I couldn’t have imagined what experience I’d have as an international master’s student at Oxford Brookes University. Looking back, it kick-started my passion of incorporating diversity and inclusion in marketing and ultimately led me to start a new company called Equalify Marketing Ltd.

The university model of undergraduates studying three- to four-year programmes on large residential campuses, learning mostly by lecturers and culminating in a final thesis is hundreds of years old and how most universities in the Western world are organised.

Although you might not have heard of them, there are universities around the world that have chosen to rip up the rule book on this centuries-old approach. Here are four institutions whose philosophy, location, teaching structure and programme offerings are anything but ordinary.

If you’re considering studying abroad in the next year or so, you probably have many questions around what it is like on campus at the moment. How do you apply? What are lectures like? How do you make friends?

Well, we bought together a few international students, some of whom are studying from home and some who are staying on campus in the UK, US and Canada, to answer some of these questions. They cover many topics, including making friends, the application process, how to choose the right university for you and how to handle homesickness. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has redefined the typical college experience for international students. As a first-year international student at the University of California, San Diego, I have not yet had the chance to visit the campus, nor meet any of my classmates in person. Instead, I learned from home in Canada.

Before the pandemic, it was standard practice that all aspiring international students would sit an in-person exam to meet English language requirements to enrol in English-speaking universities.

The day arrives when you finally receive news about your application to the University of Cambridge, but sadly it’s not the answer you were hoping for. First of all, don’t beat yourself up over not getting an offer.

I’ve studied at various international schools in the Middle East for the past 15 years, from primary education all the way to A level. I later embarked on the exciting journey to study at the University of Reading in the UK. It’s been a rewarding experience.