Leicester’s Location
Leicester is the 10th largest city in Britain with a population of approximately 360,000. Leicester is well known for being a student city with approximately 12% of the population being students during term time. It’s just about an hour from London by train and is easily accessible with two international airports close by. It is a culturally diverse city with a large number of shared cultural events. Leicester’s Caribbean Carnival is the 2nd largest in the UK and the city’s Diwali celebrations are the largest outside of India and attract visitors from many cultures. The Leicester Comedy Festival has been staged annually since 1994 and attracts many of the top comedy acts to the country.
Leicester has much to offer in terms of sports and culture. Leicester is home to three leading sports teams, a range of excellent, free museums and art galleries; a state-of-the-art theater; the largest covered market in Europe and the award-winning National Space Center. Leicester also hosts a huge range of independent and mainstream shops and parks and botanical gardens are close by for those seeking to get away from city life.
Academics
Leicester offers a wide range of arts & sciences and might be an especially good fit for the following majors: Ancient History, History & American Studies, Art History & Film Studies, Computer Science, Criminology, Economics, Engineering, English Language & Literature, Mathematics, Media & Communication, Psychology, Biology, Geology, Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Geography, Archaeology, Sociology
Leicester recommends that students have a 3.0 GPA, but may consider as low as 2.8 GPA on a case by case basis.
Information about Leicester’s academic calendar can be found here
Course Selection & Transfer Credit
Like most UK schools, undergraduate degree programs at Leicester are completed in 3 years. That means that courses transfer back to USM in the following way:
Leicester Year 1 = 200 Level USM Course
Leicester Year 2 = 300 Level USM Course
Leicester Year 3 = 300 or 400 Level USM Course
To review available courses visit Leicester’s online course guide.
A full time load at Leicester is 60 credits which is equivalent to 18 USM credits. Courses worth 20 Leicester credits will transfer back to USM as 6 USM credits. Courses worth 10 Leicester credits will transfer back to USM as 3 credits.
Students who attend Leicester for a full year MUST take 60 Leicester credits. Students who attend for 1 semester only may reduce their load to 50 Leicester credits which will transfer back as 15 USM credits. This option is recommended for semester students.
Helpful Links
Additional Information
Students attending Leicester will be charged for 15 credits of in-state tuition and academic fees. Students will pay for room and meals once in the UK.
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.