One of the questions that I get the most about going overseas for a degree is if the university in question is accredited. Honestly, given the state of American higher education, I don’t blame you! There are a ton of diploma mills here in the US, almost all of which are for-profit, and many seem only to exist to separate students from their parents’ money (or, just as often, student loan money).
So of course it’s natural to wonder the same overseas. Luckily, there’s some measure of good news. With a few basic tools, you can quickly answer these questions for yourself!
Public vs. Private Matters
Here in the US, a lot of great universities are private. Overseas, that’s not the case. In the UK, for example, every university that is worth considering (with two exceptions in very specific circumstances) happens to be public. Yes, even Oxford, Cambridge, and St. Andrews are public, despite being older than the UK itself.
The two exceptions, by the way, are the University of Buckingham (for medicine) and a handful of law schools that provide 2 year law degrees. Honestly, there are better routes than both of them, though. And I’m not counting Northeastern’s campus in London (or other dual campus universities), but those may not be the best fit for everyone.
Outside of the UK, there are only a handful of private universities worth considering. Bocconi University in Milan deserves mention as being at the top of this list. Richmond, the American University in London, as well as the American University of Paris, deserve some mention here, but they really play into a theme we see a lot of less than great universities outside the US lean on: pursuing American accreditation to justify higher fees.
But They’re Accredited in the US!
A lot of universities outside the US will proudly say that they are accredited by American regional bodies. This is helpful to have, but you have to ask why they did this. Typically, it’s as a way to charge higher fees. And sometimes, it’s worth it. If you’re looking for something that requires a degree from an American-accredited university, like a pre-med program, then it can make sense. But if you’re looking at studying business, forget it.
What About American Loans?
A bigger red flag that many Americans use as a green flag when looking at universities overseas is if they take American loans. You’d think that the US government would have a thorough plan in place to see if the education students is receiving is worth the cost.
Google any diploma mill to see that this is not the case.
Instead, foreign universities have figured out if they hire a Federal Loans officer, they can accept Direct and PLUS loans. This is not always a bad thing; most UK universities accept them. But plenty of European universities don’t, and plenty of European universities that do accept them aren’t worth attending.
So What Should I Look For?
First, make sure that a university is accredited by their country’s ministry of education. If they are public, that should be a given. If they are non-profit, it may require more digging. If they are for-profit, just forget them, they’re not worth it.
Second, see how their alumni have fared in their careers. Use LinkedIn to see where their alums end up working, but focus more on people who are only a few years removed from college.
Finally, remember that if you focus on attending a public university in a country with a reputation for quality programs, you can have your credentials reviewed by American companies to find out how they stack up. Some firms even offer official proof that a degree from a certain university is equivalent to one from the US. Others, like us, can point you on the right direction from the start.