Royal Holloway, University of London — the UK’s top-ranked research-intensive university — has adapted all its postgraduate courses this year to ensure that students in India can confidently begin their studies with the university this September. The courses will combine face to face and online teaching and learning support. In view of any potential travel or other COVID-19 related restrictions place in the UK or in India, students may be unable to arrive on campus for the start of term. Royal Holloway has adapted its courses so that students traveling from India will not have to worry about missing out on the introductory phase of their university course. They will be able to start their course with Royal Holloway from wherever they are in India and will be an integral part of the class alongside students who are on campus. When travel or other COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, students from India will arrive on campus and resume their classes on Royal Holloway’s safe and secure campus.

In providing utmost flexibility in learning to its students, the university is offering certain courses with term dates starting in January 2021 as well as in September 2020.

A current student shared her experience of online teaching at Royal Holloway amidst the Covid-19 outbreak; Alankrita Tripathi from Gorakhpur, India who is studying MSc in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Royal Holloway, said, “In these difficult times [during the global pandemic], the university does not only take care of our mental and physical well-being, but also makes constant efforts to make our lives hassle-free and smooth. While we study from home, we are being provided with all the necessary study material online and we can access all the lectures as they are recorded and uploaded. The teachers, apart from being just an email away, give us live video conferencing sessions. The online library gives us free access to a wide array of information, books, articles, statistics etc. and it is extremely user-friendly, making our online study experience smooth and wholesome. I have been in constant touch with my dissertation supervisor through mails and video calls, because of which I am confident that I am headed in the right direction in the process of writing an Independent Research Project.

“I highly recommend Royal Holloway to anybody considering higher studies as it will only widen your horizons of knowledge and new possibilities through different interactive modules.”

Professor James Knowles, senior vice-principal for education at Royal Holloway, said, “The coronavirus pandemic has created uncertainty in every area of life, but we want students from India to feel confident about studying here at Royal Holloway. We recognise that students might be worried about starting a course this year and we hope that our adapted postgraduate courses will ease concerns. Students will be able to study from their home whilst they are unable to travel but as soon as they can, they will be able come onto our safe campus and continue with their course without missing out. For students who simply cannot travel this year, our January start for some courses will mean they can still benefit from studying at one of the UK’s top universities. The safety of our students is our priority and students can also be confident that, when they come to our campus, they will be coming to a clean, safe and open environment.”

The announcement of the Graduate Immigration Route (GIR) visa by the UK Home Office in October 2019 places the UK as one of the most desirable locations for students to further their education. Even as ministers in the UK are currently discussing the details of this new visa policy, Indian graduates will have the opportunity to stay in the UK for up to two years post-study and gain valuable work experience.

A campus university with a very supportive community, Royal Holloway offers a safe environment with ample open space. The 150-year-old university — sited 40 minutes from central London by train — combines history with modern, state of the art buildings and facilities. Ranked in the top 20 universities in the UK, Royal Holloway’s students have the unique opportunity to be inspired to succeed in their goals and contribute to a globalised world.

For more information on applying to Royal Holloway, please visit the Coronavirus: Application FAQs on the university’s website.