TEACHING
QUALITY
Northumbria University
66
th
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
63.8%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
87.8%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
75th=
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
89th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
78th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
September 27; October 25
University Profile
Northumbria is the latest university to open a London campus this month, extending its reach beyond its northeast homeland with a range of predominantly postgraduate business courses.
It is the biggest university in northeast England and one of the largest in the country, with 31,500 students, and it is still growing. Undergraduate applications and enrolments reached record levels in 2013, when the intake increased by more than 10%.
Students are being attracted by heavy investment in facilities and staff, and one of the most generous bursary and scholarship schemes in Britain.
The university has stated that it wants to break into the top 30 in league tables such as ours, although it slips slightly in our rankings this year despite a significant hike in students’ entry qualifications, which now stand at 365 Ucas points on average – the third highest in the modern university sector.
Northumbria has invested £160m in its impressive city centre. At the same time, it has doubled the number of academics entered for the new Research Excellence Framework compared with its complement in the 2008 assessments
The campus investment has included a £30m sports centre featuring a swimming pool with an adjustable floor, multiple laboratories and a climbing wall, and there is a 3,000-seater indoor arena for professional sport and other events. There is also a generous Sport Scholarship scheme that supports talented student athletes financially throughout their degree programme.
Northumbria has broken into the top 10 of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (Bucs) league table for the first time after huge recent investment in campus facilities. It ranked 8 overall and won the Bucs Most Improved University for Sport award in July. The unprecedented run of success in inter-university competitions follows an investment totalling more than £40m in facilities and staff over recent years.
Around 60% of students are from the northeast, but numbers drawn from other parts of the country have been rising year on year. There are more than 3,000 international students on campus and over 5,500 students taking Northumbria courses overseas.
More than a third of the undergraduates are from the four lowest socioeconomic classes, and more than 92% are state educated, but the university has managed to bring the projected dropout rate below 10% – lower than the national average for its courses and entry grades.
While other universities are cutting back on their bursaries for 2015, Northumbria will continue to offer financial support worth up to £3,000 a year to applicants from the poorest homes (those with less than £16,000 household income) and £1,000 a year (where household income is less than £25,000 per annum).
It is also extended its academic scholarship scheme to attract more of the brightest students (and drive that Ucas entry points score higher still). For those with A*A*A at A-level or equivalent, for example, a one-off scholarship of £4,000 will be paid; £2,000 is on offer in return for ABB at A-level. Only two universities in the UK will spend more on bursaries and scholarships.
Free one-day taster courses run throughout the year to give prospective students an idea of what university life would be like.
Most subjects are based on the main campus, with health, education and community programmes located at the Coach Lane campus less than two miles away, where £18m has been spent upgrading facilities and nearly £2m more will be invested this year.
The award-winning City Campus East development is linked to the original main campus by an iconic footbridge spanning Newcastle’s central motorway. A recent expansion of the University Library has added 100 IT spaces, more social learning and informal space, a zone fitted with Smart boards and a dedicated Language Zone.
Coach Lane also has a learning resources centre, as well as new sports facilities and a clinical skills centre, where students can learn in simulated hospital environments. Northumbria’s pre-registration nursing programmes were the first in the country to receive accreditation from the Royal College of Nursing.
More than 550 employers sponsor undergraduate programmes and accreditation comes from almost 60 professional bodies. This is one of the highest rates in the UK, enabling a high proportion of students to leave with professionally certified qualifications.
Only three universities had established more start-up companies in a 2013 review of universities’ contribution to economic growth.
Teacher education is a strength – Northumbria has been rated as outstanding by Ofsted for 12 years in a row – and its post-registration nursing provision has been voted the best in Britain for three successive years. The Student Law Office, which offers legal advice under professional supervision as part of a degree, won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2013.
Arguably the jewel in the university’s academic crown is its internationally-regarded Design School, which boasts Sir Jonathan Ive, principal designer of the iPad and iPod, among its alumni. Staff and students from the school won more than 80 national and international design and media awards, commendations and prizes in 2013.
Most first years are offered places in university accommodation. Two large residential developments with en-suite rooms opened in 2011, and almost 1,000 new bedrooms come on stream this month with the opening of new student accommodation in nearby Gateshead as a core element of the regeneration of the town centre. Designed with students in mind, the development is based in the heart of a thriving town centre filled with shops, restaurants and cultural attractions. It boasts landscaped walkways, fitness facilities and a multi-use games area as well as offering stunning views across the Tyneside skyline.
The university won an award for the best broadband service in student accommodation last month in the annual National Student Housing Survey.
There is a plentiful supply of privately rented flats and houses in Newcastle, a location that frequently wins awards as the best student city in the UK.
It is the biggest university in northeast England and one of the largest in the country, with 31,500 students, and it is still growing. Undergraduate applications and enrolments reached record levels in 2013, when the intake increased by more than 10%.
Students are being attracted by heavy investment in facilities and staff, and one of the most generous bursary and scholarship schemes in Britain.
The university has stated that it wants to break into the top 30 in league tables such as ours, although it slips slightly in our rankings this year despite a significant hike in students’ entry qualifications, which now stand at 365 Ucas points on average – the third highest in the modern university sector.
