The University of Arizona has announced a ‘Global Campus’ expansion in 34 countries across five continents to reach students unable to travel internationally, largely as a result of the coronavirus.
As part of the new project, students will be able to study with University of Arizona at 73 international university campuses, while a further 58 Global Campus locations will be in purpose-built student accommodation.
“We want to help students achieve their dreams of a US degree”
“This program is tailored to meet the access needs of international students,” said Brent White, dean of Global Campus and vice provost of global affairs at the University of Arizona.
“Many cannot afford to attend college in the US, some do not have high-speed internet required to take classes online, and nearly all are unable to travel internationally due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Global Campus addresses all of these issues,” he added.
More than 2,200 unique courses will be available, including more than 200 undergraduate majors, 60 fully online undergraduate and graduate degrees, 10 graduate certificates and 10 customised degree paths.
“The Global Campus is a long-term effort towards meeting the United Nations’ sustainable development goal of providing accessible quality education to the world,” University of Arizona president, Robert C. Robbins added.
“We are truly making affordable, world-class education available to global citizens around the world and, in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has never been needed more.”
The campus reaches more than 130 cities in countries including China, Ireland, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, India and Japan.
International students can choose to transition to the US at a later stage or earn their degrees from the University of Arizona entirely from their home country.
Housing providers such as Uninest, The Student Housing Company and Nexo have partnered with the university to create “residential communities”, which will be in Spain, England, Germany, Ireland, Australia, China, Japan and Dubai.
“This rapid implementation is possible because Global Campus builds on two existing strengths: our network of microcampus locations and our top-ranked Arizona Online,” said University of Arizona provost, Liesl Folks.
“We want to help students achieve their dreams of a US degree, whether it is from the University of Arizona or another US university.”
The first University of Arizona microcampus launched at the Ocean University of China in 2015.
