Harper Adams University

Land management, engineering, animal science, food and agriculture are the core subjects of Harper Adams University, a specialist institution. It was founded as an agricultural college in 1901 using a bequest from Thomas Harper Adams, a gentleman farmer from Shropshire, and it was designated a university college in 1998. University title came in 2012, making it the first university in Shropshire. The principal campus is at Edgmond, close to Newport, where a large commercial farm extending to several hundred hectares is used for both teaching and research. A further campus, Harper Adams University, Telford, was launched in 2024 in the Station Quarter of Telford, with degrees in areas including digital business, robotics, automation and data science; a shuttle bus runs between it and Edgmond.

Of roughly 5,000 students, the majority are undergraduates. Its research strengths include agricultural automation, together with crop and environmental science, as the Hands Free Hectare robotic farming project demonstrates. Jointly with Keele University, it runs the Harper and Keele Veterinary School, which trains veterinary surgeons, and its graduates have a strong employment record.

Information for International Students

International students at Harper Adams receive dedicated help with Student visa applications, with their studies and with the adjustment to living in the UK. Applications for undergraduate study go through UCAS, whereas postgraduate candidates apply via the university's own portal, and a CAS follows once the conditions of the offer have been satisfied. For most undergraduate courses, applicants need IELTS Academic 6.0 overall and a minimum of 5.5 in every component, rising to 6.5 overall for postgraduate study. For visa purposes, IELTS results from the General Training test are not accepted. Candidates who fulfil the academic conditions but narrowly miss the English standard may be offered a place on a six-week pre-sessional course run by the university itself. An integrated foundation year is an option on many degrees.

Every first-year international student is guaranteed accommodation. Ahead of the main induction, new arrivals work through an online pre-arrival induction, and there is also a separate induction for international students. Eligible undergraduate and postgraduate entrants can receive international scholarships, awarded as reductions in fees, and eligible graduates may seek permission to remain in the UK for work under the Graduate Route.