University of East London establishes a presence in Florida

The University of East London (UEL) has announced plans to expand into the US, with undergraduate and master’s degrees scheduled to begin in January 2027.

Now fully licensed to deliver undergraduate and graduate degrees in Florida, UEL USA will run in partnership with local institutions Indian River State College and the Global Institute of Sport.

Teaching will operate out of campuses owned by the former, located on Florida’s east coast, as well as facilities at Chase Stadium, which serves as a campus in Fort Lauderdale for the Global Institute of Sport.

UEL, which describes itself as a “careers-first” university, will provide master’s degrees in six fields, including cybersecurity engineering, public health, e-sports management, and marketing. UEL is also rolling out professional and executive education training, which is due to start in November.

Paul Marshall, professor and vice-president (Global Campus) and pro vice-chancellor (careers and enterprise) at UEL, told Times Higher Education: “Our Florida portfolio is focused on areas where skills and employment are changing quickly, including digital and cyber, business and leadership, health and well-being, communications, and emerging industries. The delivery model is designed to work for students who may be working, changing careers, or progressing from previous study.”

Florida has been at the epicentre of the so-called culture wars in the US, with the state’s Republican governor and former presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis being among the first political leaders there to seek to close down some degrees relating to race and gender and to take greater political control of higher education institutions in the state, including over curricula.

But Marshall described the move to Florida as “a deliberate choice” for UEL because it offers three clear advantages: “a strong policy environment, clear demand in areas where UEL has expertise, and the right partners”.

UEL had already developed strong relationships in the state, and the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Florida to strengthen economic cooperation was another “major factor” in the move, said Marshall.

UEL’s offshore expansion sits within a wider global strategy for the university, which already has more than 25,000 students learning through international partnerships.

“We have built one of the UK’s largest transnational education operations. UEL USA is a natural next step, taking a careers-first model that has been developed at scale into a new market,” said Marshall.

He added that the growth of transnational education activity at UEL has given the university “considerable experience” of working across different markets and supporting students internationally.

Although Marshall did not disclose how much UEL has invested in its new Florida operation, he described the development as part of a “wider investment in international growth”, and he did not rule out further expansion in the US, saying: “Florida gives us a strong US base from which to grow.”

He added that students studying at UEL USA will also be able to study at UEL in London as a study-abroad opportunity.

“Students in Florida will be able to draw on the wider university from the outset,” he said.

rosalind.skillen@timeshighereducation.com