Egham
Surrey
TW20 OEX
Tel 01784 434 455
admissions@rhul.ac.uk
www.rhul.ac.uk
Open days: September 26; March 13, 2010, June 16

PERFORMANCE

Sunday Times ranking 35 (28)

Student satisfaction 74.5%
Head teacher ranking 30 (37)
Peer ranking 24 (30=)
Research quality 66.7%
A-level/Higher points 361
Unemployment 7.7%
Firsts and 2:1s 70.3%
Student/staff ratio 14.5:1
Dropout rate 6.6% (8.9%)
World ranking 311

Multimedia

• The Times University Guide table

VITAL STATISTICS

Undergraduates 6,117 (411)
Postgraduates 1,379 (446)
Teaching staff 457
Applications/places 12,710/2,556; 5:1 (-5.7%)
Clearing entry 12%
Live in 40% (83%) £67-£133
Bursaries 37%: £750
Scholarships 80: £1,000-£3,500

SOCIAL MIX

EU/overseas 11.2%/13.5%
Mature 11%
State school 79.8%
Lowest social classes 21.5%
Low-participation areas 3.9%

Plans are in the pipeline for Royal Holloway to join forces with St George’s in Tooting, creating the University of London’s third largest college in terms of income. The new institution would offer subjects spanning the arts, medicine, biomedicine, humanities, science, and health and social science. If the merger gets the go-ahead, it will be launched next year and operate from Egham and Tooting.

In the meantime, it isn’t scrimping on investment. Some £1.3m was spent on a social study area in the main library, which opened last year. A £12m refurbishment has brought the Bourne building laboratories up to date with modern facilities for biological sciences, and 466 student rooms were added to college accommodation in 2007, the result of a £21m investment.

Most first-year students, and 40% of all undergraduates, can be housed in college accommodation, with a lucky 500 of them living in the Founder’s building, which dominates the campus. Royal Holloway’s original structure, it was opened by Queen Victoria in 1886 and houses a chapel, dining hall, restaurant and founder Thomas Holloway’s art collection.

The department for physics, one of the college’s nine subjects rated excellent for teaching, is part of a new consortium with five other departments in the southeast, receiving £12.5m funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce). The aim is to sustain high standards of physics teaching and research and to benefit the economy. A total of £27.8m will be added to the funding pot over the next seven years.

Royal Holloway’s strong reputation for research is supported by the results of the research assessment exercise. The college finished 23rd overall in our analysis of the results. Music was the jewel in the crown, with 60% of the work submitted judged to be world-leading and 30% internationally excellent, the best results in the UK. The music department has recently been awarded the status of an All-Steinway school.

Students drawn from households with an income of £39,333 or less, and in receipt of a maintenance grant, qualify for a bursary of £750, and there are 80 scholarships available based on academic strength. Twenty awards of £3,500 and some at £500 are available subject to means-testing and Ucas points achieved. A further 60 awards of £1,000 are given based on Ucas points, regardless of family income.

STUDENT VIEW

Elizabeth Owen, president of the students’ union:

First impressions Founder’s building sets the tone, it’s like having a castle on campus.
Worst feature The university needs to invest in the union building.
Facilities There is great nightlife and everything is five minutes’ walk away.
Deal clincher Our community vibe; we’re small enough that everyone can look out for each other.

Rated excellent (9)
Classics and ancient history; drama, dance and cinematics; economics; geology; history; maths, statistics and operational research; organismal biosciences; physics and astronomy; psychology.

Student satisfaction
Human and Social Geography 87.8; Physical Science 82.2; History and Archaeology 82.1; Mathematical Sciences 81.4; Physical Geography and Environmental Science 80.5; Psychology 80.1; Computer Science 78.6; European Languages and Area studies 78.3; Performing Arts 77.3; Media studies 74.2; English-based studies 72.5; Other Creative Arts 71.6; Biology and related Sciences 71.5; Economics 69.4; Finance and Accounting 68.2; Management 67.9; Politics 65.6; Business 63.6; Social Work 44.5

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