Combining academic and professional accreditation give students at the University of Reading Malaysia a Global Career Advantage
Importance of professional qualifications
To advance in many careers, it is not sufficient to have purely academic qualifications. Students must also obtain professional qualifications which allow them to be certified to practice. An academic qualification, such as an undergraduate degree, typically provides a student with knowledge about the subject matter, whereas a professional qualification demonstrates an individual’s ability to apply that knowledge in a real-world setting.
University of Reading Malaysia
At the University of Reading Malaysia, an international branch campus of the University of Reading UK, academic studies and professional accreditation are combined to provide students with a head-start in their careers. The recognition of the degrees by relevant professional and industrial bodies gives graduates a distinct advantage in a highly competitive job market.
ICAEW Partnership
Take, for example, the university’s renowned, triple-accredited Henley Business School. The school has partnered with ICAEW (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) in a unique career-integrated collaboration called the Henley-ICAEW Programme (HIP). HIP provides students with the fastest route to becoming an ICAEW Chartered Accountant (ICAEW ACA). In addition to the BSc Accounting and Finance degree, students are also awarded the ICAEW Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (CFAB) and are able to use the BFP (Business and Finance Professional) designation after their name.
It is also worth mentioning that ICAEW has reciprocal memberships with professional bodies in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. An ICAEW Chartered Accountant can therefore practice accountancy in these countries without necessarily taking examinations with them.
Professional accreditation
The real estate industry provides significant career opportunities in areas such as real estate investment, asset management, property management, valuation and planning.
The university’s BSc Real Estate is consistently ranked #1 in the UK for property management by the Good University Guide. It is the only programme in Malaysia that has quad-accreditation with professional recognition by BOVEAP (the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers), RICS (the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, RISM (the Royal Institute of Surveyors Malaysia) and SISV (the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers).
Similarly, the BSc Quantity Surveying programme is a highly-accredited programme in Malaysia. The programme is recognised by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia (BQSM) and the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS). PAQS accreditation includes recognition from over 10 further professional bodies that enables students to work in countries such as Australia, China, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand among others.
The BSc Psychology programme is one a handful in Malaysia that is accredited by the British Psychological Society, and so provides students with eligibility to Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership after graduation.
Industry Work Placements
Most professional accreditations require a period of industry practice, and students are strongly encouraged to undertake industry work placements in order to gain relevant work experience. Our accounting and finance students have a compulsory full-year work placement in Year 3 and we have a 100% record placing students at one of the major professional services firms such as Ernst & Young, PWC and Deloitte. There is also a compulsory work placement for psychology students, and our students benefit from the university’s close ties with industry partners when finding suitable work placements.
About the University of Reading, Malaysia
The University of Reading is in the top 20% of universities worldwide (QS 2020). The university opened the doors to its Malaysia campus in Educity, Iskandar Johor, in 2015. The Malaysia campus offers students in Malaysia the best of both worlds – the opportunity to study for a prestigious UK degree, which is exactly the same as that awarded on the UK campus, but at a significantly more affordable cost compared with studying in the UK.
September Intake
The next undergraduate intake is September and students can apply for direct entry with a recognised foundation, A-levels or other suitable qualification. SPM, IGCSE and equivalent holders can enrol on the International Foundation Programme (IFP) which allows direct progression to an undergraduate degree.
