Afterschool
May 16, 2018
The United Kingdom has long played a pivotal role in educating Thai students at the tertiary level. The idea of heading to the football-crazy land continues to occupy the minds of budding students all over our country, who hope to join the 6,000-plus Thai students currently studying in the UK (HESA 2015/16).
Why the sudden surge in numbers? While that may be attributed to numerous reasons, one in particular does stick out – a university that offers master’s degree courses that only take one-year year to complete. Oh, and it is conveniently located in the 4th most beautiful city in the world for good measure.
Ah yes, London, the city known for its bright red double-decker buses, a legendary subway system, as well as being home to a multitude of football clubs – is not the answer. In actuality, the 4th most beautiful city in the world is the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh (Rough Guides, 2017), and the university in question is Edinburgh Napier University.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the city that is home to not just one but two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and the top modern UK university that calls it home.
It isn’t easy to pinpoint the locus that makes Edinburgh such a revered city, but it could be attributed to the city’s unique geography that mixes the old and the new, giving everyone a little something. Its UNESCO heritage sites, aptly named Old Town and New Town, bear testament to that fact.
Medieval streets are complemented by jazz and film festivals, the legendary and imposing Edinburgh Castle dominates the serene skyline, and live music and comedy at various bars and pubs reign supreme.
Additionally, the Scottish culinary scene isn’t only populated with haggis as movies would make you believe. Thai, Italian, French, Mongolian and Kurdish cuisines populate the streets, bestowing Edinburgh with the distinction of having more restaurants per head than any other city in the UK.
These mean you can attend classes in the morning, march down to a medieval castle at noon, join a comedy fest in the evening, pop by an Italian joint for dinner and maybe even a pub for entertainment after. All these you can do with peace of mind, as Edinburgh is ranked the 3rd safest city in the world (Post Office Travel Insurance survey, 2015).
This fusion of the classic and modern serves as a perfect backdrop for over 19,500 students from more than 140 countries currently studying at Edinburgh Napier University. Founded in 1964, the relatively young university offers a diverse range of courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Edinburgh Napier University consists of six schools:
Each school is based at one of the university’s three campuses:
With such strong competition from fellow Scottish universities, what makes Edinburgh Napier University stand out? One of the factors is its entry requirements. If you’re one of the many Thai students looking to obtain their master’s degree quickly, you’ll be happy to learn that ENU offers a variety of them, many of which only take a single year (12 months) to complete, needing only a bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 2.5/4.0 or above to gain admission. Sweetening the deal is the ASEAN Scholarship. If financial constraint is your concern, then you’ll be happy to know that Edinburgh Napier University students are eligible for the ASEAN Scholarship, which awards £3,000 to new students.
Edinburgh Napier University may be young in university years, but it has made its mark in the tertiary education world by clinching a burgeoning collection of awards and top rankings in recent times. These include:
With a clear emphasis on modern and creative courses, Edinburgh Napier University appeals to the forward-thinking generation of today.
Courses in the fields of design and hospitality and tourism are given unparalleled significance, supplemented by more traditional mainstays such as business and management. With different campuses catering to different fields, students can expect every course to be given the same amount of attention and emphasis.
While England has always been the leading destination for tertiary education in the UK, Scotland – Edinburgh in particular – has been receiving more and more attention. This is in part thanks to the vibrancy that fills the entire city and partly due to the emergence of a modern university that gives gravity to modern courses.
These two parts combine to create the perfect ecosystem in which students can thrive in their pursuit of a degree, be it undergraduate or postgraduate. With the acceptance of numerous pre-u and diploma students alongside other widely accepted qualifications such as A-Levels, Edinburgh Napier University provides Thai students with greater accessibility to a UK university than ever.
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