University of Derby Profile
History
•Derby University can trace its origins back to 1851 and has a long history of teaching art and design,education, health, technology and photography.
•Derby became a university in 1992 and was the only UK higher education college to do so.
•In 2006 the Buxton Campus was opened by HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Notable alumni
•Kathryn Jeffs, BSc Biological Imaging, graduated 1995 – Producer BBC Frozen Planet.
•Matt Warwick, HND Business Studies, graduated 2001 – former editor of Loaded magazine.
•Alan Hill, professional catering qualification, graduated mid 1980s –
Location and transport
•The University has two main campuses, one in Derby and one in Buxton.
•Derby is a thriving city both economically and culturally, with lots going on, and it's the safest city in the East Midlands. Our Campus is on the outskirts of the city and all the halls of residence are between the Campus and the city centre, so you'll be living within easy walking distance of both.
•The city has a Westfield shopping centre, as well as boutique shops, thriving markets and ethnic shops. It also has Cinema De Lux, Quad arts centre, Assembly Rooms, Derby Theatre (owned by the University), Deda (the Derby dance centre), Derbyshire Cricket Club and Derby County Football Club. There is the annual Feste arts festival and the internationally renowned Format photography festival is held in Derby every four years.
Entry standards
•UCAS points for the Derby’s BA/BSc (Honors) degrees range from 240 to 320 points. 2011 was the year when the applicants had an average of around 300 UCAS points.
•We welcome applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, with a range of qualifications and working experience
Student mix
Of our first degree new entrants:
•48 percent are school leavers aged below 19.
•30 per cent have more than 320 UCAS.
•67 per cent have A levels.
Ourse flexibility
•We offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate degrees ranging from traditional subjects such asHistory, Geology, English, Biology and Law through to degrees which prepare for a particular career like Nursing, Fashion, Computer Gaming, Spa Management and Teaching.
•We also provide a range of foundation degrees and, of course, apprenticeships, postgraduate masters courses.
•We have a pioneering range of nearly 30 online degrees, which lets you to study wherever you like.
Teaching standards
•It is a teaching orientated university, so the quality of our teaching matters a lot.
•In the National Student Survey, overall satisfaction at Derby is an impressive 81%, with our teaching scoring most highly among our students.
•88% of students think Derby staff are good at explaining things and 82% find their course intellectually stimulating.
Research standards
•The research we deliver actively informs that what have been taught in the classroom or lab – it is not just research.
•Even though we are not very good in terms of research, in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, the research we submitted was rated as either 'world class'.
•Our research interests include Law, Visual Communications, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Biology, Creative Technologies and Psychology.
Academic strengths
•Derby is majorly known for the vocational courses; with it delivering student centered vocational learning, much of it in the real working environments, thereby helping to maximize the employment potential.
•The real strength is to prepare for the employment. This can be done by finding a job with the variety of employers or by setting up business and creating jobs, which around 12 per cent of the graduates do every year.
•Most of our students have work based experience at the time of their studies and have links with the top employers in region.
Student facilities, including library and computing
•The University is fully equipped to support students' library and computing requirements.
•University email and storage space is given by Microsoft live@edu services.
•There are IT help services to support you.
Students' union
•University provides advice and representation to all the students.
•The UDSU organizes nights out from Freshers’ Fortnight in the month of September to weekly student club nights.
Sport
•Since the launch of Team Derby in the year 2009 to support recreational, competitive and best performance sport, the University has improved by thirty one places in British Universities’ and Colleges’ Sport Championships.
•Over £3 million has been spent at the Buxton and Derby campuses for the sports facilities, performance labs, including new fitness suites, floodlit all weather facilities at Derby and a refurbished sports hall and new climbing wall at the Buxton.