UK Universities

The University of Essex, based at Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, received its Royal Charter in 1965. It is one of the UK’s leading academic institutions and has an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching. The University has 18 departments spanning the Humanities, Social Sciences and Science and Engineering.

There are currently around 7,553 students at the University, 22% of these within the Graduate School. The University is an international community with students from more than 130 countries. In recent assessments Essex has regularly ranked among the top twelve UK universities for the quality of its research, with many of its departments rated as ‘outstanding’ by international standards.

Over 200 acres of attractive parkland, much of it landscaped in the eighteenth century, provides the setting for the University’s Colchester campus. There is easy access to coast and countryside, including the area of outstanding natural beauty known as ‘Constable Country’, after the famous landscape artist John Constable, who painted many local scenes, including Wivenhoe Park itself. Visitors are able to take advantage of the facilities available at Wivenhoe House, the original focus for the park, which has now become the University’s hotel and conference centre.

The close knit Colchester campus has shops, banks and restaurants, and the University is able to offer accommodation to a high proportion of its students. As part of its excellent range of sporting and leisure facilities – all on the campus – the University boasts four squash courts, fitness gym, climbing wall and an eighteen-hole frisbee golf course. The Arts are also well catered for at Essex – there is a University Theatre, an Exhibition Gallery, and an extensive programme of musical and dramatic events.

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The University of Dundee is one of the UK’s leading universities, internationally recognised for its expertise across a range of disciplines including science, medicine, engineering and art.

In 2007, the University celebrates 40 years since it became an independent university after a 70 year relationship with the University of St. Andrews.

The University has seen some major changes in that time. The past decade has been a particularly exciting time of progression and change – since 1994 the University has more than doubled in size.

‘to advance and diffuse knowledge, wisdom and understanding by teaching and research and by the example and influence of its corporate life’
Mission statement, Royal Charter 1967

The mission statement first written in 1967 continues to focus the University today as it powers forward as one of the UK’s top institutions for teaching and research across a broad range of disciplines.

The medical and life sciences are 5* rated while the University is home to one of the UK’s top art schools. Dundee was Scottish University of the Year 2004/2005 (Sunday Times) and was ranked top for teaching quality in 2005.

The University continues to move forward and is currently undergoing a £200 million redevelopment programme for the city centre campus. A major reorganisation of the academic structure was also recently introduced.

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The University of Chester is one of the oldest providers of higher education in the country, with our academic roots stretching back to the early 19th century. Founded in 1839 by a group of prominent local figures, which included Britain’s greatest 19th century Prime Minister, William Gladstone, we pre-date all but a handful of other English universities.

However, at Chester, change is as important as tradition. During our 168-year history, our fundamental mission of educating students for careers of service has continued to evolve and develop, and we have established a broad range of degree choices, which offer our students a high quality experience in a modern and supportive environment.

The University has two campuses, set approximately 25 miles apart, connected by a free shuttle bus service. Our Chester campus is the primary location of undergraduate teaching for a broad range of courses in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Applied Sciences, the Arts, Teacher Training, Nursing, Midwifery and Law, while our Warrington campus is the main site for the thriving courses that address the need for well trained graduates in a variety of vocational areas. Home of the North West Media Centre, Warrington is a leader in the provision of modern media degree courses, such as TV and Radio Production, Commercial Music Production, Film Studies and Advertising. Courses in Computer Science, Business, Journalism, Sport, Graphic Design and Nursing are available on both campuses.

Some of our degrees are based on single, traditional disciplines, such as English, Geography, Theology and Mathematics, while others have been designed to support the practical and vocational demands of today’s professions, including Business, Law and Health Care. For students who prefer to maintain a broader focus at degree level, many subjects may be combined – such as History and Archaeology, Forensic Biology and Criminology, or Advertising and Marketing, so that students have the opportunity to study combinations of subjects that interest them and that can lead to a variety of exciting career options.

Throughout our long history, we have always been proud of our traditions, and of our concern for the individual, as well as our ability to keep pace with the demands of a constantly changing world. As teachers, scholars, advisors and mentors, we are dedicated to providing you with a community engaged in learning, fostered by diversity, strengthened by tradition, and sustained by innovation.

