Leicester, University of

University of Leicester

Age: 90

History: The university was founded in 1921 and received its Royal Charter in 1957.

Address: Ten minutes' walk from Leicester city centre.

Ambience: Flanked by over 20 acres of parkland, main campus is a mile from the city centre. The main campus is currently undergoing a major redevelopment, and an impressive £15m students’ union was completed last year. The university is proud of its Sir James Stirling-designed engineering building which, when viewed from the side, appears to have a rocket sticking out of the top. A friendly student village is set beside 16-acre botanical gardens.

Vital statistics: Almost 23,000 students, of which around 9,000 are full-time undergraduates.

Added value: There are unique language summer schools abroad in places like Tuscany, offered to all language first-years, to help them polish their language skills. Many courses offer a year-long placement in the USA; a year in Europe or Australia. This is the place where Prof. Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA genetic fingerprinting. Leicester is also home to the department with the greatest concentration of world class research in the UK – in the Department of Museum Studies.

Easy to get into? Not especially, although those from non-traditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Typical offers tend to range from AAB to BBB at A-level, depending on the course.

Glittering alumni: David Blanchflower, member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee; Lord Stevens, former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police; Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, former chief medical officer; Sir Robert Young, former British high commissioner to India; Heather Cooper, astronomer and broadcaster; war correspondent Mike Nicholson; media figures Sue Cook, Pete McCarthy and Bob Mortimer; landmines campaigner Chris Moon.

Transport links: Good for trains, with direct services to the Midlands and all over the country. Well served by the M1 and M69 motorways.

Who's the boss? Professor Robert Burgess, vice-chancellor. A sociologist by background, he's also the chairman of UCAS.

Teaching: 7th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: 47th out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: Came 23rd out of 114 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: Brand-spanking-new students' union building, which holds the O2 Academy Leicester, a set of three venues with capacities of 1,450, 500 and 250. Within the two months of opening, the venue had seen action from Professor Green, Plan B, The Magic Numbers and Corinne Bailey Rae. Leicester city centre is bustling at weekends thanks to major redevelopment in recent years, and with such a thriving student community, there's a student night for pretty much every week day too.

How green is it? Came joint 83rd out of 138 universities graded by People and Planet for their 'Green League 2011'.

Any accommodation? Yes. Single rooms in halls start at £108 per week, or you can splash out on a top studio for £161 per week.

Cheap to live there? Not too bad. Private rent is from £60 per week, excluding bills.

Sports Ranking: 66th in the BUCS league table.

Fees: £3,375 per year for full-time home undergrads starting in 2011. The university plans to charge £9,000 per year as of 2012.

Bursaries: Up to £1,384 per year is available to full-time students in receipt of a maintenance grant whose residual family income is less than £40,000. In 2012, the university will also be offering a number of excellence scholarships.

Prospectus: 0116 252 2522; www.le.ac.uk

UCAS code: L34