Ph.D. Habil. Professor Costel Negricea,
Rector–Romanian-American University
Thirty-five years after its founding, the Romanian-American University has become one of the dynamic benchmarks of private higher education in Romania. With more than 50,000 alumni, a multicultural academic community, and a strategy focused on internationalization, technology, and employability, the university continues to redefine its role in a world shaped by accelerated transformation.
Inspired by the values of the American academic system, the university has built a modern educational model based on academic excellence, entrepreneurial spirit, and international openness. Today, it brings together over 3,000 students each year, 10 faculties, and 42 accredited or authorized bachelor’s and master’s programs, 14 of which are taught in English.
A defining feature of the university is its multicultural community. More than 20% of students are enrolled in English-taught programs and come from over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and North America. This diversity creates an international educational environment and strengthens the university’s role in promoting Romania as an academic destination and fostering university diplomacy.
Internationalization is reflected in both partnerships and academic experiences. The university has organized more than 360 extracurricular courses delivered by visiting professors from institutions such as James Madison University, San Francisco State University, the University of California, Columbia University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Hanyang University, Nagaoka University of Technology, and the University of Ottawa. More than 8,500 students have benefited from these international courses.
The Romanian-American University has developed more than 320 international academic partnerships and offers double-degree programs with universities from the United States, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Its partners include Università di Siena, Northwood University, St. Francis College, and the University of York. Recently, the university signed an agreement to launch its first double- degree master’s program in business and entrepreneurship, in partnership with the University of Hyogo in Japan.
Access to education and support for performance are central to the university’s mission. It offers tuition-free places, awarded on merit, to 20% of bachelor’s students and 10% of master’s students in Romanian-taught programs. To date, the institution has invested more than EUR 2 million from its own resources and awarded over 6,200 scholarships.
The campus integrates educational spaces, sports facilities, research infrastructure, and student services, reflecting the university’s orientation toward the education of the future. Students have access to advanced laboratories and technologies, including AR/VR, eye-tracking and EEG for neuromarketing, 3D printers, robotics, specialized software, digital anatomy systems, intelligent mannequins, smart boards, videoconferencing, and hybrid teaching infrastructure. The university also invests in applied research through 15 centers and laboratories dedicated to artificial intelligence, blockchain, neuroscience, robotics, IoT, and economic sustainability.
Over time, the Romanian-American University has developed from core fields such as international business, finance, accounting, management, marketing, tourism and hospitality, business informatics, and law, later expanding into physical education and sport, psychology, and education sciences.
This year, the university continues its academic expansion with two new faculties – Medical Sciences and Architecture -, and the Early Childhood Education specialization within the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences. Medical
Sciences will include General Nursing, while Architecture will operate as an integrated bachelor’s-master’s program, taught in English, with the possibility of a double degree in partnership with New School of Architecture and Design in San Diego, USA.
Students also benefit from Erasmus+ programs, international mobility schemes, internships in Romania and abroad, centers dedicated to Asian and Latin American studies, and workshops organized with the business community. Each year, more than 270 students take part in international mobility programs, while the university organizes over 80 events dedicated to professional and multicultural development.
The Romanian-American University consolidates its identity by remaining connected to the global economy and the evolving labor market. More than a higher education institution, it stands as an academic community committed to innovation, multiculturalism, and the formation of generations prepared to contribute to society’s future.
