Leicester, University of

(Leicester University)

Overall ranking: Came 24th out of 123 in the Complete University Guide for 2016.

History: The university was founded in 1921 and received its Royal Charter in 1957.

Address: Ten minutes' walk from Leicester city centre.

Ambience: Flanked by over 20 acres of parkland, the main campus is a mile from the city centre. The main campus is currently undergoing a major redevelopment and an impressive £15m students’ union was completed in 2011. The university is proud of its Sir James Stirling-designed engineering building which appears to have a rocket sticking out the top. A friendly student village is set beside 16-acre botanical gardens.

Who's the boss? Professor Sir Robert Burgess, vice-chancellor. A sociologist by background, he's also a former chairman of UCAS.

Prospectus: 0116 252 2522 or request one here.

UCAS code: L34

What you need to know

Easy to get into? Not especially, although those from non-traditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Typical offers tend to range from BBB to AAA at A-level, depending on the course.

Vital statistics: Over 12, 600 full-time students of which around 9,000 are undergraduates. A quarter of all students come from outside the European Union from more than 70 countries. One of the strongest student completion rates in the UK.

Added value: Places on unique language summer schools abroad in the likes of Tuscany are offered to all language first-years. Many courses offer a year-long placement in the USA, Europe or Australia. Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA genetic fingerprinting here. Leicester is also home to the department with the greatest concentration of world class research in the UK- the Department of Museum Studies. The University Library has been completely refurbished and extended as part of a £300 million campus development plan that is still in process.

Teaching: Ranked 50th out of 126 in the Complete University Guide.

Graduate prospects: Placed 37th with 73.6 per cent finding graduate level employment on completion of their course.

Any accommodation? Yes. The Oadby Student Village provides catered rooms for between £127.40 and £227.50, while self-catered cost from £79.10 up to £148.40 per week. "City Living" (which is self-catered only) accommodation is between £83.30 and £172.20.

Cheap to live there? Not too bad. Private rent is around £75 in Clarendon Park and Evington, two areas popular with students.

Transport links: Good for trains, with direct services to the Midlands and all over the country. Well served by the M1 and M69 motorways.

Fees: Fixed at £9,000 per year for full-time home undergrads.

Bursaries: Leicester offer four kinds of undergraduate scholarship, ranging from £1,000 to £5,000 over three years. Click here to find out about this and several other financial fancies.

The fun stuff

Nightlife: New Students' Union building which holds the O2 Academy. Within two months of opening, the venue saw action from Professor Green, Plan B, The Magic Numbers and Corinne Bailey Rae. Leicester city centre is bustling at weekends thanks to major redevelopment in recent years, and with such a thriving student community, there's a student night for pretty much every week day too. Try Red Leicester on a Wednesday, Shabang on a Friday and Propaganda on a Saturday.

Price of a pint: £3.05 on average.

Sporting reputation: Not bad but not great either- 48th in the BUCS league.

Calendar highlight: The Summer Festiball celebrates 90 years of Leicester's Students' Union this year. Labrinth and Rudimental headline with other attractions including a 1920s jazz and cocktail bar and a giant scalextric.

Notable societies: Fancy a take-out? Try the Curry Society. Banned from ratifying in some universities, Leicester has a Feminists group, while the Krishna Consciousness group offers 'a platform to evolve the mind' with free hot food every Tuesday. The Speedcubing Society will test your Rubik's cube solving-skills to the limit.

Glittering alumni: David Blanchflower, member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee; Lord Stevens, former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police; Heather Cooper, astronomer and broadcaster; war correspondent Mike Nicholson; media figures Sue Cook, Pete McCarthy and Bob Mortimer; Olympic cox Phelan Hill; Atifete Jahjaga, president of Kosovo; filmmaker Ray Gosling.

Alternative prospectus: For answers to all your burning questions visit Leicester's forum on The Student Room here.