Sjoukje van Oosterhout is sick of hearing about Brexit. “My life is dominated by it. I hear the word even more than my own name,” says the Dutch student, who is studying for an MSc in European politics at the London School of Economics (LSE).
By the time Oosterhout moved to London last October, the EU referendum was done and dusted and Brexit negotiations about to begin. But she was already familiar with the topic.
After completing her undergraduate degree in international relations in the Netherlands, she became a Dutch youth representative to the EU for two years, looking, among other things, at the effect of Brexit on her country’s youth.
Determined to study as a postgraduate in a different country, Oosterhout chose the LSE because of its reputation. “I preferred to stay in the EU because of the quality of its education and culture,” she says. “There is a European identity that makes it easier to adjust within the EU.”
Whether students from the rest of the EU continue to choose British universities will depend on the level of tuition fees as much as ease of travel, says Oosterhout, who paid £20,000 for her MSc course.
But she hopes UK universities retain strong links with those in the rest of Europe and recommends that British students consider postgraduate courses elsewhere in Europe.
“It’s the same as any international experience,” she says. “You increase your employment opportunities, and it can be extremely helpful to learn an additional language.”
Many students see postgraduate courses as an opportunity to travel and spend time in another country. Last year, 37% of postgraduates studying at UK universities came from abroad. At the same time, hundreds of British people studied for postgraduate qualifications outside the UK. But with Brexit and the UK government clamping down on visas for students outside the EU, how much longer will this continue?
The message from UK universities to potential students from abroad is that it’s business as usual. And Gareth Howells, head of MBAs at London Business School, says there is no sign of applications falling: “They are the Lehman generation. They are used to challenges in the global market,” he says. “We want to go beyond the political message and focus on nurturing talent. We want to Brexit-proof our students.”
Of the 532,975 postgraduates studying at UK universities in 2015/16, 45,340 were from other EU countries (8.5%), while 154,390 were from countries outside the EU (29%).
The government has confirmed that EU students coming to the UK will be eligible for existing loans and other financial support for courses starting in 2017/18. The same applies to UK students going to other parts of the EU. But it is the years following Brexit that concern universities, coupled with the inclusion of international students in UK immigration targets.
A report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) forecasts that an increase in fees for EU students after 2020 – putting them in line with international students – may lead to a 57% drop in EU enrolments, including many postgraduates.
But Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, says there are positives too. The fall in the value of sterling means that UK courses are cheaper for students from abroad; the fact they are taught in English is also a major selling point. His advice to people thinking of postgraduate study in another country is go for it, regardless of Brexit.
Hillman accepts that the government could do more to help international recruitment, especially with visa rules. “Every time Amber Rudd [the home secretary] or Theresa May says anything negative it appears in the Indian newspapers,” says Hillman.
British postgraduates can study abroad full-time or, for example, do a part-time dissertation to gain credits for a degree awarded in the UK. This can be done through programmes such as Erasmus+, funded through the EU.
David Hibler, senior adviser at the British Council, says the insights that student mobility offers is priceless: “Given the likely restraints on commerce and business that will arrive with Brexit, it’s now vital that young people coming through the system are familiar with European mores and business practice.”
Dominic Shellard: ‘It’s not easy to quell students’ fears’
It’s no secret that these are difficult times for British universities hoping to recruit postgraduate students from abroad.
Brexit, combined with immigration rules that appear hostile in other parts of the world, means that universities must pull out all the stops to continue to attract as many international postgraduates as before.
As soon as the result of last year’s EU referendum was announced, we made it our mission at De Montfort University (DMU) to show Europe and the rest of the world that, far from erecting barriers to other nationalities, Leicester welcomes them with open arms.
It helps that Leicester is a multicultural city, where a majority of residents – not just students – would prefer that the UK remained in the EU. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to quell fears among prospective students.
Since the referendum, I have visited eight EU capitals where I flagged up not just the quality of postgraduate education in the UK, but responded to anxieties about racism and other types of hostility. In Poland, for example, I was asked by would-be students if they were likely to be attacked or have their property targeted. I stressed that incidents of hate crime are very isolated.
So far, there’s no sign at DMU of a fall in the number of postgraduates from outside the UK; this year numbers actually increased by nearly 30%. However, the UK government has only guaranteed EU students existing levels of loans and grants for 2017/18. After that, who knows?
At DMU we are reviewing our bursary and scholarship schemes for postgraduate students from 2018. If we can remove uncertainty surrounding not just funding, but whether EU nationals can work here after completing a postgraduate programme, it would make recruitment significantly easier.
In India last year, along with six other UK vice-chancellors, I heard Theresa May fail to answer legitimate concerns about the availability of tier-4 student visas for those hoping to study in Britain. This is another area where universities can build stronger relationships with higher education institutions outside the UK, but we still need greater clarity from government.
DMU remains passionate about attracting people from all over the world. But we recognise that in today’s global market there’s no guarantee that postgraduates will automatically come through our doors.
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