Schiller International University


Schiller International University is a private, for-profit university with its main campus and administrative headquarters in Largo, Florida. It has campuses on two continents in four countries: Tampa Bay, Paris, France, Madrid, Spain, Heidelberg, Germany. Schiller offers Associate, Bachelor, and Master's degrees. It also offers online degrees through distance learning.

History

Schiller was founded in 1964 by Dr. Walter Leibrecht as a study-abroad program for Americans living in West Germany. In 1969 the college relocated to Heidelberg.

Campuses

Tampa Bay

The main campus is located in Largo, Florida. The university's Administrative Headquarters and Office of Admissions are in Largo. The current president is Dr. Manuel Alonso-Puig. At one time it was located in Dunedin, Florida. By 2006, the university moved to East Bay Drive and then Ulmerton Road in Largo.

Paris

Schiller has a campus in the 15th arrondissement of Paris near the Place de la Convention.

Madrid

The Madrid Campus is located in a historic building on Plaza de la Republica Argentina in Northern Madrid. The Madrid campus specializes in International Business and in International Relations. In addition to US accreditation, the Madrid campus is recognized by the Comunidad de Madrid, allowing students to apply for "homologación."

Heidelberg

The Heidelberg campus was the first Schiller campus and the largest. For years the campus was located in the Villa Krehl in Bergstraße, but in summer of 2012 the campus moved to new facilities in the Bahnstadt. The address of the campus is: Zollhofgarten 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany.

London

Schiller first established a London presence in 1971, renting facilities in Birkbeck College. In 1978, an outer London campus in premises owned by the university was established at the historic Wickham Court in West Wickham, Kent. In 1981 the university acquired the former Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women. In 2011 the UK announced tighter visa restrictions on international students, and as the university attracted 80-85% of its students from non-European Union countries it proved increasingly difficult to attract sufficient numbers of students. In response, in August of that year Schiller announced that it was closing its London campus and sold the site to the UK branch of the University of Notre Dame to provide dedicated student residence for its students in London.
In 2015 Schiller established a partnership with the University of Roehampton which offers its students the possibility to an obtain the SIU degree, and after completion of a dissertation or thesis, a University of Roehampton degree.

Accreditation

Schiller International University is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. As of 2015 Schiller students can gain a double degree awarded by Schiller and the University of Roehampton in the United Kingdom, thanks to a bilateral agreement between both universities.

Academics

The programs include international business, business administration, international relations and diplomacy, management of information technology, and hospitality and tourism management. Two-year programs are offered in international business, international hospitality and tourism management, and nursing. English is the language of instruction on all campuses. Students may relocate from campus to campus while continuing their academic program. Schiller features the American pattern of university education.

Financial aid

The university is approved for Federal and Veterans' training programs, and also offers a limited number of institutional awards to students—regardless of citizenship—based on need, academic performance, nationality, and grade level.

Notable alumni