TEACHING
QUALITY
De Montfort University
54
th
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
66.5%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
87.4%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
57th=
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
59th
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
50th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
September 27; October 18; November 15
University Profile
De Montfort is the biggest riser in this year’s league table, climbing a remarkable 32 places to finish 54ththis year, putting it in the vanguard of the modern university sector in our rankings. There have been significant improvements in both student satisfaction and graduate prospects in the past year.
Work has begun on striking new buildings for some of De Montfort’s best-known schools: fashion and textiles, art, design and architecture.The Fletcher Complex, which should be complete in 2016, will be the latest phase of a £90m “campus transformation project” funded through one of the first investment bonds issued to a post-1992 university.
The entire institution is now once again on one campus, in Leicester where it stretched formerly from Bedford to Lincoln via Milton Keynes. Some of the new developments will be ready before new entrants arrive in 2015 and a campus centre, including new students’ union facilities, is scheduled for 2016. There will be better catering facilities and the creation of a “green lung” in the heart of the campus, replacing redundant buildings with more outdoor social space.
Other campus developments have included the diversion
The £35m Hugh Aston Building caters for around 6,000 students, and includes a court room, law library, dedicated law clinic and bookshop, as well as more conventional teaching facilities. Elsewhere, the 24-hour library was remodelled with wireless networks and rooms equipped with audio-visual and IT facilities, and new game development studios have been installed to enable students to see their work in 3-D. An £8m leisure centre includes a 25-metre swimming pool, eight-court sports hall and a large fitness suite.
De Montfort achieved one of the best performances any post-1992 university in the last Research Assessment Exercise, when 43% of its work was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. The university has 500 staff engaged in research and 600 research degree students. Much of the successful work took place in the Institute of Creative Technologies, which acts as a catalyst for research that defies the traditional boundaries of computer science, the digital arts and humanities, attracting interest from the business world.
Professor Bernard Stahl, the director of De Montfort’s Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, is a leading participant in the £1bn EU project to simulate a human brain. The university has spent £3.7m on creative technology studios, which feature video, audio and radio production suites, recording studios and laboratories with the latest broadcast and audio analysis technology. A Performance Arts Centre for Excellence allows the university to deliver innovative teaching for students of dance, drama and music technology.
The professional accounting courses achieved “premier” status in a global accreditation scheme, and the university was awarded a national teaching centre for drama, dance and theatre studies.
DMU Global, launched in 2013, offers the majority of students an international experience, using a network of overseas business partners and academic institutions to provide internships and field work. Strong links with local business and industry manifest themselves in courses such as the BSc in media production, run in conjunction with the BBC.
There is also an agreement to work with Hewlett-Packard on innovative educational programmes to better connect academia and business, as well as to collaborate on research. Four further education colleges across the East Midlands are associates, linked into De Montfort’s network and offering its courses.
De Montfort went back to a three-term year, rather than semesters, partly because it believed the prospect of imminent assessment encouraged some students to give up their courses at Christmas in their first year. The move seems to have worked with the dropout rate showing consistent improvement. It now stands at less than 8.6%, significantly lower than the national average for the university’s courses and entry grades.
The university has a proud record for widening access to higher education with almost 37.4% of students coming from working-class homes, close to the university’s benchmark level.
It was one of the first to set up an employment agency to help students find part-time work as well as find careers upon graduation. De Montfort also has a good reputation for its support it gives to disabled students.
The award-winning Square Mile programme, launched in 2011, uses DMU’s academic expertise and a network of student volunteers to offer potentially life-changing services in the Leicester community. Projects have included free support for primary and secondary schools in the city and a record-breaking campaign to recruit people to the stem cell register.
Leicester has become a more vibrant location after £3bn of regeneration. Rents in the private sector are low and the university has more than 2,000 rooms in self -catering halls of residence within walking distance of lectures. Famous alumni include the actor Charles Dance, novelist Louis de Bernieres and dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.
Work has begun on striking new buildings for some of De Montfort’s best-known schools: fashion and textiles, art, design and architecture.The Fletcher Complex, which should be complete in 2016, will be the latest phase of a £90m “campus transformation project” funded through one of the first investment bonds issued to a post-1992 university.
