Southampton, University of

University of Southampton

Age: 149 from the birth of Hartley Institution in Southampton; 59 from the birth of the university.

History: Founded by bequest from Henry Robinson Hartley who wanted to bring culture to 19th century Southampton. Hartley Institution became Hartley University College and moved to Highfield area of city in 1919. Received university charter in 1952.

Address: Six campuses. Four in Southampton, one in Winchester (Winchester School of Art) and the new University of Southampton Malaysian Campus. The main Highfield site is two miles from the city centre and the nearby Avenue campus hosts many of the arts departments.

Ambience: Grassy and attractive with redbrick buildings. Grew hugely during the nineties, with buildings for chemistry, nursing, electronics and computer science. Dominating the waterfront is the giant, six-storey National Oceanography Centre.

Vital statistics: A large university with 12,500 full-time undergrads and a solid research reputation. Student numbers have risen sharply in recent years, and there's been a fair amount of redevelopment and investment, particularly at the Highfield site. Traditionally strong in engineering and medicine but has innovative arts and humanities courses. Nationally-recognised in computer science and nursing and midwifery. One in five students hail from private schools.

Added value: A new student services centre, providing learning support and advice, opened in 2005. £8m indoor sports complex and swimming pool at Highfield campus. Major £4.3m upgrade of outdoor sports facilities at Wide Lane was completed in 2005. The university's facilities have been selected as official pre-Games training camps for the 2012 Olympics. Students' union recently had a £5m revamp and there's an e-science centre and extended library. A £9m research centre for the development origins of health and disease opened in 2009. The university is currently undergoing a £200m redevelopment – a new, RIBA award-winning, life sciences building opened in 2010, and plans for a maritime centre of excellence are in the works. Recently opened facilities include a £6m purpose-built facility for the institute of sound and vibration research and the re-built £55m Mountbatten building, which was destroyed by fire in 2005.

Easy to get into? Not especially. Offers are made in grades, rather than UCAS points. BBC at A-level is needed for nursing, but competitive courses, such as mathematics, ask for AAA.

Glittering alumni: Journalists Sue Douglas, Jon Craig, Dominic Mohan and Jon Sopel; model Laura Bailey; comedian Jeremy Hardy; actor John Nettles; wildlife presenter Chris Packham; Dr Astrid Fischel, vice-president of Costa Rica; Southampton MPs John Denham and Dr Alan Whitehead; Olympic rowers Miriam and Guin Batten.

Transport links: UniLink bus service connects all campuses (apart from Malaysia, obviously) and the city centre. Good rail, air and sea links. M3 to London.

Who's the boss? Professor Don Nutbeam took over as vice-Cchancellor in September 2009.

Teaching: 50th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Research: 15th out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: 14th out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: The union hosts high-profile guest DJs and big-name bands. Facilities have been recently expanded and refurbished, to the delight of students.

How green is it? Not amazing – came joint 60th out of 142 universities graded by People and Planet for their ‘Green League 2011’.

Any accommodation? Yes – 5,000 places in 20 halls of residence means all first years who make Southampton their firm choice are guaranteed a place. Rents for self-catered rooms range between £73 and £178 per week, and weekly catered accommodation will set you back between £109 and £152.

Cheap to live there? About average. Private rents are between £65 and £75 per week.

Sports ranking: 18th in the BUCS league table.

Fees: £3,375 per year for full-time home undergrads starting in 2011. Southampton is planning on charging the maximum tuition fee of £9,000 per year as of 2012.

Bursaries: Up to £1,250 per year is available to students in receipt of a maintenance grant and whose annual family income is less than £40,000 in 2011. There are also a number of subject-specific bursaries offered. A few waiver system will be introduced in 2012 for students with an annual household income of up to £42,600.

Prospectus: 023 8059 3482; www.southampton.ac.uk

UCAS code: S27