Richmond American University London is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom. Richmond was founded in 1972,by British educator Cyril Taylor. The university awards US degrees from the American state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, where Richmond is accredited by the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

. Until 2018, Richmond's UK degrees were awarded by the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

; but from the 2018/2019 academic year, Richmond has been able to grant its own UK degrees, after receiving Taught Degree Awarding Powers from the

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...

. This mean that all students at Richmond gain both a UK and US degree studying one programme.

History

Richmond was founded in 1972 by the social entrepreneur and politician Cyril Taylor, chairman of the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS), as Richmond College, The American College in London. It began teaching on the site of the former

Richmond Theological College Richmond Theological College (also called "Richmond College") was a Methodist (Wesleyan) college in Richmond, London. It was a college for training ministers and missionaries between 1843 and 1972. In 1902 the College became a part of the Univers ...

, part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, founded in 1843 as a Methodist theological college. AIFS had been previously using the college site for a number of years for their London study abroad programmes. AIFS purchased half of the college's 10-acre site for £300,000 (equivalent to £3.82 million in 2015), including the majority of its buildings and front lawns, to form a new American liberal arts college.Cyril Taylor. 2013. Sir Cyril: My Life as a Social Entrepreneur. Stroud: Amberley. A second campus was opened on St Albans Grove and Ansdell Street in Kensington in 1978 for third and fourth year students as well as the college's US Study Abroad Programme. In its early years Richmond served mainly to house study abroad programmes to US students, however this changed in 1981 when Richmond obtained a licence to award US undergraduate degrees from the Washington DC Board of Education and formal accreditation from the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (now the

). An expansion of the university's Kensington campus on Young Street was officially opened in March 1988 by

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

. In 1995 AIFS spun-off the university as a non-profit educational institution. Richmond inaugurated its first postgraduate degree in 1998 with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. From 1996 to 2018 Richmond issued British degrees validated by the

. In May 2018, the university was granted Taught Degree Awarding Powers in the UK, enabling students to receive two degree certificates, from the US and UK. In December 2019 the university president, Lawrence Abeln, resigned after filing a complaint with the Charity Commission against the Cyril Taylor Charitable Foundation, the main financial backers of the university. In January 2020 financial problems caused by the dispute with the foundation led the board of trustees to suspend recruitment of students for the spring term. In March 2020 the university signed a partnership agreement with the Hong Kong-based China Education Group (CEG), giving Richmond students access to internships and exchange programs across CEG's universities and institutes in China and Australia as well as expanding Richmond's international marketing and recruitment. The partners said the deal would "secure the long-term future of the university". By late 2021 the university had vacated most of its buildings in the Kensington area, retaining one site on Kensington High Street. It also announced in November 2021 that it will be relocating its Richmond campus to new premises in

Chiswick Business Park Chiswick Business Park is a business park in Gunnersbury, West London, fronting on to Chiswick High Road. History Bus maintenance site The land on which the Chiswick Business Park was built had been owned by the Rothschild family and planted ...

in Summer 2022.

Organisation

Governance

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the stewardship of the university's assets, strategic decision-making and ensuring compliance with its objectives. The current Chair of The Board of Trustees is William Durden. The current president of Richmond, since December 2019, is Phil Deans. Richmond had an average of 163 staff, including 83 academic staff, 68 management and administrative staff and 12 technical staff, during the year ending 30 June 2017. In the financial year ending 30 June 2017, Richmond (including the UK charity the Richmond Foundation, which is controlled by the university) had a total income of £35.7 million (including a one-off donation of £10 million from Cyril Taylor) and total expenditure of £25.2 million

Academics

Constituent schools

Richmond, The American International University in London is composed of three constituent schools: *Richmond Business School *Richmond School of Communications, Arts & Social Sciences (CASS) *Richmond School of Liberal Arts

Curriculum

Richmond offers a range of

majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

and minors at undergraduate level in business, economics, political science, international relations, media, the arts and humanities. Standard degrees are four-years long though may be completed earlier through transfer credits from US

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

classes, UK A and AS Levels, the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

and other similar qualifications. All undergraduate programmes at Richmond follow a broad, US liberal arts approach to education, combined with the British system of specialisation. In addition it offers a range of postgraduate degrees including Master of Business Administration (MBA), Luxury Brand Management, International Relations, Art History & Visual Culture and Advertising & Public Relations. The university's BA psychology degree is accredited in partnership with the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

Accreditation

Richmond is a "recognised body" that can award UK degrees, subject to regular inspection by the

(QAA) and regulation by the

Office for Students The Office for Students (OfS) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Education, acting as the regulator and competition authority for the higher education sector in England. In February 2021, James Wharton, Baron Wharton of Yarm ...

. The last QAA inspection was in May 2016, which led to the award of taught degree awarding powers (following Richmond's addressing of concerns raised in the report) for a six-year period from 17 May 2017 to 16 May 2024. Prior to this, Richmond's UK degrees were validated by the

. Richmond is accredited by the

, an accrediting body recognized by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

. It holds US degree awarding powers from the state of Delaware.

