University Name:
See all universitiesChester University
UCAS Code: C55
Location: North-west England Show on Map
Site: Main site plus two further sites in Chester; campus at Warrington; partner colleges.
A modern university.
Student Population
| Total Students: | 15,718 |
| Undergraduates: | 77% |
| Postgraduates: | 23% |
| FE Students: | 0% |
Undergraduates
| Total undergraduates: | 12,036 |
| Male: | 30% |
| Female: | 70% |
| Full Time: | 70% |
| Mature on Entry: | 30% |
| UK Students: | 96% |
| State school entry: | 97% |
Teaching Staff
389 full-time, 394 part-time.
Broad study areas
Applied sciences; social science; arts & media; business & enterprise; education & children’s services; health & social care; humanities.
Freshers
| Admission Information: | All post-16 qualifications accepted, including key skills; students expected to have approximately 240 points from A-level or equivalent. UCAS tariff fully adopted. |
| Points on Entry (Mean): | 280 |
| Drop Out Rate: | 11% |
| Accommodation: | Many first years housed. |
Institution
| Founded: | 1839 by Church of England. University status 2005. |
| Site: | Main 32-acre Chester campus, 10 mins walk from the city centre; also Kingsway Campus, (arts and media) and Riverside Campus (education, children’s services, health and social care), both 20 minutes walk from main campus. Warrington campus: a self-contained campus at Padgate. |
| How to get there: | Chester Campus: bus and coach service to Vicars Lane bus depot, 10 mins from campus; Chester railway station 15 mins; campus 10 mins from M56, 30 mins from M6. Warrington Campus: bus service from Warrington town centre; 5 mins from M6 & M62. Free university shuttle service between campuses. |
Student services & facilities
| Student advice & services: | Chaplaincy; student counsellor, student support and guidance services; student development programme (including mentoring); personal tutorial system; learning support unit. |
| Amenities: | Both Chester and Warrington have shops, attractions and pubs, clubs and restaurants; centrally located in the north west. |
| Sporting facilities: | Chester: swimming pool, sports hall, gymnasium, pitches for summer and winter games, all-weather pitch, squash courts, and fitness centre. Warrington: sports hall, floodlit all-weather pitch, athletics track and fitness centre. |
| Accommodation: | 82% of first years in university accommodation. At Chester: 1057 first-year places (405 ensuite; all with internet access); rents £48−£98 per week self-catering, £71−£114 pw semi-catered (41-week contracts); £106−£129.50 pw full-board (mainly term-time only). Meal schemes for those in self-catering accommodation of £280 a term (lunch or dinner) or £550 (lunch and dinner). At Warrington: 355 self-catered places £63.50−£80.50 pw (£95 pw ensuite); 44 semi-catered places £114; all on 41-week contracts. Most students live in privately-owned accommodation for 2+ years: rent £55−£115 pw self-catering. 20% of first-degree students live at home. |
Study opportunities & careers
| Library & information services: | Libraries at both campuses. Total of 350,000 volumes, 1050 periodicals, 13,000 e-journals, 85 databases, 1100 study places, electronic resources and internet access. Three nursing and midwifery libraries. Information provision, £115 pa spent for each student (FTE). Introductory literature, web information, tours etc of libraries; workshops on information retrieval and internet searching. Integrated IT service, access 100+ hours pw (24/7 at main campus). 1600 workstations for student use; Dual boot iMacs in open-access IT suites; ratio workstations to students 1:9. IT support from 46 staff, both central and departmental; IT training suite. |
| Other learning resources: | Human performance laboratory; satellite remote-sensing suite; seminar/group study rooms for student use, digital video edit suite, TV and sound studios; commercial music production suite; darkroom; integrated live arts building (art, design and technology), drama studio; fully-equipped theatre; interactive newsroom (journalism). |
| Study abroad: | Opportunities for students to study in countries worldwide (some open to non-language specialists). |
| Careers: | Individual guidance available. |
Money
| Living expenses budget: | Minimum budget of £6000 pa (excluding tuition fees) recommended by university. |
| Term-time work: | University allows term-time work for full-time students; 45% believed to work. Some work on campus (in learning resources, bar, schools liaison, fitness centre). |
| Financial help: | 200 scholarships of £3000 in Year 1, 100 of £1000, all open to students whose family income is up to £25k pa. 100 bursaries open to students whose family income is £25k− £42k pa, who attend one of the university’s partner schools or colleges. Access funds for discretionary help of £228,000. |
| University tuition fees: | Home students pay £9000 pa for first degrees. International students pay £9750 pa. |
Courses
Academic features:
Modular structure for all first degrees allows subject combinations, named pathways and single subject degrees; includes work-based learning modules with range of employers.
Awarding body:
University of Chester
Main undergraduate awards:
BA, BSc, BEd, BTh, LLB.
Length of courses:
3 or 4 years.
