Birmingham City University

Birmingham City University

Age: 166

History: It has providing education in the city of Birmingham since 1843, when the Birmingham Government School of Design - which later became the Birmingham College of Art - was formed. In 1971 Birmingham Polytechnic was formed, and in 1992 Birmingham Polytechnic became The University of Central England in Birmingham. In 2007 the University's name was changed to Birmingham City University to better reflect its location in the heart of the Britain's second city.

Address: Eight sites around Birmingham: the largest is City North Campus in Perry Barr which is three miles to the north of the city centre. The Birmingham School of Acting came under the Birmingham City University umbrella in 2006 and is housed in purpose-built facilities along with the Faculty of Technology, Innovation and Development at the high-tech Millennium Point building in the city centre. A new £150m central flagship campus is currently being planned.

Ambience: Depends on the setting. Perry Barr is a modern urban campus, the Faculty of Health in Edgbaston occupies a leafy suburb and The School of Jewellery is in the heart of Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter. The University’s school of music, Birmingham Conservatoire is housed in the city centre, not far from Margaret Street, an imposing listed Venetian Gothic building, which houses the Department of Art.

Vital statistics: A total of 23,000 students; almost 19,000 full-time undergraduates and 3,500 part-timers and 1000 studying further education courses. Just over one-in-five are mature students. Many courses are career-related.

Added value: The health faculty is part of a new centre of excellence for teaching and learning and the education faculty is highly rated. The new Mary Seacole library (on the Westbourne site) is one of the largest health education libraries in the country. Birmingham City University is the first university in England to have a virtual operating suite on-site, allowing healthcare students to hone their skills, operating on virtual patients.

Easy to get into? Six applications per place. Course entry requirements range from 180-360 UCAS points.

Glittering alumni: Novelist Jim Crace; Alfred Bestall, illustrator of Rupert Bear; comedian Frank Skinner; fashion designer, Betty Jackson; Capital FM and former Clothes Show presenter Margherita Taylor and X-Factor 2007 runner-up Rhydian Roberts.

Transport links: Buses and trains between Perry Barr and the city centre, Birmingham is easy to get to and from. All of the other campuses are equally close and accessible.

Who's the boss? Vice-Chancellor David Tidmarsh, a Coventry man who joined Birmingham City University from Anglia Ruskin University in 2006.

Teaching: 98th out of 113 for student satisfaction in the 2008 National Student Survey.

Research: 60th out of 113 in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: 59th out of 113 in The Independent’s Complete University Guide 2010.

Nightlife: As the country’s second city, Birmingham has a huge number of bars and clubs to suit all tastes. There are live music venues across the city from pubs and intimate jazz bars to the O2 Academy and Jools Holland’s Jam House. The National Indoor Arena (NIA) and the LG (formerly the NEC) Arena are huge venues that draw big stars.

How green is it? Not great – came 71st out of 131 universities graded by People & Planet for their ‘Green League 2009’, an assessment of environmental performance.

Any accommodation? Yes – in 2008/09 it cost between £64 and £97 per week for shared self-catered flats. A number of Birmingham City University’s halls have recently undergone major renovation.

Cheap to live there? About average - around £70 per week to rent privately.

Sports ranking: 126th out of 142 in the BUCS league table.

Prospectus: 0121 331 5595 or email on choices@bcu.ac.uk or visit www.bcu.ac.uk

UCAS code: B25