The Royal Agricultural College (RAC) is a higher education institution located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English speaking world . The College provides more than 30 land-based undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes to students from over 45 countries through the School of Agriculture, the School of Business and the School of Real Estate & Land Management. The RAC also delivers teaching with university partners in China, the USA, and the Netherlands. The seeds of the Royal Agricultural College were sown in 1842 , at a meeting of the Fairford and Cirencester Farmers’ Club. Concerned by the lack of government support for education, Robert Jeffreys-Brown addressed the meeting on the "Advantages of a Specific Education for Agricultural Pursuits" . A prospectus was circulated, a general committee appointed and Earl Bathurst was elected President. Funds were raised by public subscription: much of the support came from the wealthy landowners and farmers of the day; there was no Government support. The first 25 students were admitted in September 1845.