Liverpool John Moores University

Liverpool John Moores University

Age: 19

History: Originally a small mechanics institution (Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts), it grew by converging with different colleges and eventually became the Liverpool Polytechnic. In 1992, the polytechnic became Liverpool John Moores University. The university is named after John Moores, the founder of Littlewoods.

Address: Three main campuses. The Ciy Campus is located close to the William Brown Street area, near to St Georges Hall, the Walker Art Gallery, the Livepool Museum and Central Library. The Mount Pleasant campus sits between the city's two cathedrals, and the IM Marsh campus lies four miles south of the city centre.

Ambience: LJMU is currently investing £180m across its three campuses, developing new teaching accommodation, learning and research facilities. The £25million Tom Reilly Building, housing the schools of psychology and sport and exercise sciences, was completed in 2009. The next phase of the developments includes the refurbishment of existing properties at IM Marsh, as well as the construction of a new teaching building at south Liverpool campus. A new £35 million property will also be built on Clarence Street and the James Parsons Building on Byrom Street, the university’s largest single property, will be undergoing a massive facelift. To modernise the building and make it more energy efficient, cladding and new windows will be fitted externally and internally a new lecture theatre is proposed. The plans also include refurbishing the John Foster Building and the Aldham Robarts Learning Resource Centre.

Vital statistics: One of Britain's biggest universities, currently boasting around 24,000 students. All degree programmes have elements of vocational or on the job training, and now students enrolling on one of LJMU's 450 undergraduate programmes will be encouraged to develop, practise and be assessed in eight graduate skills along with their subject-specific studies.

Added value: Students who fulfil the new skills criteria will graduate with an additional 'skills statement', a certificate of their competency in the eight separate skills. In addition, students will have the opportunity to develop higher 'world of work' skills, which will be assessed in the new Graduate Development Centre.

Easy to get into? It varies significantly: courses ask for between 120 and 320 UCAS entry points.

Glittering alumni: John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe were at the art school; Caroline Aherne was a media student.

Transport links: Excellent. There are direct road, rail, air and sea links to locations all over UK.

Who's the boss? Professor Nigel Weatherill becomes the new vice-chancellor in September 2011, following the retirement of Professor Michael Brown CBE.

Teaching: 101st out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: 74th out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: Joint 102nd out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: University has two bars in the Haigh, the student union building, and two other boozers on IM Marsh and Byrom Street. Many club nights are free. The city centre provides a wealth of entertainment possibilities with theatres, cinemas and an abundance of pubs, bars and clubs to cater for all tastes.

How green is it? Quite good – came joint 31st out of 138 universities graded by People & Planet for their 'Green League 2011'.

Any accommodation? Yes. A wide range of halls are available for students around the city. Rents range from £69 to £127 per week.

Cheap to live there? Relatively. Self-catering accommodation starts at around £69 per week.

Sports Ranking: 52nd in the BUCS league table.

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

Bursaries: A LMJU Bursary of £500 per year is available to eligible students with an annual household income of less than £25,000 in 2011.

Prospectus: 0151 231 5090; www.ljmu.ac.uk

UCAS code: L51