In choosing Chester, you will be selecting an institution with a strong learning tradition, and one which will challenge you to give the best of yourself in your academic work, sport and recreation, and your contribution to our student community. In return, we will give you one of the best experiences of your life.

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University of Cardiff

The information below taken from University of Cardiff’s official page . Please follow the link to see and get more information

Cardiff University is recognised in independent government assessments as one of Britain’s leading teaching and research universities.

Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, the University today combines impressive modern facilities and a dynamic approach to teaching and research with its proud heritage of service and achievement.

The University’s breadth of expertise in research and research-led teaching encompasses: the humanities; the natural, physical, health, life and social sciences; engineering and technology; preparation for a wide range of professions; and a longstanding commitment to lifelong learning.

From its outstanding central location amidst the parks, Portland-stone buildings and tree-lined avenues that form the city’s elegant civic centre, the University’s students and staff are drawn from throughout the world, attracted by its international reputation and commitment to innovation and excellence in all areas of activity.  Cardiff is a member of the Russell Group of Britain’s leading research universities.

Having gained national and international standing, Cardiff University’s vision is to be recognised as a world-leading university and to achieve the associated benefits for its students, staff and all other stakeholders. 

The student population is drawn from a variety of backgrounds, with students attracted from throughout Wales, the rest of the UK and world-wide. International students comprise some 17 per cent of the total student population. Government performance indicators show that our students are more likely to succeed in their studies, with first-year completion rates considerably higher than national averages and also higher than some similar universities.

Many of the University’s degree schemes provide partial or complete exemption from relevant professional examinations and more than forty schemes of study benefit from accreditation and input from professional bodies. More than twenty per cent of Cardiff University students pursue postgraduate study.

Promoting health and welfare with special reference to the needs of Wales is an important role of the University and one which is fulfilled via a strongly inter-disciplinary and multi-partnership approach.  Central among our partners in this all-Wales role is the National Health Service (NHS) in Wales, with which the University is linked at all levels

The University is located in and around the Portland stone buildings, parks and tree-lined avenues that form Cardiff’s magnificent civic centre.  In recent years, substantial investment has been made in the University estate, including the expansion of life sciences facilities, recent development of a new brain research centre and a new building for Optometry and Vision Sciences.

Unusually for a civic university, most of the University’s student residential accommodation is within easy walking distance of lecture theatres, libraries and the students’ union, saving our students time and money.

A place in one of the University’s 4,700 student rooms is guaranteed to all first-year undergraduates entering through the normal admissions cycle. The vast majority of student residences are single en-suite study bedrooms in self catered flats — and students enjoy some of the lowest rents in the UK, according to a survey by the National Union of Students.

Networked computers offering a wealth of software applications are available to every student, there is a dedicated Graduate Centre providing support and facilities for postgraduates additional to those available within their Schools. 

Importance is attached to ensuring that Cardiff University graduates have the personal and intellectual skills demanded by employers, and this results in very high levels of graduate employment.

The University is the largest provider of adult education in Wales, with the Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning providing several hundred courses in venues across South East Wales. The University’s lifelong learning activities also encompass the professional development work carried out by schools for employers, and many of these courses are custom-made to suit an individual company’s needs. The Centre also offers business language training at all levels.

The University is one of the largest employers in Cardiff, with a staff of some 5,500 and is a substantial purchaser of goods and services, making a major contribution to the prosperity of the region.  Academic expertise and research facilities are used to advantage by industry and commercial partners, government bodies and other organisations.  

These contracts, combined with the provision of professional updating courses and the provision of sophisticated equipment and specialist skills, enable the University to help improve the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of industry and commerce.

The University also helps to generate new business ideas and spin-out companies in the region;  technology transfer activities, from start-up companies and the licensing of new products to industry, contribute tens of millions of pounds to the economy each year.

The acclaimed Cardiff University Innovation Network has introduced several hundred companies to the expertise, knowledge and facilities of the University. The University’s Manufacturing Engineering Centre, has a customer base of some 100 small and medium size enterprises and it regularly disseminates the results of its ground-breaking work to more than 2,000 companies throughout the UK.

This is a broad introduction to the University; details of all areas of its work are detailed on this site.

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