Twice recently, Newcastle has been named as the best university city in the UK, although the message does not appear to be getting through to applicants.

A 2 per cent increase in applications at the start of 2009 was well below the national average and followed four years of static or falling demand for places.

The university has embarked on a £200-million programme of investment in its campus and facilities. The first phase involves a five-story, glass-fronted building costing £35 million, which will house all the main student services, as well as a visitor centre, creating a welcoming “front door” to the university.

A partnership with a private languages firm will also put £49 million into accommodation and teaching facilities for international students.

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Development

Science and engineering laboratories have already been upgraded, disabled access improved and thousands of students provided with internet connections in university flats and halls of residence. A new music building, available 24 hours a day, will open in 2009, along with the £24-million Great North Museum: Hancock – a redevelopment of the university’s original museum.

Another significant development will be the opening of an international branch campus in Johor, Malaysia, in 2011. Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) will offer degrees in medicine and biomedical science, adding to the courses in naval architecture that are already provided in Singapore.

Originally Durham University’s medical school, Newcastle’s excellence in that area was confirmed by its selection as a national centre to disseminate best teaching practice in medicine. The school has gone back into partnership with Durham, with about a third of trainees spending their first two years at Durham’s Stockton campus.

Academic achievement

Newcastle was also chosen to house a national centre of teaching excellence in music. Other academic developments include the creation of nine new research institutes, housed in new buildings costing over £30 million. Research grades improved in the 2008 assessments, although Newcastle entered fewer academics than most members of Russell Group universities. Almost 60 per cent of the work reached the top two categories, with 90 per cent of research in cancer research rated world-leading or internationally excellent. Art and design, music and English also produced outstanding results.

Recent additions to the portfolio of courses have included Britain’s first degree in folk and traditional music, and a four-year business and accounting degree, which provides a fast-track to professional qualifications. Newcastle already had a number of unusual features for a traditional university, such as a fine art degree which attracts up to 15 applicants per place. It also has a longstanding reputation for agriculture, which benefits from two farms in Northumberland.

The campus is spacious and varied, occupying 45 acres close to the main shopping area, civic centre and Newcastle United’s ground. The university also boasts an expanded and refurbished theatre, an art gallery and three museums.

Students

The university expanded dramatically in the 1990s, and now has more than 19,000 full-time students. It has become popular with independent schools, whose applicants take three in ten places, but the university has stepped up its contacts with local state schools in order to broaden its intake. Alumni and other friends of the university raised £6 million in two years to add to the bursaries available for students from less affluent backgrounds. Official performance indicators reveal a healthy 92 per cent completion rate – better than anticipated, given the subject mix.

Few students regret choosing Newcastle for a degree, even if southerners can find the winter temperatures a shock. The city’s nightlife is legendary – eighth best in the world, according to one survey – and the cost of living is reasonable. Town–gown relations better than in many cities.

Sport is a particular strength, Newcastle claiming to be one of the top ten universities both in terms of performance and facilities. A new £5.5-million sports centre supplements two older centres, which have refurbished fitness suites, massage clinics and all the normal indoor services. The main outdoor pitches are two miles from the university. Over £30,000 is awarded annually in sports bursaries for elite athletes.

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