One of the most beautiful campuses in Britain features low-level, modern buildings in a loch-side setting beneath the Ochil Hills on the historical Airthrey Estate, two miles from the centre of Stirling.

Even after a 20 per cent expansion over four years, largely due to the incorporation of three nursing colleges at Falkirk, Inverness and Stornoway, in Lewis, the university remains a relatively small institution of 9,000 students with a community feel.

There are no faculties, but five “core areas” have been identified: health and well-being, culture and society, environment, enterprise and economy, and sport.

Although highly rated in some research fields, there were no starred departments in the last research assessments.

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Subjects

However, ten out of the 22 subject areas reached grade 5, denoting national excellence and significant work of international standard. Excellent teaching ratings for economics, sociology, theology, business studies, psychology and English show Stirling’s strength in the arts and social sciences.

Among the sciences, only environmental science matched this feat, its success reflected in a new School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, with substantially refurbished facilities for both teaching and research. Sports studies are particularly popular, as are film and media studies, which acquired a £40,000 high-tech newsroom in 2004.

International exchanges are common, with many students going to American, Asian and European universities each year. Stirling was the British pioneer of the semester system, which has now become so popular in other universities. The academic year is divided into two 15-week terms, with short mid-semester breaks. Students have the option of starting courses in February, rather than September.

Successful completion of six semesters will bring a General degree; eight semesters, honours. The emphasis on breadth is such that there are no barriers to movement between departments. Undergraduates can switch the whole direction of their studies, in consultation with their academic adviser, as their interests develop.

The modular scheme allows students to speed up their progress on a Summer Academic Programme, which squeezes a full semester’s teaching into July and August. Full-time students are not allowed to use the programme to reduce the length of their course, but part-timers can use it to make rapid progress. The level of competition for places was steady at the start of 2007, following a small decline in the previous year.

Access

The intake is surprisingly diverse, with 92 per cent of undergraduates state-educated and more than a quarter coming from working-class homes. Large numbers come from areas that send few students to higher education, and three-quarters are from north of the border. Sports facilities are excellent and have been extended and refurbished recently. As well as enhancing recreational provision, the programme has enhanced training opportunities for students and visiting athletes, swimmers and tennis players, as well as providing dedicated facilities for teaching and research.

Sport

The national tennis and swimming centres are both based on the campus, the latter in a 50-metre pool, and there is even a ninehole golf course. A golf centre, opened in 2004, has three target greens, a practice area, indoor facilities and a synthetic putting green. A new football academy opens in 2008. Sports bursaries worth between £900 and £2,000, according to performance, are open to overseas students, as well as Britons. The campus also houses the new headquarters of the Scottish Institute of Sport. Students appreciate the individual attention that a small campus university can offer, although some find the atmosphere claustrophobic.

The original campus buildings are now being refurbished, upgrading teaching, learning and accommodation facilities. Stirling is not the top choice of nightclubbers, but the students’ union has been named the best in Scotland, winning “Best Bar None” status in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and there is a lively social programme. The £6.3- million refurbishment of the MacRobert Arts Centre has transformed cultural activities on campus, while the surrounding scenery offers its own attractions for walkers. The Highland campus, for nurses and midwives, moved to the new state-of-theart Centre for Health Science in Inverness in January 2007. The Western Isles campus is located in Stornoway, where the teaching accommodation is an integral part of the recently built Lewis Hospital.

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