The entire institution is now once again on one campus, in Leicester where it stretched formerly from Bedford to Lincoln via Milton Keynes. Some of the new developments will be ready before new entrants arrive in 2015 and a campus centre, including new students’ union facilities, is scheduled for 2016. There will be better catering facilities and the creation of a “green lung” in the heart of the campus, replacing redundant buildings with more outdoor social space.
Other campus developments have included the diversion
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of part of the ring road to allow the university to open up the 15th-century Magazine Gateway building, now a focal point of a university quarter with public open spaces and new links to the city centre.The £35m Hugh Aston Building caters for around 6,000 students, and includes a court room, law library, dedicated law clinic and bookshop, as well as more conventional teaching facilities. Elsewhere, the 24-hour library was remodelled with wireless networks and rooms equipped with audio-visual and IT facilities, and new game development studios have been installed to enable students to see their work in 3-D. An £8m leisure centre includes a 25-metre swimming pool, eight-court sports hall and a large fitness suite.
De Montfort achieved one of the best performances any post-1992 university in the last Research Assessment Exercise, when 43% of its work was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. The university has 500 staff engaged in research and 600 research degree students. Much of the successful work took place in the Institute of Creative Technologies, which acts as a catalyst for research that defies the traditional boundaries of computer science, the digital arts and humanities, attracting interest from the business world.
The professional accounting courses achieved “premier” status in a global accreditation scheme, and the university was awarded a national teaching centre for drama, dance and theatre studies.
DMU Global, launched in 2013, offers the majority of students an international experience, using a network of overseas business partners and academic institutions to provide internships and field work. Strong links with local business and industry manifest themselves in courses such as the BSc in media production, run in conjunction with the BBC.
There is also an agreement to work with Hewlett-Packard on innovative educational programmes to better connect academia and business, as well as to collaborate on research. Four further education colleges across the East Midlands are associates, linked into De Montfort’s network and offering its courses.
De Montfort went back to a three-term year, rather than semesters, partly because it believed the prospect of imminent assessment encouraged some students to give up their courses at Christmas in their first year. The move seems to have worked with the dropout rate showing consistent improvement. It now stands at less than 8.6%, significantly lower than the national average for the university’s courses and entry grades.
The university has a proud record for widening access to higher education with almost 37.4% of students coming from working-class homes, close to the university’s benchmark level.
It was one of the first to set up an employment agency to help students find part-time work as well as find careers upon graduation. De Montfort also has a good reputation for its support it gives to disabled students.
The award-winning Square Mile programme, launched in 2011, uses DMU’s academic expertise and a network of student volunteers to offer potentially life-changing services in the Leicester community. Projects have included free support for primary and secondary schools in the city and a record-breaking campaign to recruit people to the stem cell register.
Leicester has become a more vibrant location after £3bn of regeneration. Rents in the private sector are low and the university has more than 2,000 rooms in self -catering halls of residence within walking distance of lectures. Famous alumni include the actor Charles Dance, novelist Louis de Bernieres and dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
54 (86)
Student experience
82.4
57th=
Research quality
6
59th
Ucas entry points
313
85th=
Graduate prospects
69.1
50th
Firsts and 2:1s
66.5
64th
Completion rate
87.4
51st=
Student-staff ratio
18.1:1
68th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,571
57th
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
14,625
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
2,125
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
1,045
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
2,520
Applications/places
22,535/4,840
Applications/places ratio
4.7:1
STUDENT CITIES
Adil Waraich, students’ union president
The courses are practical and hands-on with group projects – it’s almost like being in the workplace.
No parking, but that’s probably because we’re in the city centre.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
FEES
UK/EU fees
£9,000
Fees (placement year)
£650
Fees (overseas year)
£650
Fees (international)
£11,250-£11,750
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£18,526
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Vice-Chancellor's Fund: academic scholarships of £1,000 a year and bursaries of £200 a year; bursaries of £1,000 a year for students on access courses.
>
Range of bursaries of £1,000 a year to help vulnerable groups of students. Vice Chancellor's 2020 scholarship: 50% discount on fees for master's degrees for students graduating with 2:1 or higher undergraduate degree.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
233.5, 80th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
87.9%
87.9%
87.7%
87.0%
86.7%
86.2%
84.9%
84.5%
83.9%
83.6%
83.2%
82.5%
82.4%
81.6%
80.5%
80.0%
79.9%
78.5%
77.3%
75.7%