Buckinghamshire New University

Buckinghamshire New University

Age: 116

History: Traces origins to 1893, when School of Science and Art was set up in High Wycombe to support furniture design and manufacture. Has been an art and technology college and a further education college. Granted the right by Privy Council to award own taught degrees in 1994, and granted university status in 2007. Formerly Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College.

Address: Two campuses, one in High Wycombe, and another in Uxbridge, West London.

Ambience: High Wycombe is a market town 35 minutes from London and set in pretty, prosperous countryside. The newly-refurbished Uxbridge site is five minutes walk from the tube station, close to shopping centres and the Grand Union Canal.

Vital statistics: 6,405 full and part-time undergraduates plus 1,826 on postgraduate, professional and short courses. Business, health, sport and design are the main subject areas. Lots of mature students. Bucks has made a significant investment in campus redevelopment with the construction of state-of-the-art facilities in the centre of High Wycombe, including a learning resource and technology centre, events hall, gym, sports science laboratory, dance, drama, music and video production studios, library and meeting rooms, as well as new student accommodation ten minutes walk from the High Wycombe Campus .

Added value: Big on furniture design and manufacture. Runs courses from foundation degree to PhD. Offers one of UK's only courses in music management. Bucks also offers a student support package known as the ‘Big D£al’, which includes a £500 non-means-tested bursary and free access to a range of events, sports and taster sessions run by the Students' Union.

Easy to get into? Courses ask for between 160 and 240 UCAS entry points (for 2010 entry the range will be 200-280). Foundation degrees start at 120.

Glittering alumni: Robin Day and Fred Scott, furniture designers, and artist Boo Ritson.

Transport links: Local buses to main campus. London within reach by train or car.

Who's the boss? Professor Ruth Farwell.

Teaching: 106th out 113 for student satisfaction in the 2008 National Student Survey.

Research: 106th out of 113 in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Nightlife: Centres mainly on students union. Regular club nights and a May Ball.

Any accommodation? Yes. There are around 634 single study bedrooms in self-catering accommodation. All students living outside a 25-mile radius of High Wycombe are guaranteed an offer of a room. All halls offer internet access either in the study bedrooms, or in the student lounge, and there is a free bus service between campuses. Additional places are offered through the Head Tenancy Scheme (houses that are managed by Bucks on behalf of the owner). Prices for housing on campus for 2009-10 start at £66 per week.

Cheap to live there? It can be, depending on where you live - shared private accommodation averages around £70 per person per week.

Overall ranking: Came 103rd out of 113 in The Independent Complete University Guide 2010.

Sports ranking: Came 85th out of 142 in the BUCS league table.

Prospectus: 0800 056 5660; www.bucks.ac.uk

UCAS code: B94