Inaugural three year degree courses to be launched by Richmond, The American International University in London

US style liberal arts degrees now in three year format

In a significant step which will give students greater options, Richmond, The American International University in London, will launch three-year undergraduate degree courses for the first time, leading to both a US and UK degree award.

From August 2019, students at the University’s two London campuses in Richmond and Kensington, as well as those in Florence and Rome, will be able to study for a degree over three years as well as the four year undergraduate course traditionally run at Richmond.

It will be one of the few institutions in the world to offer three year US liberal arts degrees and the only one to be able to award students two degrees when completed.

The three year pathways to a liberal arts education will be available in eight subjects – American Studies, International History, International Relations, Political Science, Marketing and Public Relations, Media Production, Media Studies, and Art History & Visual Culture.

After providing higher education in London for over 40 years, this marks another major development for Richmond. From August 2018, students at the University will be able to receive two degree certificates, one UK and one US. Richmond is able to award UK degrees following the granting of Taught Degree Awarding Powers (TDAP) by the Privy Council. These powers are in addition to the University’s existing US degree-granting authority.

Phil Deans, Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Richmond, said, “We have a rich heritage of providing education in the American liberal arts tradition, and are the only UK University where all undergraduate degrees can be studied within this framework. Through a liberal arts education based on the US system, we provide students with a broad curriculum offering extensive choice, which we blend with the British system of degree subject specialisation.

“We believe that the offer of this liberal arts framework over a three year degree will prove highly attractive to potential students, providing them with the opportunity to gain over a shorter period a multi-disciplinary knowledge of the world combined with focused study in a specific area of interest.”

With students from over 100 countries, taught in classes with an average size of fewer than 20 students, and 15 contact hours of teaching a week, Richmond provides an unrivalled education in the heart of London. At £9,250 a year, the University’s UK fees are the same as other British universities and come with generous scholarship opportunities. Visit the website for more details.