On any given day at the Romanian-American University in Bucharest, the corridors offer a snapshot of an increasingly international academic community. Students from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East meet in classrooms, work together on projects and exchange ideas shaped by different cultures and educational backgrounds.

This diversity is no longer simply an additional feature of university life. It has become one of the defining elements of the institution.

Today, 24% of the students at the Romanian-American University, commonly known as RAU, are enrolled in English-taught programmes, and the wider student community includes close to 400 young people from more than 50 countries. Together, they have helped turn the Bucharest campus into a multicultural environment where international experiences are part of everyday academic life.

RAU’s global orientation is closely connected to its history. Founded in 1991, the university set out to bring elements of the American higher-education model into the Romanian academic system, while respecting local educational traditions. Internationalization was therefore embedded in the institution’s identity from the beginning, rather than added later in response to wider trends.

More than three decades on, that original vision can be seen in the university’s academic offer, international partnerships, student mobility opportunities, and growing portfolio of dual-degree programmes.

An international experience in Bucharest

RAU currently provides more than 35 study programmes, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees in areas connected to the international economy and the changing labour market. Its English-taught programmes cover fields such as international business, computer science for economics, finance, marketing, tourism and hospitality, and business-oriented technology.

For international students, studying in English makes the transition to academic life in Romania more accessible. For Romanian students, meanwhile, the English-language programmes offer the opportunity to study in a diverse environment without leaving Bucharest.

The result is a campus experience in which students are regularly exposed to different perspectives, working styles, and cultural expectations. Group projects can bring together classmates from several countries, while courses delivered by international professors and visiting lecturers introduce students to academic and professional practices from outside Romania.

This experience can be particularly valuable for those preparing to work in international companies or multicultural teams. Intercultural communication, adaptability, and the ability to collaborate across borders are increasingly important professional skills, and at RAU they are developed not only through the curriculum but also through daily interaction.

The university’s international environment is further supported by Erasmus+ and other mobility programmes. Incoming students can spend a semester or an academic year in Bucharest, while RAU students have opportunities to study at partner institutions abroad.

These exchanges add another layer to campus life. Students arriving from other universities contribute new ideas and experiences to classroom discussions, while those travelling abroad return with a broader understanding of different academic systems and cultures. RAU also provides mobility participants with academic, logistical, cultural, and linguistic support.

Where academic knowledge meets real-world leadership

The strategic partnerships developed by the Romanian-American University with the business community play an essential role in connecting the academic experience to the labor market, through regular consultations to update the curriculum and the active involvement of professionals in workshops, mentoring, applied projects, and networking events for the students.

Within this framework, the LEADERS@RAU initiative positions the university as a meeting point between academic excellence and leaders in business, diplomacy, and public policy, going beyond a traditional lecture series to build long-term partnerships that provide students with direct access to contemporary decision-making and prepare them to shape the future in an ever-changing world.

Dual degrees and global partnerships

One of the most visible expressions of the university’s international strategy is its range of dual-degree programmes. These allow students to graduate with two qualifications: one awarded by RAU and another by an international partner university.

The programmes combine study in Bucharest with international curricula, visiting professors, academic networks and, depending on the partnership, opportunities to spend part of the study period abroad.

At the bachelor’s level, RAU works with universities in the United States, continuing the institution’s long-standing connection with American higher education. Students enrolled in Computer Science for Economics can pursue a dual-degree pathway developed with Northwood University. International Business students can also access options involving Northwood University or St. Francis College.

The university’s partnerships also extend to the United Kingdom and Italy. In cooperation with the University of York Europe Campus, RAU offers dual-degree programmes in Business Studies with a focus on Marketing, Digital Marketing and Social Media, and International Economic Relations and European Union Studies.

The programmes are delivered in Bucharest by academic staff from both institutions, allowing students to benefit from an internationally designed educational experience while remaining in Romania.

At master’s level, the Finance programme is offered in partnership with the University of Siena in Italy, connecting students with another established European academic tradition.

The University has recently announced the launch of its School of Architecture, a new academic initiative that brings to Romania an international educational model built around a six-year integrated Bachelor's and Master's degree program, taught in English and developed in partnership with NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego, California, USA. The future students will have the opportunity to earn a dual degree awarded by both Romanian and American universities, providing them with internationally recognized academic credentials and expanded professional opportunities worldwide.

Building bridges between Europe and Asia

RAU has also expanded its international presence in Asia. In 2026, the university announced a strategic partnership with the University of Hyogo for a double-degree master’s programme in International Business and Entrepreneurship.

Presented as Romania’s first Japanese-Romanian double-degree programme in business and entrepreneurship, the initiative gives students exposure to both European and Asian business environments. The programme brings together professors from Romania and Japan and includes applied activities, international academic experiences, and links with business communities in both countries.

The partnership builds on RAU’s long-standing relationship with Japan. The university’s Romanian-Japanese Studies Center was established in 2005 with the support of the Embassy of Japan in Bucharest. It promotes Japanese language, culture, and business studies and supports exchanges, summer schools, study trips, and cooperation with Japanese companies.

RAU has partnerships with 17 Japanese universities, reflecting an international approach that goes beyond degree programmes. Through its cultural centres and academic initiatives, the university encourages students to understand the societies and business environments behind the languages and qualifications they study.

This combination of English-taught education, international mobility, cultural exchange, and dual-degree opportunities has helped RAU position itself as a global academic hub in Bucharest.

For its students, the international experience does not begin with a flight abroad. It begins on campus, either in the classroom, during a conversation with a colleague from another country, or through a project shaped by several cultural perspectives.

With 24% of its students enrolled in English-taught programmes, a community representing more than 50 countries, and dual-degree partnerships with universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan, RAU offers an education designed to cross borders.

In doing so, the university connects Romania’s academic environment to the global networks and prepares its graduates to move confidently between cultures, markets, and professional contexts.

*This is native content supported by RAU.