West of England, University of the (UWE)

University of the West of England

Age: 416 if you trace it back to 1595, 19 if you date it from university status.

History: Began life as Merchant Venturer's Navigation School, later merged with an art college to form Bristol Polytechnic in 1969. The 90s saw mergers with two health colleges before it became a university in 1992.

Address: Four campuses around Bristol, plus a land-based studies college at Hartpury, near Gloucester, and Health Education Centres in Bath, Gloucestershire and Swindon.

Ambience: Main campus at Frenchay five miles north of city centre is purpose-built. Glenside houses health and social care whilst atmospheric St Matthias is home to humanities. Art, media and design students are in a rectangular glass structure at Bower Ashton. All students are given 24-hour access to library, computer and internet facilities and there are wi-fi zones in the main library.

Vital statistics: Very large with over 30,000 students, including more than 20,000 full-time undergrads. One of the most highly rated of the new universities. Close links with business and industry offer the chance to put study into practice. The fourth largest bursary scheme in the UK.

Added value: Investment central: £80m-worth of student village and sports facilities, and since the mid-90s a genomics lab, new science facilities, a £16m education block and new lecture theatres have all sprung up. There's an award-winning school of architecture studio building and the school of creative arts is being redeveloped. A new £7.5m flagship sustainable building opened in September 2010, housing facilities for architecture and product design students. Good graduate development programme, with input from a range of real-world employers.

Easy to get into? Can be tough. For physiotherapy and law you need around 340 UCAS points. But, as a new university, it accepts a wide range of other qualifications such as national diplomas and access courses.

Glittering alumni: David Hempleman-Adams, adventurer; Simon Shaw and Kyran Bracken, England rugby players; Dawn Primarolo MP.

Transport links: London 75 minutes by train. Intercity station and M4/M5 intersection is minutes from main campus.

Who's the boss? Professor Steve West is the vice-chancellor.

Teaching: 89th out of 116 for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide.

Research: 67th out of 115 in the Research Assessment Exercise.

Overall ranking: Came 61st out of 116 in the Complete University Guide.

Nightlife: Pulsing. Bars, bands, comedy and club nights on campus. Bristol is a musical city marked by its big acts such as Roni Size, Massive Attack and Portishead.

How green is it? Not bad - came 37th out of 138 universities graded by People & Planet for their 'Green League 2011’, an assessment of environmental performance.

Any accommodation? Yes. Rents vary between around £95 and £130 per week. This may seem a bit steep, but all rooms are en-suite and rent includes transport around Bristol, as well as membership to the campus sports centre and gym.

Cheap to live there? Depends where you choose to live. Flats in the centre of Bristol go for around £100 per week; but you can get away with paying as little as £80 if you live further afield.

Sports ranking: 29th in the BUCS league table.

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

Bursaries: An annual bursary of £1,000 is available for students with a household income of less than £25,000. There are also scholarships available for performing arts and sports students, as well as those who choose to study abroad during their course.

Prospectus: 0117 328 3333; www.uwe.ac.uk

UCAS code: B80