TEACHING
QUALITY
University of Buckingham
48
th
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
43.5%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
80.2%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
17th
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
n/a
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
30th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Hunter Street, Buckingham, MK18 1EG View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 4; November 14 (Business School)
University Profile
Buckingham is launching the UK’s first private not-for-profit medical school, with the first students arriving in January 2015. The course will be 4.5 years long, modelled on the University of Leicester’s MBChB programme, and will cost £35,000 a year – in line with the overseas rate at other medical schools.
The university has had a postgraduate medical school for six years, which attracts overseas medical graduates who find it difficult to secure junior doctor posts as a result of Government restrictions. The undergraduate school is a long-held ambition of the university and will provide clinical placements at Milton Keynes NHS Hospital Trusts and other local providers.
When Buckingham begins turning out graduates from the new undergraduate medical school in late 2019, it will only add to the university’s excellent reputation for graduate employability. Our measure of graduate prospects consistently places Buckingham among the best in Britain.
Buckingham was for many years Britain’s only private university, and it is still the only one in our main league table. It re-entered the ranking three years ago after an absence of more than a decade and is now
With the influx of students, the ratio of students to staff has increased slightly, but staffing levels are still among the best in the UK. The university has also boosted spending on student facilities, refurbishing the refectory, introducing Wi-Fi across the whole campus and expanding the library and teaching space.
Buckingham’s students remain among the most satisfied in the National Student Survey (NSS). Taking he NSS, graduate prospects and the student-staff ratio in isolation, Buckingham would rank among the top five universities in the UK. Somewhat less startling performance in some of our other performance indicators – and its absence from the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise which was restricted to state-funded institutions – pulls the university down to its still highly respectable overall ranking of 48
Even before the latest rise in fees elsewhere, Buckingham claimed to be no more expensive than other universities because its intensive two-year degrees cut maintenance costs and accelerate entry into employment. Total fees for UK undergraduates taking the two-year degree from January 2015 will be £25,647 for home and EU students and £35,097 for those from outside the EU.
There is a range of scholarships for both home and international candidates. All (bar medical) students who make Buckingham their firm choice and achieve ABB or better at A-level get a £2,500 high achievers annual bursary, as do those students who attend hailing from Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire or Northamptonshire (although students cannot hold both scholarships).
The university, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2016, commonly uses small group tutorials, which have all but disappeared outside Oxbridge. The average tutorial group contains about six students.
A Conservative-backed experiment of the 1970s, Buckingham has long been an accepted part of the university system. Its degrees carry full currency in the academic world and teaching standards are high. The university’s culture of responsiveness to students was praised by the Quality Assurance Agency in its report on the university last year. The university has a number of research groups and over 170 research students. Research income in 2011 was around £512,000.
Its own statement on its independence declares that Buckingham was founded on the principles of classical liberalism, and teaches the ideals of free-thinking and liberal political thought. Professor Terence Kealey, a biochemist and libertarian commentator, has been Vice-Chancellor since April 2001, declaring an ambition for Buckingham to “one day” challenge the cream of American higher education.
Students can begin courses in January, July or September. Most degree courses run for two 40-week years, minimising disruptive career breaks for the many mature students. Around half of the students are from overseas, but the proportion from Britain isgrowing. They have the option of a conventional three-year degree in the humanities and other schools are now following suit. The BA in art history and heritage management offers the opportunity of a term at the British Institute in Florence.
A new Foundation Department provides English language tuition for those with an IELTS score below 6.5. There are also International Foundation Programmes and a Pre-master’s for Business for those whose first degree is not in a business-related subject.
Buckingham operates on two sites within walking distance of each other at the heart of the county town. The main campus includes the refectory, bar and fitness centre, with the Radcliffe Centre, which hosts internal and external events, nearby. The law school is a short distance from the main campus. Two historic buildings have been refurbished at a cost of almost £2m, and a new six-acre site has been acquired to make room for future expansion.
Not surprisingly the social scene is quiet. A great benefit of being in leafy middle England is that Buckingham’s campus has been judged to be the safest in the country, but this is not the place for you if clubbing and partying are priorities alongside studying. There is a university cinema, and the town of Buckingham is pretty, with a good selection of pubs and restaurants. Milton Keynes and Oxford are nearby.
The university has had a postgraduate medical school for six years, which attracts overseas medical graduates who find it difficult to secure junior doctor posts as a result of Government restrictions. The undergraduate school is a long-held ambition of the university and will provide clinical placements at Milton Keynes NHS Hospital Trusts and other local providers.
