Preston
PR1 2HE
Tel 01772 201 201
uadmissions@uclan.ac
www.uclan.ac.uk
Open day: contact the university

PERFORMANCE

Sunday Times ranking 68= (80)
Student satisfaction 76.7%
Head teacher ranking 99= (63=)
Peer ranking 80 (101)
Research quality 49.1%
A-level/Higher points 269
Unemployment 11.4%
Firsts and 2:1s 49.7%
Student/staff ratio 20.3:1
Dropout rate 16.3% (16.1%)

VITAL STATISTICS

Multimedia

• The Times University Guide table

Undergraduates 15,920 (8,459)
Postgraduates 1,517 (2,703)
Teaching staff 866
Applications/places 18,738/5,657; 3.3:1 (+15.4%)
Clearing entry 7%
Live in 15% (86%) £72-£85
Bursaries 90%: £500-£1,000
Scholarships Sports: £4,000

SOCIAL MIX

EU/overseas 3%/0.9%
Mature 32.4%
State school 97%
Lowest social classes 40%
Low-participation areas 13%

One of the largest universities in the country, UCLan is adding 56 courses this year to the 500-plus already available. They include architecture, fashion entrepreneurship and a BSc in fire and leadership studies, which will provide fast-track progress for graduating students who want to join fire and rescue services.

Students can also take advantage of the Languages 2012 programme, which offers them the opportunity to study Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Russian among others.

With an eye to life after university and 2008’s relatively high graduate unemployment rate of 11.4% (up from 4.4% in 2007), UCLan’s centre for employability, enterprise and careers has a range of support services. It provides tailored career planning, workshops and seminars aimed at developing employability skills, work placement and volunteering opportunities, as well as advice and guidance in setting up a business or becoming self-employed.

The Media Factory, a £15m development, offers media students the hands-on experience typical of courses here, with television, film, photographic and audio recording studios as well as a business incubation unit, which houses a number of student and graduate start-up ventures. UCLan’s commitment to enterprise was recognised in the Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction survey in 2008. It was placed second nationally and top regionally for the number of graduate start-up businesses being nurtured by the university.

A new campus in Burnley, costing £10m, opens this month, part of a £60m programme to upgrade facilities. Other structural additions include a £5.5m school of dentistry, a £6.5m students’ union and the £10m Darwin Building for science students.

The university’s Flying Start initiative supports the transition of students from non-traditional backgrounds to higher education. With more than 8,000 part-time undergraduates, many of them studying UCLan courses locally throughout the northwest, the university has gone further than most in making higher education an attainable goal for all.

In keeping with this philosophy, it has one of the most inclusive bursary schemes, which sees students from households with less than £60,000 income get a bursary worth £500 in the first year and £319 annually thereafter.

UCLan’s big jump in our league table this year is due in part to an improved showing in last year’s research assessments, with nursing and social work among those to score particularly well. And latest projections suggest its dropout rate is now broadly in line with expectations, with about one in six students failing to complete their studies.

STUDENT VIEW

Beth Woodthorpe-Evans, students’ union president:

First impressions Very clean and friendly. I was more than impressed with the university buildings.
Worst feature Freshers’ week involved a lot of queuing to figure out where everything was.
Facilities I wanted to get involved in sport, and was really impressed with Preston Sports Arena.
Deal clincher The facilities and expertise are unreal. Tutors are inspiring, knowledgeable and driven.

Rated excellent (13)
Allied health professions; American studies; art and design; business and management; communication and media studies (journalism); education; hospitality, leisure, recreation, sport and tourism; linguistics; molecular biosciences; nursing and midwifery; organismal biosciences; politics; psychology.

Student satisfaction
Mathematical Sciences 87.8; Physical Geography and Environmental Science 86.1; Medical Science and Pharmacy 83.4; Philosophy, Theology and Religious studies 83.2; Education studies 82.6; Teacher Training 82.3; History and Archaeology 82; Psychology 81.8; Combined 81.5; Sports Science 81.3; Tourism, Transport, Travel and others in Business and Administrative studies 80.9; Technology 80.4; Mechanically-based Engineering 79.6; Other subjects allied to Medicine 79.5; Communications and Information studies 79.4; Law 79.4; Physical Science 79; English-based studies 78.5; Nursing 77; Electronic and Electrical Engineering 77; Management 75.8; Media studies 75.1; Business 74.7; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 74.6; Art and Design 74; Architecture, Building and Planning 69.5; Other Creative Arts 68.1; Biology and related Sciences 67.8; Computer Science 67.6; Finance and Accounting 67; Performing Arts 66; Social Work 64.4

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