Even if this were true, then an exam would be sufficient in figuring out who is "fluent" enough to attend, like the TOEFL exam requirements for McGill in Canada and many universities in the United States rather than just blocking out students from countries where English is not a main language.
As a matter of fact, they use an exam to determine who is worth to join their doctorate courses. It's the IELTS, and it is considered to be more reliable than the TOEFL.
In the IELTS, the scale varies from 1 to 9 (expert user).
Most ordinary native English users score as low as 5.5. The average British student scores 6.8.
While most British and American universities "only" require a score of 6 for foreign students (a reasonable demand), Cambridge's architecture department requires a score of 7.5 on average and 8 in written English: a score that would be extremely hard to reach EVEN for a native English student.
So it's ridiculous. I'm wondering how many Japanese candidates from the Todai could qualify,
if any.
I see it only as a tactic to discourage them.
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And the worst is that Cambridge's Architecture department is not that awesome, even if it's not that mediocre either. Anyway, many of our courses are far better than theirs, and require more technical and designing skills -
especially our bi-cursus with Polytechnique/Ponts et chaussées/ESTP (1)-.
I'm going to guess unfriendliness toward continental Europe for this one.
It's very likely. Deliberate unfriendliness, and for political reasons. Conservative euroscepticism, coupled with the fact they're already busy forming students from their former colonies (especially India). They live in another century.
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(1)
In France, ESTP is an acronym that stands for Ecole Spéciale des Travaux Publics, a superior school for engineers.