When Buckingham begins turning out graduates from the new undergraduate medical school in late 2019, it will only add to the university’s excellent reputation for graduate employability. Our measure of graduate prospects consistently places Buckingham among the best in Britain.
Buckingham was for many years Britain’s only private university, and it is still the only one in our main league table. It re-entered the ranking three years ago after an absence of more than a decade and is now
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just outside the top 40. Buckingham had too few students to be classified in some measures in the intervening period, but has seen significant growth in the last few years. The total number of students increased from 1,300 in 2010 to 2,000 in 2012, when applications grew by an unprecedented 200%.With the influx of students, the ratio of students to staff has increased slightly, but staffing levels are still among the best in the UK. The university has also boosted spending on student facilities, refurbishing the refectory, introducing Wi-Fi across the whole campus and expanding the library and teaching space.
Buckingham’s students remain among the most satisfied in the National Student Survey (NSS). Taking he NSS, graduate prospects and the student-staff ratio in isolation, Buckingham would rank among the top five universities in the UK. Somewhat less startling performance in some of our other performance indicators – and its absence from the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise which was restricted to state-funded institutions – pulls the university down to its still highly respectable overall ranking of 48
There is a range of scholarships for both home and international candidates. All (bar medical) students who make Buckingham their firm choice and achieve ABB or better at A-level get a £2,500 high achievers annual bursary, as do those students who attend hailing from Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire or Northamptonshire (although students cannot hold both scholarships).
The university, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2016, commonly uses small group tutorials, which have all but disappeared outside Oxbridge. The average tutorial group contains about six students.
A Conservative-backed experiment of the 1970s, Buckingham has long been an accepted part of the university system. Its degrees carry full currency in the academic world and teaching standards are high. The university’s culture of responsiveness to students was praised by the Quality Assurance Agency in its report on the university last year. The university has a number of research groups and over 170 research students. Research income in 2011 was around £512,000.
Its own statement on its independence declares that Buckingham was founded on the principles of classical liberalism, and teaches the ideals of free-thinking and liberal political thought. Professor Terence Kealey, a biochemist and libertarian commentator, has been Vice-Chancellor since April 2001, declaring an ambition for Buckingham to “one day” challenge the cream of American higher education.
Students can begin courses in January, July or September. Most degree courses run for two 40-week years, minimising disruptive career breaks for the many mature students. Around half of the students are from overseas, but the proportion from Britain isgrowing. They have the option of a conventional three-year degree in the humanities and other schools are now following suit. The BA in art history and heritage management offers the opportunity of a term at the British Institute in Florence.
A new Foundation Department provides English language tuition for those with an IELTS score below 6.5. There are also International Foundation Programmes and a Pre-master’s for Business for those whose first degree is not in a business-related subject.
Buckingham operates on two sites within walking distance of each other at the heart of the county town. The main campus includes the refectory, bar and fitness centre, with the Radcliffe Centre, which hosts internal and external events, nearby. The law school is a short distance from the main campus. Two historic buildings have been refurbished at a cost of almost £2m, and a new six-acre site has been acquired to make room for future expansion.
Not surprisingly the social scene is quiet. A great benefit of being in leafy middle England is that Buckingham’s campus has been judged to be the safest in the country, but this is not the place for you if clubbing and partying are priorities alongside studying. There is a university cinema, and the town of Buckingham is pretty, with a good selection of pubs and restaurants. Milton Keynes and Oxford are nearby.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
48 (41)
Student experience
85.1
17th
Ucas entry points
330
69th=
Graduate prospects
75.3
30th
Firsts and 2:1s
43.5
123rd
Completion rate
80.2
104th
Student-staff ratio
11.3:1
4th
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,894
34th
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
1,305
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
55
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
675
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
55
Applications/places
1,910/160
Applications/places ratio
11.9:1
STUDENT CITIES
Yoginee Thamothiram, students’ union president
You’re surrounded by different nationalities and immersed in diverse cultures as soon as you arrive.
Buckingham is expensive: shopping online, even for food, is cheaper and quicker.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
FEES
UK/EU fees
£12,570-£13,077
Fees (international)
£17,289-£17,808
Fees (international, medical)
£35,000
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£24,175
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Note that the course only lasts two years. Household income below £42.6K, bursary of £1,100 a year.
>
Academic scholarship of £2,500 for students (excluding medicine) with at least ABB or equivalent at A level; continued in other years based on academic performance. Four counties scholarship of £2,500 a year for students from Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire.
SPORT
Sport website
Student satisfaction