Keele’s Location
Staffordshire is a special place of rural peace and industrial innovation. It combines natural beauty with a tradition of world-shaping industry. Staffordshire is one of the biggest counties in the U.K., but its comprehensive network of rail and road communications means that all parts are easily accessible. Staffordshire has plenty of things to see and do including Alton Towers, one of Europe’s largest theme parks, New Victoria Theater, the Drayton Manor Park and Zoo, and Chasewater, a venue for championship powerboat racing and leisure boating.
Keele’s central location makes it easy to access a great deal of the United Kingdom by bus and rail. London is just two hours away by train and Manchester, which hosts the closest airport, is only an hour north by train. Other nearby attractions include Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s birth place) and the Peak District National Park for those who love nature.
Academics
Keele is a strong STEM school with plenty of course offerings in the areas of science and math. The following majors may find Keele to be an especially good fit: Accounting, Finance, Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Business Administration, Criminology, Computer Science, IT Management for Business, Economics, History, Mathematics, Media, Communications & Culture, Philosophy, Psychology, Biochemistry, Biology, Applied Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Geography, Anthropology, Sociology
Students should use Keele’s online module catalog to select their courses. Be careful to choose courses from Semester 1 if you are studying abroad in the fall and semester 2 if you are studying abroad in the spring.
USM students can take Level 4, 5 or 6 modules. They “typically” transfer back in the following way:
Level 4 = 100xx
Level 5 = 200xx
Level 6 = 300xx
However, students should be cautious when selecting 300xx level courses as they are considered quite challenging, similar to graduate level course work. USM students are not allowed to register for courses in the module catalog which have a # in front of them. These courses are closed to exchange students.
Most courses at Keele are wroth 7.5 credits. 7.5 ECTS credits will transfer back to USM as 3.75 credits. USM students will be expected to take 4 (7.5 ECTS credit) courses during a semester at Keele which will transfer back to USM as a total of 15 US credits (4 courses x 3.75 US credits = 15).
Keele requires a minimum 3.0 GPA
Information about Keele’s academic calendar can be found here
During fall semester, students can make arrangements to return home in mid/late December if they agree to have any required exams proctored at USM in January.
Helpful Links
Additional Information
Students who attend Keele are required to live on campus.
A note about vacations: While students may stay in the dorms during the Christmas break which runs from mid-December to early January on campus housing is NOT included during the Easter break and students may be expected to vacate their rooms.Cost
Students attending Keele will be charged for 16 credits of in-state tuition, plus academic fees. Student will pay on-campus dorm room fees directly to Keele, and will be responsible for their own meals.Student Visa
If you are a US passport holder studying in the UK for 6 months or less you do not need a student visa. Visas are a MUST for students studying in the UK for the full academic year.