Deane Road
Bolton BL3 5AB

Tel 01204 903 903

enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

www.bolton.ac.uk

Sunday Times ranking 121 (115)

Teaching excellence 43.8%

Student satisfaction 74.4%

Head teacher ranking 98= (95=)

Peer ranking 118 (104)

Research quality 11%

A/AS-level points 178

A-levels for entry 31%

Unemployment 11.5%

Firsts and 2:1s 47%

Student/staff ratio 19.6:1

Dropout rate 32% (22%)

Undergraduates 3,681 (2,645)

Postgraduates 759 (935)

Teaching staff 247

Applications/places 5,728/650; 8.8:1 (+5.5%)

Clearing entry 40%

Bursaries 80%: £50-£310

Scholarships Variable: £720

EU/overseas 1.4%/2.6%

Mature 21.2%

State school 99%

Lowest social classes 43%

Low-participation areas 31%

Live in 20% (100%) £60

Despite a near 50% surge in applications over the past two years following Bolton’s elevation to university status in 2005, it still admitted 40% of its students through clearing last year, one of the highest rates in Britain – although continued growth should eventually reduce the number of places filled in this way.

For those who find themselves studying here – whether through design or default – there is a strong emphasis on education relevant to the world of work. Courses are strongly vocational and Bolton is proud of its links with local and national businesses, including, among others, Network Rail, the NHS, Alfred McAlpine and Marks & Spencer.

The new – and often job-specific – programmes planned for 2008 (subject to validation) include mobile and interactive television development, motorsport and automobile design or electronics, strength and conditioning and toy design.

Bolton is working at cutting the numbers who fail to complete their studies, which the funding council estimates to be about one in three over the course of a three- or four-year degree programme, well above what it should be.

It is one of the smaller universities in the UK with fewer than 4,000 full-time undergraduates. Bolton emphasises the warmth and friendliness that stem from its compact size. Bursary arrangements are inclusive, with about four in every five students expected to benefit by next September. There are no academic scholarships.

The second phase of upgrades to the Deane campus will be complete next year, adding new teaching, learning and social facilities for many subjects currently given at Bolton’s Chadwick campus.

Seven hundred single study bedrooms – all wired for the internet – are available to mostly first-year students at a flat rate of £60 a week. This helps make Bolton one of the cheaper places to study in the UK.

Open days October 17; November 24.

Student view Keir Stitt, students’ union president:

USP You’re in for a vocational degree with lots of personal attention.

Worst feature Chadwick campus.

Location Right in the town centre and 20 minutes from Manchester.

Social scene Many students return to the halls of residence because they are so friendly.

Rated excellent (7) Education; materials technology; nursing; organismal biosciences; philosophy; psychology; subjects allied to medicine.

Degree of student satisfaction: 74.4%

English-based studies 88.8; Mechanically-based Engineering 81.6; Biology and related Sciences 79.5; Architecture, Building and Planning 79.4; Electronic and Electric Engineering 74.8; Other Creative Arts 72.8; Art and Design 68.9; Business 67.2; Computer Science 67.1; Psychology 64.0

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