East Park Terrace
Southampton SO14 0YN

Tel 0845 676 7000

enquiries@solent.ac.uk

www.solent.ac.uk

Sunday Times ranking 106 (107)

Teaching excellence 26.7%

Student satisfaction 70.6%

Head teacher ranking 104= (102=)

Peer ranking 124 (103)

Research quality 7.8%

A/AS-level points 235

A-levels for entry 70%

Unemployment 6.2%

Firsts and 2:1s 48.7%

Student/staff ratio 22.6:1

Dropout rate 17% (20%)

Undergraduates 8,566 (1,949)

Postgraduates 326 (428)

Teaching staff 418

Applications/places 9,838/3,012; 3.3:1 (+23.4%)

Clearing entry 10%

Bursaries 33%: £150-£1,024

Scholarships 5+: £1,000

EU/overseas 4.9%/12%

Mature 27.4%

State school 96%

Lowest social classes 36%

Low-participation areas 11%

Live in 27% (100%) £70-£94

Brimming with a youthful enthusiasm that stems from being a university for just over two years, Solent has embarked on an overhaul of course provision that will fundamentally alter its profile by next September. Nearly 70 courses building on a vocational approach to higher education are planned for this year and next. Solent stands out now for the range and depth of subjects in nontraditional fields of academic expertise.

Degrees in fashion styling and media styling and promotion, both specialising in make-up and hair design, are among the eye-catching offerings. Several with a nautical edge capitalise on the university’s Warsash Maritime Academy, the only campus-affiliated facility of its kind in the UK. Many of these courses are offered with reduced fees (£1,995 per year as opposed to £3,070) and the academy boasts links with brands such as BP, Shell, the Carnival group and Maersk.

Niches are being exploited too; so online journalism is added to the existing degree programme. There are also five new specialist degree options – location, sound, design, events management and special effects – for television production students. A link-up with the Glastonbury festival allowed film and television production students, plus those following media technology and performance programmes, to gain work experience this summer – such placements form a key part of many courses. Development continues in cyberspace with the relaunch of Solent’s virtual learning environment, myCourse.

The physical surroundings are being upgraded, too, with new sports science facilities, music studios, media styling studios and a performance space and dance studio all in the offing.

Open days October 17, 26 and 27; November 16 and 17.

Student view Nicole Benford, students’ union president:

USP A broad course content ensures an eclectic student body.

Worst feature The fashion and art students are so trendy they put the rest of us to shame.

Location The New Forest and beaches are nearby, and London is an hour away.

Social scene Our Angel Scheme gets second and third-year year students to take first-years on a big night out.

Rated excellent (4) Building; business and management; civil engineering; land and property management (fine arts valuation).

Degree of student satisfaction: 70.6%

Social Work 83.6; Law 77.2; Mechanically-based Engineering 77.0; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 75.0; Management 73.9; Business 71.2; Computer Science 71.1; Media studies 70.8; Other Creative Arts 70.4; Technology 69.7; Psychology 68.7; Art and Design 67.8; Tourism, Transport, Travel and others in Business and Administrative studies 67.2; Communications and Information studies 67.2; Sports Science 65.0; Architecture, Building and Planning 59.6

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