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University of Birmingham

NATIONAL
RANK

81.1%

FIRSTS
2:1s

94.2%

COMPLETION
RATE

Key Stats

n/a

TEACHING
QUALITY

51st=

STUDENT
EXPERIENCE

21st=

RESEARCH
QUALITY

4th

GRADUATE
PROSPECTS

Contact details

ADDRESS

Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT View on map >

Telephone

0121 415 8900

admissions@bham.ac.uk

Website

www.birmingham.ac.uk

Open days

October 18

University Profile

Birmingham was one of the big winners in the Government’s relaxation of controls on the recruitment of students with ABB or better at A-level. Having promised unconditional offers for applicants in a dozen subjects who were predicted better than three As, the university took 750 more students in 2013 than in the previous year. Just over a third of those who received unconditional offers took up places. This initiative was one of the factors that brought Birmingham our University of the Year title for 2013-14. Such was its success that the scheme has now been extended to 33 subjects, from African studies and anthropology to social work and is expected to continue in 2015. Birmingham was the original “redbrick” university. The 230-acre campus in leafy Edgbaston is dominated by a 300-foot clock tower, one of the city’s best-known landmarks, and boasts its own station. Dentistry is located in the city centre, while part of the School of Education is in Selly Oak, a mile from the Edgbaston campus. Drama is also located there, along with the BBC Drama Village, which is part

of a strategic alliance between the university and the corporation. Vice-Chancellor Sir David Eastwood said on his appointment that he wanted the university to be the “best of the rest” outside Oxbridge and the top London colleges, and a series of initiatives in teaching and research are taking the university in the right direction, evidenced by last year’s eight place climb in our league table to 16th. That gain has been consolidated this year with a further rise on one place. The university’s enduring reputation is based on its research, with 16% of the work submitted for the Research Assessment Exercise regarded as world-leading. Birmingham took satisfaction from the broad range of subjects in which it produced good results, with music, physics, computer science, mechanical engineering, European studies, primary care, cancer sciences, psychology and law all doing well. Birmingham is the hub for a national STEM programme to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and maths among young people and enhance higher level skills in the workplace. It has also become the first link in a chain of Cancer Research UK Centres, while a £60m fundraising campaign launched in 2009 will support projects ranging from research into brain injury, ageing and clean energy to scholarships and a centre for heritage and cultural learning. The university is part way through a long-term programme of investment. Work has started on a new library and cultural hub that will embrace new and emerging technologies for an enhanced student experience. A new sports centre will boast Birmingham's first 50-metre swimming pool. The new Student Services Hub will see part of the redbrick Aston Webb Building remodelled to house a number of different services including employability, careers and a 400-seat lecture theatre. The facility will be ready for the 2015 student intake. Recent developments have included a student facilities building at the medical school and a new home for sport and exercise sciences, as well as refurbished student accommodation and a new music building. Birmingham’s 25,000 full-time students include 4,000 from 150 different countries. Three-quarters of all students undertake work experience as part of their course. The university encourages interdisciplinary study, for example allowing undergraduates to combine technology with subjects ranging from Latin or modern Greek to the management of floods and other natural disasters. There has also been £3.5m investment in an employability initiative which will include internships and mentoring by some of the university’s most successful alumni. The combined package pays off with Birmingham students enjoying some of the best graduate prospects of any university in Britain. The university has stepped up its efforts to widen participation following the introduction of £9,000 fees. Over 4,000 students are expected to benefit from its package of enhanced financial support for those from lower income backgrounds. The Access to Birmingham (A2B) scheme, which encourages students from the West Midlands whose families have little or no experience of higher education to apply to university, will be extended to students outside the Midlands. Most of the halls and university flats are conveniently located in an attractive parkland setting near the main campus. There are more than 4,200 university-owned beds, and accommodation in the private sector is also plentiful. The campus is less than three miles from the city centre, but the area has plenty of shops, pubs and restaurants. With its own nightclub among the facilities on campus, some students do not even stray that far, but the city is acquiring a growing reputation among the young. Student facilities on campus are on a par with the best in the country, and include a medical practice. An outdoor pursuits centre is by Coniston Water in the Lake District.

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