Nottingham, University of

University of Nottingham

Age: 130

History: Founded in 1881.

Address: The University Park campus of 330 landscaped acres sits on the western edge of the city, while the Jubilee campus is one mile away. Bristling with high-tech equipment, it has undergone recent developments, including the construction of three new landmark buildings and a 60m high steel structure ‘Aspire’ – the tallest piece of public artwork in the UK. Sutton Bonington campus is 10 miles into the Notts countryside and from 2006 became home to the first new UK school of veterinary science for more than 50 years. New accommodation, sports and social facilities have been built. Several satellite nursing sites in and around Nottingham. Oh, and the Malaysian campus is in Kuala Lumpur and the new China Campus in Ningbo, close to Shanghai.

Ambience: Rural, with mix of architecture. City centre a short bus ride away and second tram line proposed connecting the heart of the city with the parkland campus. Famous for student life.

Vital statistics: Claims to be one of the UK's most sought-after universities amd remains high in the world rankings. A booming institution, growing in student numbers, with around 32,000 in total, just over 23,000 of which are full-time undergrads.

Added value: Top sports facilities, including a new £2.4m sports centre on Sutton Bonington Campus, and a healthy record in the BUSA leagues. A centre dedicated to research into DH Lawrence. A system of on-campus residences serve as social, cultural and sporting hubs for students. All rooms wired for workstations and have own phones.

Easy to get into? Competitive. Offers range from CCC to AAA/AABB, depending on the course.

Glittering alumni: D H Lawrence; Matthew Bannister, former Radio One controller, Sir Bob Phillis, the late chairman of Guardian Media Group; Tim Brabants, canoeist and Olympic gold medallist in the 2008 Olympic Games; David Florence, canoeist and Olympic silver medallist in the 2008 Olympic Games; Ruth Wilson, lead actress in the 2006 BBC production of Jane Eyre; Helen Willets, BBC national weather broadcasting; Deng YaPing, former Chinese Olympic table tennis player.

Transport links: Situated in the middle of the country, it has good rail links, coaches galore and East Midlands Airport, which is a hub for low cost airlines Ryanair, Easyjet and BMI Baby.

Who's the boss? Professor David Greenaway, from the University’s School of Economics, was appointed in October 2008.

Teaching: 39th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: 22nd out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: 17th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: Famed for its student nights, it's a groovy place for clubbers.

How green is it? Poor and falling - came joint 83rd out of 142 universities graded by People and Planet for its 'Green League 2011', after being placed 53rd last year.

Any accommodation? Yes indeed. A place in halls is guaranteed to all first-years. A spot in a fully catered residence will have all inclusive costs of between £113 - £178 per week; for self-catered you'll be asked to spend between £85 and £116 per week.

Cheap to live there? Not bad at all - local rents start from £60 per week exclusive of bills.

Sports ranking: 7th in the BUCS league table.

Fees: £3,375 per year for full-time home undergrads starting in 2011. Nottingham plans to charge the maximum tuition fee of £9,000 per year as of 2012.

Bursaries: A core bursary of between £285 and £1,130 per year is available to undergrads starting in 2011 with an annual household income of up to £46,700. For 2012 entrants, the core bursary amount will rise to betweein £750 and £3,000. There are also a number of scholarships.

Prospectus: 0115 951 5559; www.nottingham.ac.uk

UCAS code: N84