Royal Agricultural University

The Royal Agricultural University at Cirencester was founded in 1845 as the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world, and gained university status in 2013. It teaches agriculture, land management, rural business, food production, equine science and environmental subjects. For a Kazakh applicant the specialism is more relevant than the university's size suggests. Kazakhstan is among the world's larger grain exporters and agriculture is a substantial part of its economy, so a degree in agricultural business, land management or food production applies at home rather than only abroad. Its fee is GBP 16,950 a year, the lowest of any specialist institution here. Lincoln, through its Institute for Agri-Food Technology, and Harper Adams are the obvious UK comparisons and should be weighed on programme content as well as cost. Cirencester is a small Cotswolds town. Living costs are moderate, the part-time labour market the Student visa permits is thin, and the nearest major airports are at Birmingham and Bristol.