Ellison Building
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST

Tel 0191 227 4433

er.admissions@northumbria.ac.uk

www.northumbria.ac.uk

Sunday Times ranking 72 (63)

Teaching excellence 60%

Student satisfaction 70.5%

Head teacher ranking 80= (73=)

Peer ranking 87 (72=)

Research quality 16.1%

A/AS-level points 293

A-levels for entry 70%

Unemployment 4.7%

Firsts and 2:1s 52.5%

Student/staff ratio 24.1:1

Dropout rate 16% (15%)

Undergraduates 16,179 (5,473)

Postgraduates 2,458 (3,175)

Teaching staff 891

Applications/places 19,474/4,659; 4.2:1 (+3.2%)

Clearing entry 4.7%

Bursaries £305

Scholarships 100%: £250-£1,000

EU/overseas 2.1%/2.2%

Mature 20.8%

State school 92%

Lowest social classes 32%

Low-participation areas 21%

Live in 20% (90%) £56-£94

One of the best modern universities has just got better. The opening of the Campus East development this month is the most significant addition to the fabric at Northumbria since it became a university in 1992. It doesn’t just provide a new – and environmentally friendly – home for the schools of law, business and design, it is also a £100m statement of where this institution is going. Law and business are housed in one building, with the design school in its own premises. Both are “wrapped” in a skeleton of stainless steel mesh and aluminium tubes angled to let in the sun but not to allow them to become overheated. About 95% of the buildings that once stood on the site have been recycled.

Linked by a landmark bridge to the existing campus, the premises vacated by the three schools will be the next project for the builders, with a 150-station gym, four sports halls, squash courts, a four-lane 50m swimming pool and indoor running track all in the plans.

Northumbria wins our unofficial prize for best prospectus this year. It is stylish, clearly presented and infused with the same energy as the university, and for that matter the city. Entry standards are higher than at many modern universities and the ask rises to ABB for the three prestigious LLB courses. Northumbria is the only university in the UK authorised by both the Law Society and the Bar Council to run LLB exempting degrees which allow graduates to bypass a tranche of professional examinations.

All law students benefit from a £250 annual scholarship. Northumbria’s innovative approach to higher tuition fees has been to give back one-third of the extra fee income to students according to the subject they study, not through means-testing. Subjects with the highest £1,000 bounty (effectively discounting tuition fees to £2,070 this year) are computing, engineering and technology, geography and the environment, information sciences and applied sciences. Law, psychology and sports sciences get the lowest £250 scholarship; all others get £500.

It is one of the best deals going, but despite this levels of student satisfaction are low. Northumbria ranks in the bottom 30 for this, according to our analysis of the latest national student survey, contributing to its fall in our league table.

Open days October 3.

Student view Martin Farr, students’ union president:

USP Our new £100m campus.

Worst feature I missed out on the new campus.

Location We’re in a safe city and are aiming to become self-contained.

Social scene Newcastle is the seventh best party city in the world.

Rated excellent (14) Art and design; building; business and management; drama, dance and cinematics; economics; education; electrical and electronic engineering; English; land and property management; law; modern languages; nursing; psychology; subjects allied to medicine.

Degree of student satisfaction: 70.5%

Physical Geography and Environmental Science 82.8; Computer Science 76.6; Law 76.0; English-based studies 75.7; Other subjects allied to Medicine 74.8; Education studies 74.3; History and Archeology 74.2; Finance and Accounting 74.1; Teacher Training 73.8; Combined 72.8; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 72.1; Architecture, Building and Planning 71.8; Physical Science 71.8; European Languages and Area studies 71.7; Psychology 71.1; Biology and related Sciences 69.0; Business 68.6; Politics 68.5; Tourism, Transport, Travel and others in Business and Administrative studies 68.3; Social Work 66.1; Art and Design 66.0; Communications and Information studies 65.5; Media studies 63.1; Performing Arts 50.5 Physical Geography and Environmental Science 82.5; Sports Science 80.1; English-based studies 79.9; Finance and Accounting 79.7; Other subjects allied to Medicine 77.7; Business 77.5; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 77.5; Performing Arts 76.5; Psychology 76.0; Teacher Training 75.8; Law 75.4; Education studies 72.1; Social Work 70.3; Computer Science 68.3; Art and Design 67.7; Communications and Information studies 62.5

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