that those for your studies and we extend the traditional Scottish (known as Gaelic) who come to study here want to pursue professional welcome to you - Fàilte gu Alba (Welcome to Scotland). opportunities and also want to be fully equipped to help solve some of society’s most pressing problems. YOU PROBABLY BENEFIT FROM SCOTLAND EVERYDAY All over the world, RGU’s graduates play leading roles in When many people think of Scotland, the Loch Ness Monster and shortbread areas such as healthcare, energy, architecture, management, can spring to mind but did you know that many of today’s most commonly law, social care, art – there is hardly a field of human used things have roots in Scotland – this includes the telephone, television, endeavour in which they have not excelled. the flushing toilet, banking’s automatic teller machines and pin numbers, MRI scanning, and even the first cloned mammal. I am delighted to share with you that you will also be joining us at an exciting time, as in July 2017 RGU was awarded a YOU WILL BE IN GOOD COMPANY BY STUDYING HERE Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), Did you know that Scotland has more world-class universities than any other placing it in the top 20% of the best universities in the UK for country by head of population? We welcome over 25,000 European and the quality of its undergraduate teaching and learning. The 31,000 international students to study at our 19 universities and are proud to prestigious TEF Gold rating has been awarded to RGU for its share that Scotland comes top in the UK for student satisfaction, and 8 out consistent delivery of education for its students, confirming of 9 international students would recommend Scotland as a place to study. it is of the highest quality found in the UK. (Source: Universities Scotland) I hope you will find this prospectus to be interesting and YOU WILL EXPERIENCE A WHOLE NEW WORLD IN ONE COUNTRY helpful and I look forward to seeing you some time soon on the RGU campus. Although we are part of the UK, Scotland has its own language (Gaelic), its own national dress (the tartan kilt), its own national dish (Haggis) and, Ferdinand von Prondzynski of course, our national drink – and one of our largest exports – whisky Principal and Vice Chancellor (which translates into Gaelic as ‘water of life’). Scotland also has numerous world class beaches, heritage sites, and celebrations which bring millions of Braemar Castle visitors to our country each year. 6 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS 7 Statue of Robert Gordon Your Guide to OUR TARTAN RGU has its own tartan with colours of royal blue, red, and gold. The tartan was Our Heritage designed by Michael King in 1997 and some students choose to wear the tartan as Gray’s School of Art 1885 WHO IS ROBERT GORDON? OUR MOTTO a kilt on their graduation day. The Robert Gordon Our founder, Robert Gordon was born in 1668 in Aberdeen. He was a merchant trader and Watch the history of RGU: University (RGU) philanthropist who amassed his fortune trading www.rgu.ac.uk/about-rgu motto is ‘OMNI from Danzig (Gdansk) in the Baltic. NUNC ARTE MAGISTRA’, which HISTORY GOING BACK 250 YEARS can be interpreted as We have a heritage going back to 1729 when ‘Make the best of all Robert Gordon founded a hospital in Aberdeen for boys from poor families. In 1881, the hospital your abilities’. was transformed into a school and learning institution. Arched entrance to Robert Gordon Institute of Technology (RGIT) 1886 OUR COAT OF ARMS A coat of arms is a unique heraldic visual design on a shield, surcoat, or tabard. These designs may be inherited, meaning that they pass from a father to his children. Our coat of arms consists of three boars from the arms of the Gordon family and a castle from the arms of the city of Aberdeen. A black wavy band symbolises the rivers Dee and Don and the North Sea oil, and the heraldic symbols in the centre represent technology (a cog), learning (a flaming torch) and commerce (a gold coin). Garthdee House, the mansion purchased by Tom Scott Sutherland in 1953 RGU today 2017, Sir Ian Wood Building 8 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS 9 Your RGU AMAZING GRADUATE EMPLOYABILITY RECORD BEST SCOTTISH AWARDED A GOLD RATING Consistently a top-rated UK university for UNIVERSITY FOR the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) graduate employability GRADUATE PROSPECTS (Higher Education Statistics Agency 2016) (The Guardian University Guide, 2017) Placing RGU in top 20% of the best “Studying at RGU has offered me an excellent universities in the UK opportunity to enhance and compliment my international business skills. I got a lot of help from the RGU Careers centre when I was looking or an internship in marketing to compliment my studies. I was worried as applying for a job is very different here than A COSMOPOLITAN 3RD FOR HIGH QUALITY FACILITIES it is in China, however the staff at the centre UNIVERSITY RGU ranked 3rd in the UK for High-Quality Facilities helped me at every step of the way. 96.5% (Times Higher Education (THE) Cosmopolitan community with Student Satisfaction Survey 2016) I really like the people I have met here; over 17,000 students from everyone is so polite, friendly and welcoming. over 132 countries PRACTICAL I really feel like I have settled in so well to life AND INVALUABLE here.” Ming Mei Wang (China) EXPERIENCE MBA 90% of our courses offer IN THE UK FOR a placement GRADUATE EARNINGS RGU ranked 5th for graduate earnings 90% (The Economist’s Department for Education, 2017) 10 INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS INTERNATIONAL STUDENT PROSPECTUS 11 Your Career Our greatest commitment to all our students is to HANDS-ON LEARNING make you as employable as possible and we do At RGU we use an ‘applied’ teaching approach. As that in several different ways. well as passing on to our students the necessary academic and theoretical understanding of their CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVED COURSES subjects, we try as far as possible to ensure there We are in the fortunate position of having are practical elements also. excellent relationships with some of the world’s most well-known companies such as Accenture, These practical elements come in the form of BP, 3M and Shell to name a few. industrial placements, internships, consultancy projects and voluntary opportunities. Whilst Through dialogue with these companies, we 90% of our undergraduate degrees include a learn what the future needs are for their related professional placement, almost all of our MSc industries so we are able to incorporate into our courses will include the opportunity to do an curriculum the knowledge and skills which are academic or professional consultancy project in required by the next generation of professionals the form of a research project or dissertation. This in these fields. We take our responsibility very is a great opportunity to develop your subject seriously to provide industry with leaders for the knowledge and also your professional links. future. OUR AFFILIATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL LINKS ACADEMIC EXPERTS We offer a strong portfolio of high quality courses, “During my placement, my colleagues We are proud of our teaching staff; proud of their working closely with industry and employers at were really helpful and friendly but the quality and academic achievements as well as the every stage to prepare you for the professional practical experience they have in their specialist world. Where possible, we seek accreditation for most important thing was that I gained subject area. Our professors, lecturers and tutors our courses by the relevant professional body to experience in food industry, especially combine first-class qualifications with time spent verify that they are of industry standard. in the department of new product in business or industry. Our team of academic development.” practitioners offer real time insight from both worlds – the theoretical and practical – to help Ming Hei Sy (Hong Kong) inspire you.