Campuses

The university is split between the Chiswick Park Campus and the

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

facility, located on

Kensington High Street Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...

. Richmond's library facilities include over 60,000 books and DVDs, 39,000 e-journal titles and 36,000 newspapers and newswires.

Richmond Hill (closed)

The Richmond campus was the primary residence of undergraduate students. The university's headquarters and admissions department were also located here. The main building and surrounding subsidiary buildings occupied the site of the former

, purchased by Cyril Taylor. The university relocated its undergraduate programmes to Chiswick Park in September 2022

Chiswick Park

The Chiswick Park Campus opened in September 2022 on

. It houses the university's undergraduate programmes.

Kensington

The Kensington facility on

is the base for the University's postgraduate students

Other facilities

In addition to its London campuses Richmond also maintains a specialist study centre in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. RIASA, located on the campus of

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

focuses on a combination of soccer training and sports management

Student life

Student government

The RAIUL Student Government is the university's official

students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

under the

Education Act 1994 The Education Act 1994 is an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under John Major's government in 1994, which primarily established the Teacher Training Agency and allowed students to opt out of students' unions. Part I Part I re ...

. It organises a range of social activities on both campuses throughout the year and orientation weeks. It also lobbies senior faculty, management staff and the board of trustees on behalf of students in relation to issues of welfare, discrimination and academic appeals.

Student organizations

Richmond's Student Affairs Department offer a variety of clubs and societies for students to get involved in including Model United Nations, Gaming, Film production, journalism, Art Appreciation, Theatre, Finance and Investment, Debating, Fashion, Environmentalism, History, Politics, International Affairs, Journalism, Psychology, Community Service, Great British Bake Off and LGBTQ+.

Athletics

Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy The Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy (RIASA) is an association football academy based in Leeds, England which was founded in 2010. History RIASA was founded in 2010 and is based at Leeds Beckett University's Headingley campus. It ...

(RIASA) is the school's sports academy. Sports facilities at the Richmond Hill campus included a gym and fitness studio and multi-purpose soccer, basketball, tennis and volleyball court. Student sports teams currently include male soccer teams, a men's basketball team and the Mixed Martial Arts society open to both. The men's soccer team 'The Richmond Stags' competes in the

British Universities and Colleges Sport British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

London soccer league.

Notable alumni

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

(Hollywood actor and director) *

Bobby Chinn Robert Chinn is a New Zealand-born American international chef, television presenter, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is a culinary celebrity across Asia and the Middle East, thanks to his role as host of Discovery TLC's ''World Cafe'', ...

(celebrity chef) *

Nazia Hassan Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. Referred to as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of South Asian pop, she is considered one of the most influential singe ...

(singer-songwriter) *

Prince Louis of Luxembourg Prince Louis of Luxembourg (Louis Xavier Marie Guillaume; born 3 August 1986) is the third son of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Louis has two elder siblings, Guillaume and Felix; and two younge ...

(son of

Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri (french: Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume, ; born 16 April 1955) is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He has reigned since 7 October 2000. Henri, the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, is a f ...

) *

Princess Tessy of Luxembourg Tessy Antony de Nassau (formerly Princess Tessy of Luxembourg; born 28 October 1985) is a Luxembourgish businesswoman and non-profit executive. She is a former member of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg as the ex-wife of Prince Louis of Luxe ...

(

UNAIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an e ...

Ambassador) *

Russ Carnahan John Russell Carnahan (; born July 10, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2013. At the time, the district included the southern th ...

(U.S. Congressman) *

Joe Sumner Joseph Sumner (born 23 November 1976) is an English singer-songwriter and bassist for the rock band Fiction Plane, and co-founder of the company Vyclone, which made an app for recording video from multiple angles. Personal life Joe Sumner i ...

(singer-songwriter and son of

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

) * Ajeenkya Patil (economist and chairman of the D Y Patil Group) * Suzan Sabancı Dinçer (chairwoman of

Akbank Akbank T.A.Ş. is one of the largest banks in Turkey. Founded in 1948, , it had revenues of nearly TL 13.7 billion. Listed on the Borsa Istanbul, its largest shareholders are members of the Sabancı family. Akbank is a bank that offers vehicle ...

) *

Andrew Neeme Andrew Neeme is an American professional poker player and poker vlogger from Michigan, United States. He is known for popularizing the " meet-up game" in which he announces on social media where he plays and searches for other players interested ...

(professional poker player) *

Rosario, Princess of Preslav María del Rosario Nadal y Fuster de Puigdórfila (born 22 October 1968), also known as the Princess of Preslav, is a Spanish consultant, art director, and former model. A former muse for Valentino, she works as an independent adviser to priva ...

(Spanish art director)

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges in London Private universities in the United Kingdom Open University Education in the London Borough of Hounslow Education in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Educational institutions established in 1972 1972 establishments in England Richmond, London