UK students look overseas for degrees

Some 22,000 UK students are now enrolled on programmes abroad, according to Vincenzo Raimo, director of Nottingham University’s international office.

This figure only counts those who are studying for an entire course in another country, not students who take part in exchanges or spend a term abroad, he said.

At Westminster Education Forum on higher education in central London Mr Raimo cited official research which suggests that 1.7 per cent of the UK’s student population are now taking courses overseas.

In comparison, in China this figure is 1.4 per cent and in India it is just one per cent. These two countries are among the UK’s biggest academic competitors,` with large numbers of students coming to the UK to study each year.

The latest UCAS figures show that in 2010, 8,321 Chinese undergraduates were accepted at UK universities, along with 1,802 Indian students.

Mr Raimo said that with fees rising to a maximum of £9,000 at English universities for home and European Union students next year, graduates will be left with debt in the region of £45,000 and may look abroad for cheaper alternatives.

At one leading Italian university, annual tuition fees stand at between 4,500 euros (£3,760) and 10,700 euros (£8,950), while at Maastricht fees are 1,672 euros (£1,400) a year.

At Harvard University in the United States, annual tuition fees are $34,976 – the equivalent of £21,676 – but any student whose parental income comes to less than £60,000 receives a full scholarship.