Sunderland University School of Business, Law and Psychology

Age: 17.History: Started life in the Sixties as the management and liberalstudies department of Sunderland Technical College. Soon became Sunderland Polytechnic, which had a faculty of business and education, and then became Sunderland Business School in 1990. The polytechnic gained university status in 1992.

Address: The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's, on the edge of thecity centre, overlooking the River Wear and the North Sea.Ambience: Built in 1995, the award-winning campus hasScandinavian-style buildings. The university's postgraduate halls of residence sit on the river bank opposite the campus.

Vital Statistics: There are 250 full-time postgraduate students. The Mastersprogrammes attract students from all over the globe. The MBA, with its emphasis on management development, is always popular. There is also a master of business studies for graduates without work experience, an MA in international management and an MSc in human resources management as well as a range of postgraduate corporate programmes.

Added Value: All full-time students participate in company visits anda speakers' programme that helps to bring the management theory to life.

Easy To Get Into? For the MBA, a good honours degree or equivalentis required, as well as a minimum of two years' managerial experience.Glittering Alumni: Several senior managers of large companies, including Nissan, Philips and Vickers.

Gurus: Angelique Du-Toit, coaching business skills expert, has worked with some of the world's major companies.

International connections: 75 per cent of the full-time MBA is made up of overseas students, with many hailing from China and India. Teaching: In the 2004 QAA assessment, the business school was rated"commendable" (the highest possible grade) in teaching and learning,student progression, and learning resources.

Student Profile: The average age on the full-time MBA programme is 27, but on the other masters it's 25. The male to female ratio for the full-time masters is 45:55.Cost: Full-time fees for UK and EU students doing the MBA are £8,900 – this includes a £1,500 scholarship. Non-EU students have to pay £10,750. The other Masters all differ in price, but European Development Fund money (as well as national and regional scholarships) may be available.

Return On Investment: Better career and salary prospects, especiallywith the masters.Who's The Boss? Vivian Kinnaird is the dean of the faculty. Prospectus: +44 (0)191 515 2000; www.sunderland.ac.uk/faculties/bl; emrteam@sunderland.ac.uk