News
Wales Links with the US and Canada
Wales higher education is set to increase its recruitment of students from the United States of America and Canada. Over the past year, university institutions in Wales have been sharing resources in a series of recruitment initiatives coordinated by the Wales International Consortium (WIC).
WIC is an organisation responsible for representing all the university institutions in Wales in the international market. By drawing on established links between the US, Canada and Wales, university institutions have seen a substantial increase in the number of North American students choosing to study in Wales.
The number of Canadian students in Wales has risen from 51 to 75 since last year showing a 47% increase. This has been further out-stripped by the number of US students studying in Wales which currently stands at 190, more than double last year’s figure.
The increase in numbers has had a significant impact on university institutions throughout Wales, with the University of Wales Aberystwyth experiencing an increase of 45 American students this year. Further increases have been reported by the University of Wales Lampeter with 21 new US enrolments and by both Cardiff University and the University of Glamorgan.
The University of Wales Swansea has also experienced an increase as a result of its extensive Study Abroad programme, as has Trinity College Carmarthen with a substantial increase from 24 students last year to 54 students this year, an increase of 125%. The Study Abroad programmes in Wales consistently attract large numbers of North American students who are attracted by the Welsh cultural experience and historic links with Wales.
Ms. Sandra Elliott, the Director of the International Development Division at Cardiff University said “The North America Market presents some exciting opportunities for Wales. The scale and diversity of the market is challenging but Wales has the advantage of some well established cultural links and offers an exceptional portfolio of courses which is proving attractive to US and Canadian students”
Students from North America are attracted by a wide range of subjects at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, with a tendency towards the Humanities and Social Sciences. Subjects such as Law; International Politics; Film, TV and Drama and English are all proving popular at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and contribute to the university’s increasing success in the North American market.
This “soft” subject choice is reflected at the University of Wales Lampeter with subjects such as History; Theology; Anthropology; Religious Studies; Creative Writing and Welsh proving attractive options to North American students, as is Creative Writing at postgraduate level at Trinity College Carmarthen. The University of Wales Swansea and the University of Glamorgan, both of whom have experienced significant increases in North American students this year, are reporting similar subject trends with additional choices including Classics, Development Studies and Modern Languages.
WIC has represented Wales Higher Education at the annual NAFSA conference both this year and last year. The NAFSA conference is an annual event organised in North America by the Association of International Educators. It combines an educational exhibition with an international conference and is particularly important to education advisors and counsellors in the US, responsible for advising students on study opportunities overseas.
This year the NAFSA conference and exhibition were held in Montreal, Canada and, under the marketing umbrella of WIC, was attended by representatives from Cardiff University, the University of Wales Aberystwyth, the University of Wales Lampeter, the University of Wales Bangor and the University of Swansea. In addition to this, Trinity College Carmarthen, also a member of WIC, took an independent exhibition stand at the event, building on their long established success in the North American market, through the Study Abroad programme.
Mr. Steve Lawrence, Chair of WIC, attending NAFSA this year said ”It’s great for Wales to be represented at NAFSA. For such a small country, Wales is incredibly well known in North America. The students are really enthusiastic about studying in Wales and are keen to experience real Celtic culture and our famous warm welcome!”
Historically, many of the early settlers in North America were of Celtic origin. Since then, a multitude of Welsh organisations and associations have been established in the US and Canada to maintain Celtic culture and tradition in the “New World”.
In addition to annual representation at the NAFSA conference, WIC also works closely with the British Council US to host delegations of US counsellors visiting Wales each year. This annual event is co-supported by the British Council Wales. Last year, a delegation of US counsellors visited Trinity College Carmarthen, the University of Wales Swansea, the University of Wales Aberystwyth and the University of Glamorgan, with presentations and contributions from WIC and the University of Wales Bangor. This provided university institutions in Wales with an ideal opportunity to showcase their educational programmes and support services, aimed at the North American market.