Northumbria has invested £160m in its impressive city centre. At the same time, it has doubled the number of academics entered for the new Research Excellence Framework compared with its complement in the 2008 assessments
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with results from the new research ratings due in December keenly anticipated. The university has an £18m staffing plan, which has increased the number of academics and its research capability.The campus investment has included a £30m sports centre featuring a swimming pool with an adjustable floor, multiple laboratories and a climbing wall, and there is a 3,000-seater indoor arena for professional sport and other events. There is also a generous Sport Scholarship scheme that supports talented student athletes financially throughout their degree programme.
Around 60% of students are from the northeast, but numbers drawn from other parts of the country have been rising year on year. There are more than 3,000 international students on campus and over 5,500 students taking Northumbria courses overseas.
More than a third of the undergraduates are from the four lowest socioeconomic classes, and more than 92% are state educated, but the university has managed to bring the projected dropout rate below 10% – lower than the national average for its courses and entry grades.
While other universities are cutting back on their bursaries for 2015, Northumbria will continue to offer financial support worth up to £3,000 a year to applicants from the poorest homes (those with less than £16,000 household income) and £1,000 a year (where household income is less than £25,000 per annum).
It is also extended its academic scholarship scheme to attract more of the brightest students (and drive that Ucas entry points score higher still). For those with A*A*A at A-level or equivalent, for example, a one-off scholarship of £4,000 will be paid; £2,000 is on offer in return for ABB at A-level. Only two universities in the UK will spend more on bursaries and scholarships.
Free one-day taster courses run throughout the year to give prospective students an idea of what university life would be like.
Most subjects are based on the main campus, with health, education and community programmes located at the Coach Lane campus less than two miles away, where £18m has been spent upgrading facilities and nearly £2m more will be invested this year.
The award-winning City Campus East development is linked to the original main campus by an iconic footbridge spanning Newcastle’s central motorway. A recent expansion of the University Library has added 100 IT spaces, more social learning and informal space, a zone fitted with Smart boards and a dedicated Language Zone.
Coach Lane also has a learning resources centre, as well as new sports facilities and a clinical skills centre, where students can learn in simulated hospital environments. Northumbria’s pre-registration nursing programmes were the first in the country to receive accreditation from the Royal College of Nursing.
More than 550 employers sponsor undergraduate programmes and accreditation comes from almost 60 professional bodies. This is one of the highest rates in the UK, enabling a high proportion of students to leave with professionally certified qualifications.
Only three universities had established more start-up companies in a 2013 review of universities’ contribution to economic growth.
Teacher education is a strength – Northumbria has been rated as outstanding by Ofsted for 12 years in a row – and its post-registration nursing provision has been voted the best in Britain for three successive years. The Student Law Office, which offers legal advice under professional supervision as part of a degree, won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2013.
Arguably the jewel in the university’s academic crown is its internationally-regarded Design School, which boasts Sir Jonathan Ive, principal designer of the iPad and iPod, among its alumni. Staff and students from the school won more than 80 national and international design and media awards, commendations and prizes in 2013.
Most first years are offered places in university accommodation. Two large residential developments with en-suite rooms opened in 2011, and almost 1,000 new bedrooms come on stream this month with the opening of new student accommodation in nearby Gateshead as a core element of the regeneration of the town centre. Designed with students in mind, the development is based in the heart of a thriving town centre filled with shops, restaurants and cultural attractions. It boasts landscaped walkways, fitness facilities and a multi-use games area as well as offering stunning views across the Tyneside skyline.
The university won an award for the best broadband service in student accommodation last month in the annual National Student Housing Survey.
There is a plentiful supply of privately rented flats and houses in Newcastle, a location that frequently wins awards as the best student city in the UK.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
66 (62)
Student experience
81.3
75th=
Research quality
2.7
89th=
Ucas entry points
365
48th
Graduate prospects
61.8
78th
Firsts and 2:1s
63.8
76th
Completion rate
87.8
47th
Student-staff ratio
17.8:1
64th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,486
65th
World ranking
-
701= (701=)
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
18,910
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
4,285
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
2,315
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
2,305
Applications/places
28,520/6,370
Applications/places ratio
4.5:1
STUDENT CITIES
Natalie-Dawn Hodgson, students’ union president
A welcome team will greet you with open arms and a shopping trolley for your stuff.
The first term is always the hardest in terms of homesickness, but stick it out and you’ll love it by Christmas.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
Places in accommodation
5,270
Accommodation costs
£89-£170
Catered costs
£131
Accommodation contact
FEES
UK/EU fees
£9,000
Fees (placement year)
£1,000
Fees (international)
£11,200-£13,200
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£18,871
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Household income below £16K, a bursary of £3,000 a year; £16K–£25K, £1,000 a year.
>
Academic scholarships for entrants with over 400 UCAS points, £4,000; 360–399 UCAS points, £3,000; 320–359 UCAS points, £2,000. Progression scholarships for those with grades of 70% or above, £1,000; 60%–69.9%, £500.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
2439, 8th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
88.5%
88.3%
88.3%
87.0%
85.6%
84.6%
84.2%
84.1%
83.0%
82.3%
81.0%
80.1%
79.2%
79.1%
79.1%
78.8%
78.0%
76.7%
76.2%
74.3%
72.4%