Main subjects offered:
- Accountancy
- Advertising
- Animal Science
- Archaeology
- Art
- Biology
- Biomedical Science
- Broadcasting
- Business Administration
- Business Studies
- Childhood Studies
- Communication Studies
- Computer Science
- Computing
- Counselling
- Creative/Performance Writing
- Criminology
- Dance
- Development Studies
- Dietetics
- Drama
- Economics
- Education
- English
- Events Management
- Film Studies
- Food Science
- Food Technology
- Forensic Science
- French
- Geography
- German
- Graphic Design
- Health
- History
- Human Biology
- Information Systems
- Information Technology
- International Business
- International Development
- Internet Technology
- Islamic Studies
- Journalism
- Law
- Management
- Marketing
- Mathematics
- Media Studies
- Media Technology
- Midwifery
- Multimedia
- Music Technology
- Nursing
- Nutrition
- Performance Arts
- Photography
- Physical Education
- Popular Music
- Psychology
- Public Relations
- Religious Studies
- Social Science
- Social Studies
- Social Work
- Sociology
- Spanish
- Sports Sciences
- Sports Studies
- Teacher Training
- Theatre Studies
- Theology
- Tourism
- TV Studies
- Youth & Community Work
- Zoology
Student view
Dechlan Jarrett (Sport & Exercise Sciences), SU President
Living
What's it like as a place to live? Nice, mainly quiet. City centre is not too busy, very accessible. Good transport links to Manchester, Liverpool and Wales.
How's the student accommodation? University accommodation is improving, with new deluxe accommodation from 2013. Private accommodation is mainly focused in the Garden Quarter, which is right in between the university campus and the city centre. The prices are actually quite reasonable both uni and privately.
What's the student population like? Very friendly, with a lot of travelling part-time students. Growing in diversity, with international student provision expanding year on year.
How do students and locals get on? As NUS Community Relations Award winners 2011, community relations are improving. Because the Garden Quarter encompasses around 80% students/20% local residents, the university and SU work very hard to make sure these residents are included and respond quickly to any discrepancies. In Chester as a whole, there are generally no 'no go areas'. It's a very safe campus which is well lit and CCTV is everywhere.
Studying
What's it like as a place to study? Many traditional courses and a large emphasis on teacher training and nursing (the university started as a teacher training college). Ever-expanding portfolio, especially in regard to business enterprise, entrepreneurship and sport, due to the facilities which are being built. The university will be one of the only universities in the country with a 3G astro-pitch, tennis courts and running track in the heart of the main campus.
What are the teaching staff like? Because a lot of the teaching and support staff live in close proximity to the university, there is a large community feel, who are interested in students. There are a few high-profile professors.
Socialising
What are student societies like? The clubs & societies are without doubt the social centre of the university. We have over 1800 participants involved, and with many of the sporting facilities on campus in both Chester and Warrington, there is a large amount of support & recognition. CSU runs around 75 clubs & socs, with a number of new teams started every year. The university is going up the BUCS ranks year on year.
What's a typical night out? Walking distance, lots of bars and a couple of clubs, which means you'll always see your friends out, any night of the week.
And how much does it cost? On a student night, entry to bars is free and clubs will generally charge £5, and £2 a pint is common.
How can you get home safely? Walking distance, well-lit and well-policed, but if you want a taxi home from town, then it is £3−£4.
Money
Is it an expensive place to live? Depends on how sensible the student is really! Student loan can last the term, but a large percentage have part-time jobs, of which there are a lot going.
Average price of a pint? £2 on student nights, £3 any other time.
And the price of a takeaway? Burger & chips for under a fiver.
What's the part-time work situation? Readily available, mainly close by because of the distance to the city centre. The university helps a lot with jobs, with its own UniJob scheme which finds students work within the university itself and has an online job list for external jobs. The university places a lot of emphasis on employability, so finding students part-time work is very important. If a student hasn't got a job by 2nd year, then the Work Based Learning programme (undertaken by most 2nd years) will help them even further.
Summary
What's the best feature about the place? Not too big, not too small. Close to everything, don't really need a car.
And the worst? If you're a really big city person, then Chester may be too small at the moment.
And to sum it all up? Those who come to Chester will always want to stay after studies. Chester is a great place to make important links for the future.
Past Students
John Carlton (rugby international), Carol Lewis (HM Borstal), Walter Winterbottom (Sports Council), Richard Palmer (British Olympic Committee), The Venerable Francis William Harvey (Archdeacon of London), Lynn Davies (British long jump record-holder), George Courtney (football referee), Rob Wotton (Sky sports).
More info?
Contact President on 01244 513398 (fax 01244 392866), email csupres@chester.ac.uk, website www.chestersu.com.
Open days
26th May 2012
Open day at Riverside and Warrington, to find out for yourself what it would really be like to live and study at Chester and see if it is right for you. Book online from March.
6th October 2012
Open day at Riverside and Warrington, to find out for yourself what it would really be like to live and study at Chester and see if it is right for you. Book online from March.
13th October 2012
Open day at Riverside and Warrington, to find out for yourself what it would really be like to live and study at Chester and see if it is right for you. Book online from March.
Contact
Address:
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester
CH1 4BJ
Tel:
01244 511000
Email:
Website:
Student enquiries:
Marketing Recruitment & Admissions
(tel 01244 512471).
Application:
UCAS
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